John 20.21 observes, just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you. Jesus' first appearance to the disciples has Him restating His purpose for not taking them with…
Deuteronomy 10.12 declares, what does the LORD your God require of you except to revere Him, to obey all His commandments, to love Him, to serve Him with all your mind and being.
Repeatedly the Bible makes clear what we must do if we are to pass successfully the judgement to come. So many assume they will argue with God about His standards upon meeting Him face to face in order to justify their behavior while they lived upon the earth. How ludicrous. God holds all of the cards. Why should He change His standards upon meeting us? (more…)
John 7.7 observes, the world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I am testifying about it that its
deeds are evil. No one likes a negative person.
Who is the negative person? The person who tells us we are wrong or the things we like are wrong. Modern parenting and education has and is going to great extremes to remove all negativity from the ears of the next generation. Most recently universities have begun creating ‘safe places’ where students can retreat from any discussion that conflicts with their point of view. Jesus, God Who lived on earth, claims to be a negative person. (more…)
Numbers 26.64 observes, there was not a man among these who had been among those numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they numbered the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai.
Why did the group of adult Israelites whom God had miraculously freed from slavery in Egypt fail to enter the Promised Land? The reason for God’s deliverance was to bring them into the land He had promised their forefathers as an inheritance for His people. So why did they fail to receive God’s promise, the purpose of His activity in their lives? (more…)
Numbers 24.13 records the prophet saying, If Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the
commandment of the LORD to do either good or evil of my own will, but whatever the LORD tells me I must speak’?
While the prophet in this story turns bad his attitude at this point in the story is one current Christians desperately need. Culture is a reflection of the attitudes and desires of the people. Culture reflects the thinking, the doing and the wanting of the people within its boundaries. What kind of people is our current culture reflecting? (more…)
Isaiah 6.10 commands, make the hearts of these people calloused; make their ears deaf and their eyes blind! Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.
In an age when we espouse, God wants all people saved, it is interesting to hear Him say, keep people from repenting. While some will ask, saved from what? Saved from the punishment that follows the judgement to come when all people stand before God and are weighed and measured according to His will and ways as recorded in His word, the Scriptures. (more…)
Hebrews 10.36 encourages, you need endurance in order to do God’s will and so receive what is promised.
Endurance is one of those qualities we admire in others but struggle to manifest in ourselves. We see the marathon runner and we marvel at their endurance then say they are crazy to train then run that kind of distance. We hear the testimony from the mountain climber and wonder what it would be like to stand on the top of the world only to hear of the cost and dismiss it as too hard.
Endurance is modeled by the few but desired by the many. (more…)
Isaiah 1.15 observes, when you spread out your hands in prayer, I look the other way; when you offer your many prayers, I
do not listen, because your hands are covered with blood.
Today is the National Day of Prayer. Historically, it is the time when we as a nation turn to God to repent from our sins against Him and to seek His help for our many struggles. President Washington instituted such a day both to beg God’s help for our nation and to thank Him for the help He had already given.
It was president Truman however who signed the bill into law that officially gave us this day of remembrance. Again, it was both a somber day remembering the world and its rebellion against God as evidenced by its most recent world war and a celebration that God had delivered us, this nation, from our enemies. (more…)
Hebrews 2.10 describes it was fitting for God, for Whom and through Whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to 
glory, to make the Pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
How do we test our strength? We test our strength by lifting as much weight as we can or running as far as we can or enduring whatever we attempt as long as we can. Strength is measured against resistance. While it takes resistance to build strength, endurance and perseverance we usually avoid those things in life because they are hard and they hurt. (more…)
Ecclesiastes 12.13 concludes, having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion: Fear God and keep his commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
The Bible’s version of the wisest man in the world summarizes his study of the human condition with these words from Ecclesiastes. To summarize Solomon, the chief purpose of humanity is to fear God and obey His commands. Not very sexy. Not very exciting. Not really about me and my wants, needs or desires. Why might this be true regardless of how it makes me feel? (more…)
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