This is a short story of two young men with two radically different views of the same treasure. One thought he could not live without the treasure and one who knew could not live with it. This is the choice is still relevant: should you live for what you can see or for what you can’t see? Moses, as a young man, was offered all the treasures of ancient Egypt. They were the best his world had to offer. Power, possessions, prestige — they were all his. All he had to do was be passive and enjoy the providential circumstances that were literally dropped in his lap. But he said no to all of that. Instead, he believed disgrace for […]
Worship
People are designed for worship. Specifically, God made you and me for the express purpose of worshipping him. Praise is an action of worship where people repeat back to God all the great things he is and has done. Psalm 103 describes it this way: Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. David is saying praise should flow from the deepest parts of who we are. We do best, we function best, when the praise of God defines us. The converse is also true: when you and I don’t live […]
People are designed to live in continuous praise of the wonder of God. After the fall, man failed to live as he was intended. Instead of praise, self-focus and personal pleasure take center stage. Sin feeds on the desire for immediate pleasure. That is why a child can go from seeming bliss to outrage in an eye blink. One moment everything is fine. Then he sees his brother with a toy that he wants and he immediately erupts with a howl of outrage. Why? Because he doesn’t have what he wants, what he thinks he deserves. God wants his people to live a life of praise. Complaining and grumbling are not compatible with praise. The Bible teaches that God is […]
You may think you know exactly who your enemy is. Your enemy is your unhappy spouse. Your enemy is your stubborn teenager. Your enemy is your ungrateful boss. Your enemy is your friend who said something you don’t like. Your enemy is the economy or the job market. Your enemy is your sickness. Your parents are your enemy. In short, you may think life is your enemy. The truth is that most of the time you are wrong. You are likely to believe the enemy is the people and circumstances you encounter. When this happens your energy is spent fighting the wrong target! You need God’s wisdom to identify your actual enemy, otherwise, you become like the fool in Proverbs […]
Dear Father, My dreams are too small, my desires too selfish, my actions too sinful. My focus and, too often, my prayers are about what I think is best. Father, you know my weak heart and doubting faith. I pray you would give me the courage to see that my life is about Christ. I need to follow his life and love you as he did on earth. I pray my life would be about adding to your reputation. I pray my focus would be consumed by showing gratitude for the grace and mercy given to me. Help me to make you attractive in the eyes of those who know me. Father, I confess that my energy is too often […]
Love is about showing God’s grace to those whom you love, regardless of the price to you. Love is living out the beauty of Jesus Christ. Love is how other people see the uniqueness of Christianity in you. Love is selfless, sacrificial. Love remembers good and not the last offense. Love’s voice speaks gentle, pleasant, solid words. Love is focused on God’s glory. Love does not run from fear but overcomes fear. Love means being vulnerable. Love does not demand praise. Love is quiet. Love gives. Love honors. Love is content. If you believe you are always unfairly treated, if you believe that you are not respected enough, you are not engaging in the Spirit’s love. You seek your own […]
Would you risk your life and the lives of your children to come to church this Sunday? It is a serious question! For William Bradford, the answer was yes. Bradford was 33 years old. He was the leader of a group of people who sailed for a new life in the new world. The group experienced famine, cold and sickness. Yet, Bradford, called everyone together for thanksgiving and worship. 495 years ago, Governor Bradford proclaimed that Thursday, November 29th, 1623 would be a day of Thanksgiving and corporate worship. This day marked the third year since these pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. Over half of their group died in the brutal first year of their new colony. Why did they […]
Worship starts with humility. Worship must be consumed with whom you worship. If your worship focuses upon how blessed you feel doing worship then your experience becomes the object of worship. This is not only a bad idea, it is a sinful insult to God. Worship must be grounded in humility. You and I are indeed people with unclean lips. Humility is a response to God’s greatness, power and holiness. Worship is a response to greatness. When you consider who God is, you cannot help but bow before him. If you are not blown away by the greatness of God, you are thinking too much of yourself. Worship is a response to power. When you consider that God holds your […]
On a Thursday evening, 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ celebrated the last Passover. This meal marked the fulfillment of the promise made to Eve in the garden. In one meal Jesus ended the symbolism and types the Old Covenant and established the New Covenant. The next day, Good Friday, Christ, himself, would become the Passover Lamb. After 33 years of perfect obedience, less than a day remained of his time on earth. It would be a time of crushing temptation and agony. Everything that Christ had accomplished in his life came down to these final hours. Being the perfect God-man Jesus knew he would bear the weight of my sin, my ugliness. He knew he would endure his Father’s terrible, […]
God is special simply and profoundly because he is God. He is unsearchable. He turns to no one for help or advice. He is in no one’s debt. No one calls him to account. All things are because he is. He died for the unworthy, the unlovable, the ungrateful. He became sin so that his people would live. He is three persons and one God. It is this special God who sent his Son to die for me because it pleased him to do so. He is my Shepherd. I have no needs. He is my savior, I have no words. Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his […]