There are lessons from childhood that adults are often too proud learn. But King David was able to learn contentment from a young child at rest with his mother. When we are consumed with taking care of ourselves, we have taken on a responsibility that is too great for us. As a result the most important part of life, our relationship with God. is pushed to the side while we determine our how to cope with our problems. However, in Matthew 6 Jesus says to seek first the Kingdom of God. God will take care of the other stuff. David understood this. In Psalm 131 he contemplated a little child with his mother. Specifically, a weaned child […]
Monthly Archives: March 2014
Are you wavering? It had not rained in Israel for three years. It was no secret why there was a drought. The prophet Elijah had told King Ahab that there would be neither rain nor dew unless Elijah said differently. It was obvious that Elijah was speaking for God and it was God who was withholding moisture. Still, the royal response was to order the death of Elijah. Finally, after the three years were up, Elijah challenged Ahab and the prophets of Baal to meet him on Mount Carmel. So, Ahab did as requested. All of Israel came to see the confrontation. Before the contest started Elijah challenged Israel to make a choice: will they worship God or Baal. Again […]
Toddlers are people. They may be small. They may have a limited vocabulary. They are immature. But the bottom line is – they are people. This means they make decisions about what they think they need,. Just like you, it is their interpretation of their circumstances that determines how they respond to problems. If your toddler sees that a sibling has his favorite toy, his immediate interpretation may be that something is very wrong with the world. Let’s put this in perspective. Your toddler thinking he has lost his prized possession may be likened to the concern you have when you can’t find your debit card. Was it lost or stolen? Whatever the case may be, getting that card back […]
The movie Noah will be released tomorrow, March 28th, in the United States. We know little about the film apart from a few trailers and some early reviews. But, one thing we do know is what the Bible says about Noah. There is a Sunday School version of Noah’s life. However, this version often does not represent what God recorded in the Bible. The life and times of Noah were dark. If you think things are bad in the world today, things were worse, much worse in Noah’s time. Evil in men’s hearts was unrestrained. The animals had no natural fear of man and they along with all the earth were wicked. The wickedness became so great that the book of […]
God created the race of men to rule; God created us to conquer the earth and rule over his magnificent creation. From the moment of the Fall, however, the power and capacity that were originally a blessing, designed to provide purpose and honor for life, became corrupt. Men selfishly and cruelly began to exert their power over each other, enforcing their own rules rather than submitting together to the rule of God. Even so, this corruption should not detract from what God originally called (and still calls) us to do. God made and mandated mankind to rule! This is the mandate from Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the […]
People don’t like humility, we hate it. The biblical concept of humility is one of helplessness, being in total dependence upon someone else. Even as I write these words, I can hear someone saying, “that’s not true! People accomplish all kinds of things everyday without help from other people.” Well, that may possibly be true with regard to other humans. But no one accomplishes anything apart from the express will and plan of God. We seldom think of God with that amount of reach and power into our personal lives. However, James gets it right when he says: Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on […]
In the 21st Century the home functions as a stage. Children are displayed, not protected. Children are exploited, not trained. Sinful behavior is accepted and defended. Parents live for their children and children live for themselves. Today, children are to be accommodated. Too often, they become the center of family life. So instead of training children, our modern world tends to idolize them. Parents live for their children instead of for God. Children must be free to choose what they want to be. Self-expression is the creed of the day, no matter how perverse that expression may be. It does not take long for children raised this way to become anything but enjoyable. Thus child abuse rises, broken homes […]
There is a difference between going to worship and worship. God commands that he must be worshipped in all of life. God has also called us to set aside a particular time and place to gather with his people, your local body, to engage in corporate worship. The time of corporate worship can and should be one of beauty and awe spent in reverence to God’s great name. However, I believe the time of corporate worship can also be a time of spiritual danger. To make corporate worship a routine matter of rote participation is an affront to God (Isaiah 29:13). There is no more precious use of time than to spend it in the worship of God. And whether […]
How can you know if someone is your friend? This is a crucial life skill that you and your children must master. Failure to discern who is a genuine friend leads to being manipulated and used. This may result in bitterness and a crippling inability to trust others. God has provided tools in Scripture so that you can recognize genuine friendship. Becoming intimately familiar with passages that teach what friendship in action looks like is a way to start. I Corinthians 13:4-7 is such a passage. Another place to look is in the Proverbs. Most Proverbs should not be read as commands but as reliable observations about life. For example look at Proverbs 12:18: “The words of […]
Fox and National Geographic Channels have combined to create a remake of the old Carl Sagan TV series, “Cosmos.” This new series is anything but fair and balanced. The writers of the new Cosmos make it clear they believe there is no explanation, other than evolution and random chance, for the origins of life and the universe. They are certainly free to think that way. However, the new Cosmos is not just promoting a particular view of science. The show is actively targeting and mocking Christians and any belief other than theirs. The first program specifically went after various Christian beliefs as well as going after the Catholic church with derogatory, condescending comments. The second show portrayed the tree of evolution […]