Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes. Job has received another of the horrible curses handed out to him by God. All that he could do is scrape himself clean. In one of the most compassionate outbursts of eloquent care ever given from a woman to her husband, His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.” A little context is helpful to grasp just how ugly these words are. Job is in agony. She is saying that is obvious God has completely abandoned him. Stop acting that God has anything to do with all of this except to mock you and humiliate […]
Monthly Archives: April 2015
22 posts
Another round violence is making the nightly news cycle. At this moment, there are more questions than answers. While political activity and government policies are important, we must not lose sight of the real center of power. The Apostle Paul instructs that we pray for governing authorities: of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way… I Tim. 2:1-2 ESV Why would Paul want to pray for intercession for the Caesar’s and their followers? At least one reason is that government leaders are not placed in power by their […]
The book of Proverbs provides insight about how to be wise (Proverbs 1:1-7). Proverbs is not primarily a set of rules to follow, but practical wisdom that can be applied to everyday life. This book will teach you and your children to avoid people and situations that will bring harm. For example, verses 1&2 of Chapter 18 help identify a person who is unfriendly and not to be trusted. Each verse has two lines. The second line compliments the first. So in verse 1 we learn that a person who is unfriendly is selfish. That makes sense. But then in the second line of this verse we find a clue that identifies this selfish person; they start foolish quarrels. 1 […]
“I’m really glad Dad spoke to me about that; I really needed his help.” “Mom, thanks for caring enough to keep me out of trouble.” The purpose of biblical authority is encourage and build up ( 2 Corinthians 13:10). But sometimes our children are last ones to recognize this. Here are three principles to help make the exercise your authority a blessing to your children. First: Listen well so that you can speak well. Commit yourself to be a skilled, aggressive listener. Your goal is to be able to repeat the words you hear back to your children in such a way that they can affirm that you really do understand them. You don’t always have to agree, but you […]
The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples. Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he! Psalm 99:1-3 My Lord and my God. Forgive me for wanting more. For when I want more, I desire less. When I desire less my flesh and my heart will fail. Bless me this night with the beauty of this truth! Give me a renewed vision for your holiness. Cause me to value your holiness more than all my fears!
Can you imagine attempting to make foreign policy and ignoring the reality of these words? Oh, right. It is our policy to ignore these words. 24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for […]
Biblical worship is transformational. An encounter with the Living God, whether corporately or individually, is transformational. Conformity to the world’s idea of worship carries the idea of personal enrichment and fulfillment: I am better because I worshipped. Biblical worship is nothing of the sort. If you see God for who He is you cannot help but worship. When you see God for who he is, you cannot remain the same. You are undone, yet you have hope. You are truly afraid and you truly are encouraged. You must be transformed. Our minds must be renewed so we can embrace the perfect, written will of God for our lives. You, too, must become a living sacrifice! You see, I don’t worship to […]
As parents we rightly focus on teaching our children to obey God. But, we must be more focused on teaching our children to love God first. This is where it is easy to turn away from the gospel in parenting. Whether you read Deuteronomy, Matthew or Colossians, the first thing that God desires is that he is to be loved. Too often, when it comes to raising children, loving God is tacked on as an after thought to obedience. The thought process may run like this: “I can’t force my children to love God, so I will teach them to obey, because I can require that.” Teaching obedience appears to be a more doable task than teaching the love of […]
Jesus tells us in Matthew 7 that regardless of whether one is rich or poor, wise or unwise, prepared or unprepared, young or old, the storms will come. Still, when they do come we are often surprised. “Why is this happening?” Comfort comes when you and your children grasp that the storms are not random. Life’s storms move at the command of Jesus Christ. He is the only source of protection and safety. With Christ your view, your emotional response to life’s storms can be one of hope, confidence, and comfort in God’s care. Even in the midst of hurt, God’s peace can prevail. We forget that we live in a sin-cursed world. We are told we can be safe. […]
Contentment is being satisfied because God is working everything together for my good and for his glory. Being content is only possible if you serve a big God. A God who is big enough to love you because of his commitment to you, a God who knows all that is wrong with you and has bought back your life from the pit. Only God can make contentment possible. Only this God can give you the peace you need to be content as you bring the gospel to your children. Pray the prayer below. Teach it to your children. Teach it to yourself! You and I need this every bit as much as our kids do! If you perceive you are […]