Jonah 4.2 describes, I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and
abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.
No other god in any holy book is described as loving and compassionate, gracious and slow to anger. The One True God stands alone in this characterization of Who God really is and what He is really like. (more…)
James 2.12 commands we speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives
freedom.
God plans to judge everyone. We inherently know this to be true yet suppress it as much as possible from our conscience. When we do think about God holding us accountable we normally give ourselves a passing grade as to our adherence to His commands.
The answer to what God will judge us on and how He will judge us has all been revealed by God so that we can pass the test. (more…)
1 Chronicles 10:13-14 explains, Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
Imagine being hand chosen by God to be the first king over His people. Pretty high honor. You would also think the vetting process would have been the best. Yet, like the first man created, Adam, this first king was a failure. (more…)
Luke 1.15 promises he will be great in the sight of the Lord.
Few men don’t desire to be great. Its inherent to our nature. It comes from our origin: we are made in the image of God.
God is great and ever increasing in glory so too those made in His image aspire to greatness. Since being kicked out of paradise for our rebellion we have perverted the object or goal of our greatness. Most of us want others to see and recognize us as great, the reason our natural desire is perverted. (more…)
John 15.9-10 warns us to remain in Jesus’ love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
If I must remain in God’s love am I not working my way to heaven, the antithesis of orthodox Christianity? Of course not for we cannot even know God until He reveals Himself to us. God must draw us to Himself for us to have a relationship with Him. In addition, He must supply the power and Person we need to remain in that relationship. (more…)
John 15.9-10 warns us to remain in Jesus’ love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, 
just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
It seems odd to hear God command us to remain in His love. We presume that we just always remain in His love without effort or thought on our part. After all, God so loved the world He gave Himself in His Son to reconcile us to Himself.
Why then would I need to remain in His love since He already loves me? Indeed God loves everyone but the experience of His love occurs only in a relationship with Him through Jesus. (more…)
2 Kings 17.41 observes even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.
The so called, ‘greatest generation’ were the parents of the children who attended high school in the late 1940’s and 1950’s. These people became the parents of those who attended high school in the 1960’s to 1970’s.
The ‘greatest generation’ was considered such because of the selflessness by which they lived their life. They suffered much and paid much to make the life of their children better. (more…)
1 Timothy 6.19 promises, in this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for 
the coming age. God encourages us to create and store treasure for ourselves in heaven. Think of it as the ultimate retirement savings account.
To earn heavenly treasure we have to think in the economics of heaven. We also have to choose which priority we will live for: short term this life existence or long term eternal life existence.
God warns us we cannot love money and God: we will focus on accumulating either the treasure of this world or the treasure of the world to come. In the passage today God lists additional means for us to accumulate heavenly treasure besides working at reconciling people to Jesus as Savior of the world. (more…)
John 4.36 promises the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life.
God warned us, while living among us, as one of us, not too place our life pursuit upon things that didn’t last like houses, clothes and money. God might have added cars to this mix had they been invented while He lived among us.
These are the very things most of us pursue for defining our success and significance in the world. God is not opposed to working for reward. (more…)
Matthew 16.4 describes a wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it
except the sign of Jonah.
There are many in the Christian camp who believe we are close to the ‘end times.’
This belief has been prevalent in Christianity since its inception almost, the Apostle Paul discusses this issue in his letter to the Thessalonians who seemed to have quit working so they could stand around and watch for Jesus to return. Paul rebuked such behavior. (more…)
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