The Holy Spirit makes a statement about the uniqueness of God in Psalm 62. It is a simple, straightforward declaration: He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. When David says God alone is his rock and his place of safety, he means just that. God is the only safe place. He is not one option among many possibilities. He is the only option, period. There is no person, place, or thing that can take God’s place. The greatest miscalculation that any person can make is to believe that there are other places of security besides God. This does not mean that we can’t find peace and safety in people, places, or […]
Jay Younts
2263 posts
Why do your children fight? The short answer is, the same reason you do! They fight because they do not have what they want. As adults, we think we have moved beyond childish selfishness, we have developed “mature” reasons for our arguments. However, if you strip away the adult “sophistication” of our arguments, you will find that you are not much different from your children who squabble over a favorite toy. We believe the lie that if we are hurt a robust defense is justified. Getting into a fight seems like the right and necessary and “real” thing to do; we have to protect ourselves! Our kids are like us. The hard truth is that you and I fight because […]
If you love biblically, then your love for others will not be diminished by their failures. When love is all about you, bad things happen. Love must be defined by God, specifically by the work of his son, Jesus. The Holy Spirit tells us that we know what love is by how Jesus loved (1 John 3:16). By looking at Christ we see that love is other-centered and God-centered, not me-centered. This means radical rethinking regarding the nature of love. Love is not about what makes you feel good or happy. Love is dying to your wants, your desires, your dreams. Only by loving Jesus first can anyone experience this sort of love. Thus, genuine love is not consistent with […]
Life is hard. Life brings pain. Moments of happiness and joy fade quickly when darkness comes. When life is hard God calls out to his people, his voice remains strong and sure. It is in this setting that David writes Psalm 27. David has known joy and victory. But he has also known the despair of failure and agony. Some of this has come from the betrayal and manipulation of those closest to him. Some have been self-inflicted. David hears the call to doubt God. He hears the taunts of his oppressors. He hears that he is mocked and his God is mocked. He is tempted to believe that God is unfair. There is a taunt — “God, are you […]
Good writing is a work of connected beauty. Words and thoughts are woven together that build word pictures that can be etched into hearts. No other piece of literature is comparable to the Bible in this regard. When we read we must look for these connections to understand the power of the Spirit’s work. The Bible is the literary masterpiece of all time. Every word is exactly placed to draw the hearts of God’s people to the life that is truly life. It can be dangerous to make connections that are not obvious in the text. But it is equally dangerous to ignore the connections that are there. Like an exquisitely cut diamond, the Bible is a multi-faceted literary gem […]
If we are to live a life that is wise, it is imperative that we understand we have an Enemy who attempts to discredit the wonders of God with counterfeit musings. This discrediting can take the form of misinterpreting the good things that God does. For example, as magnificent as a sunset may be, it is not the ultimate that God does. That ultimate is reserved for heaven and the new earth. But the enemy wants you to think that what you see now is all there is. Also, we have grown accustomed to seeing breathtaking imagery on the big screen. But even these images pale in comparison to the reality of the world that remains unseen to us. Plus, […]
The concept of authority has fallen on hard times. Even Christians become almost apologetic if they exercise authority. The culture around us has made authority to arbitrary and a necessary evil. However, authority is God’s way of caring for the universe and for your family. He ordained authority to be a blessing to all people. In the Bible, God provides the way that authority is to be administered. Yes, authority is to be clear, firm, and direct. But it must be much more than that. More importantly, authority is to be administered with biblical wisdom and care. If authority is to be faithful to God it should demonstrate these seven qualities as given in James 3:17: Pure Peaceable Gentle Open […]
Those who manipulate often masquerade as lovers. Apparent care and concern are a tempting lure for those who are hurting and vulnerable. But the heart of a manipulator is really the heart of an abuser. Once someone commits to the masquerade, the care that appeared to be love morphs into the servitude of enslavement. The changes begin subtly. But the reality is that they were always present. Biblical love cannot be duplicated, only mimicked. Learn the true characteristics of love so that you can recognize the true intent of masquerading manipulators. Biblical love that is genuine will not be diminished by your failures. A manipulator will at first appear to tolerate or dismiss your shortcomings. He or she may even […]
Parenting is exhausting. When the day is done, parents are weary not only because of the trials of the day just finished, but also weary because tomorrow is just a few hours away. In this in-between time, the exhaustion reaches its peak. Well-meaning advice and stress-reducing plans offer little consolation. Even Bible verses may seem disconnected from the pressures of getting ready for tomorrow. Perhaps the most discouraging realization is knowing that in the morning you will wake up as wiped out as you are now. Isaiah 55:8 reminds us that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and that his ways are not our ways. Weariness tends to overtake us when we see life’s responsibilities and burdens in isolation from […]
Rahab. Ruth. Deborah. Jael. Esther. Mary. Each of these women faced a moment in time when they had to choose faith over fear. Each was alone before her God. Each faced huge physical and emotional consequences for the choices they made. Yet not one of them so much as hesitated. They were all in with what God called them to do. They were and are role models faith, courage, and passion. Faith Each of these women was shaped by their faith. And for each one of them, that faith was shaped by raw, intimate encounters with the living God. Each woman knew in her heart that God could be trusted. They knew that following God in the face of danger […]