Matthew 22.39 records God answering the question about which command is most important. His
answer is unbelievable: A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.
Most of us envision God as a bit of an egotist. He wants to be worshiped by everyone, all the time. That’s what we would want if we were God.
While the One True God seeks worshipers, His first desire is to be loved. (more…)
Matthew 16.4 observes, only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the
only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.
People always want God to prove Himself. God always wants people to demonstrate faith in Him. These two demands are in conflict with one another.
No matter what God has done for us its never enough. Yesterday is gone and today there is a new crisis for which we seek God to do something lest we fall away. (more…)
Deuteronomy 33.11 asks, bless the ministry of the Levites, O LORD, and accept all the work of their hands. Hit their enemies where it hurts the most; strike down their foes so they never rise again.
The Bible uses the language of war to describe the brokenness between man and God and man with man. War is necessary sometimes because of our refusal to love one another.
We needed to go to war against Hitler or his maniacal murderous schemes would have destroyed the world. We need to go to war against Islam since it refuses to exist as a religion of peace. Police need to go to war against criminals. (more…)
Revelation 19.10 describes, the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.
Too many Christians are hoping for the end of this world as we know it. Everyday we move closer to the end they say. Certainly that is true.
These Christians are weary of life’s difficulties and the rapid increase of godlessness everywhere in the world. I fear the motive is less a desire for Jesus and more of a desire to be done with a life that is less than fulfilling or happy or blessed. Why should God want to end the world? (more…)
Isaiah 33.22 describes, the LORD is our judge, our lawgiver, and our king. He will care for us and save
us.
This is both an apt and succinct description of the Christian God in Jesus Christ the Savior. While penned 1000 years before His arrival in human form, Isaiah saw God, and was commissioned with foretelling His coming as the Messiah or Savior of the world. (more…)
John 12.25 promises, those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for
their life in this world will keep it for eternity.
Mohammad twisted this promise from God reinterpreting it to mean that his followers whose suicide kills others will automatically qualify for heaven. What kind of a god would make this offer? Only one whose true mission is to steal, kill and destroy. (more…)
1 Peter 3.12 promises, the eyes of the LORD watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to
their prayers. But the LORD turns his face against those who do evil.
This promise is what we would expect from a God Who is good. It makes sense to us that a good God would watch over those who do good and hear their prayers. It also makes sense to us that God would oppose those who do evil in the world.
There is a disconnect however from this logic and some of our experiences. Evil in the world is a problem for people. (more…)
Mark 12.34 observes, realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, You are not far from
the Kingdom of God.
Knowing and doing are not the same. We inherently know this in our dealings with people, especially family. We know our spouse loves us but sometimes their actions are hurtful. We know our children know what they are to do but they often fail to do what they have been made responsible to do.
On and on it goes in our experience of the gap between knowing and doing, both in our own lives as well as the lives of others. (more…)
1 Thessalonians 1.10 promises, Jesus is the one Who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming
judgment.
Recently I was listening to a man describe why he rejected his Christian upbringing. He served as a soldier in Vietnam and couldn’t understand how a good God could allow so much suffering. He has since become a Muslim. I didn’t understand how switching ‘gods’ helped him especially to one who doesn’t describe himself as love. (more…)
Philippians 2.12 commands, work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep
reverence and fear.
Easter has just passed for most Christians: it is the time for celebration of the life, death and resurrection of God in Jesus the Savior. It is a celebration because humanity no longer is required to be perfect in order to get to heaven. It is a celebration because humanity is no longer measured by their own performance for earning heaven. It is a celebration because God is offering a pardon for all disobedience against Him by every person who has ever lived who will simply ask God for His pardon through Jesus the Savior. (more…)
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