One of the Christian platitudes that I find most irritating is “God will not give you more than you can handle.” Try telling that to Gideon and the 300 men with him as they moved toward a battle with the entire Midian army. Try telling that to Job who, in addition to experiencing the loss of health, wealth and family, had to endure the empty and sometimes harsh words of his so-called friends.
Quarterbacks, kings and the rest of us
Alex Smith is unlikely to play quarterback in the Superbowl this Sunday. What can we learn from the way that Alex has handled his transition from starter to back-up?
On gadflies and prophets in the church
The prophets in Israel had the job of confronting the king to speak God’s word into his life. The “gadflies” in the church do the same. Leaders need to listen to them and not simply label them as troublemakers.
Faithfulness – The currency of God’s economy
God has called us to faithfulness and to leave the results in his hands. King Saul provides an example of one who did not understand this.
Speed dialing with no signal – Dealing with frustration in prayer
Recent frustration in prayer seemed to be described in a U2 lyric which speaks of “speed dialing with no signal” What is the solution? Read on for some thoughts on reducing the frustration.
Paths of Righteousness for His Name’s Sake
In Psalm 23:3, King David writes, “he leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” While there is benefit to me in walking a path of righteousness, my benefit is not the primary purpose of God’s leading me. David points to God’s reputation and God’s purpose as the reason for the leading. […]
Enemies of Faithfulness
There are many things that can be listed as potential enemies to faithfulness. For the purpose of this post I have chosen three that I think are significant. These three are: Lack of a prophetic voice Lack of discipline Lack of understanding Lack of a prophetic voice Ravi Zacharias has pointed out that one of […]
If it is spoiled, throw it out
This evening I read 1 Kings 9 where God answers Solomon’s prayer of dedication of the Temple. In 1 Kings 9:8 God tells Solomon that the Temple will become a heap of ruins if Israel and her kings go after other gods and serve them. The thought struck me this evening that the Temple, as […]
Jonathan Gets a Clue
In our never-take-no-for-an-answer, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps culture, perhaps it is difficult to understand Jonathan’s actions in 1 Samuel 20:12-17. We live in a world where self-promotion is expected; encouragement to “look out for #1” is covertly or overtly stated in almost every advertisement. We often look for validation in job titles, paychecks, hit counts and followers. Jonathan […]
Lions and Bears as Training Aids
When David volunteered to confront Goliath to take away the reproach of Israel, Saul questioned David’s preparation for this task. David responds by informing Saul of times when he protected his sheep by killing a lion and a bear (1 Samuel 17:34-36). This story triggered two thoughts as I read it today. First, David was […]