I love the lessons that we learn from babies. Their nature is completely raw and laid bare as they express their feelings. How often does a toddler require assurance that they are safe? I have often observed young children happily playing only to suddenly express worry and cry out looking for their parents. The child is longing for the assurance that they are safe and that help is readily available. This same need for assurance can be seen in the behavior of a newborn puppy who is eagerly playing one moment and in an instant they are looking about them making sure that their owner is at hand. There is an inherent need found with in all of creation for security, rest and peace. As we grow up we continue to seek out assurance that we are safe. Many times the item we seek out for assurance becomes an idol that doesn’t truly give any lasting security, rest or peace. Continue Reading…
Lesson from the life of a toddler and the joy of a puppy: Psalm 28
When the way is unclear and hope is fleeting: Psalm 10
Lord, remember me! Lord remember those who are cast down by the wicked, remember the pain endured by the oppressed and remember the faithfulness that You have displayed time and time again. The heart of David in Psalm 10 pleads for God’s help for the downtrodden in the face of trouble. When wickedness prospers and and the righteous are tossed aside in the gutters of life, where is God Almighty? Does it sometimes seem that your life goes unseen before God? Do you wonder if your life is too insignificant for God to care about? Psalm 9 is a plea for God to arise and defend the defenseless. David knows that the wicked detest God and he is resting in the fact that God will bring justive to the helpless. Help is found in God alone. Continue Reading…
Dependance in the face of deadly opposition: Psalm 3
Where did David turn for help when he was hunted by his son Absalom? 2 Samuel details the calamity that came upon David from within his own family when Absalom desired to kill him and take the throne of Israel. How would you react if one of your children desired to see you killed? In Psalms 3 we find out how David endured his time of exile as his son sought to kill him.
Though the adversaries all around David increased and their counsel proclaimed that no help could be found in God, David chose to cling to God for his help and hope. God was the shield and glory of David. Do you have the faith and confidence to run to God when you face insurmountable obstacles? Continue Reading…
Courage to live a life of faithfulness: 2 Chronicles 15 and 16
What effect does the passage of time have upon a legacy? Can you live life based upon how your faith and dependance upon God was at one time in your past? In 2 Chronicles 15 and 16 Asa is king over Judah and God has delivered Judah from the armies of Israel and Ethiopia in the first years of his reign. As the people of Judah placed their hope in God alone, put away their idols, and turned wholeheartedly to God they were blessed. Did they know how blessed they were in these moments?
“Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. For many days Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law. But in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him and He let them find Him. Continue Reading…
Impact of sin versus impact of faith in life: 2 Samuel 21 and 22
How do our actions today shape the lives of our descendants?Do choices change how our life is played out? When I choose to act sinfully or choose to follow God how will those choices change the course life? Can we truly know how our choices shape our lives? When I placed my faith and trust in Jesus Christ I started a journey where my life would be changed and transformed by the indwelling Holy Spirit. How does that work? I am completely clueless as to how and why God chooses to work this transformation in my life but I am confident that the change that is occurring is not sourced in my strength and abilities. Continue Reading…
Provision for a fast food sex saturated world: Leviticus 17 and 18
Lord,
Open these eyes to see your glory. I sit in the torrent of life and I feel beaten and bruised by all the concerns of life. Oh how easy it is to get consumed with the swirling waters around me and not focus on you. Open my heart, mind, and soul as I read Leviticus 17 and 18 today Lord. I need your help to heal my heart. I submit to you now and forever, Amen.
Throughout Leviticus I am constantly reminded about how inadequate humanity is inherently. In chapter 17 God commands the people of Israel to stop sacrificing animals to other gods like the people of Egypt. People needed to bring their offering to the tabernacle to sacrifice to God as a peace offering. In chapter 18 God restates some of the 10 commandments in greater detail regarding how people can relate to each other. After reading these two chapters I feel saddened and a little depressed. Continue Reading…
Pain from a far as I pray for people at Virginia Tech
Why… I am crushed to hear of all the pain and death that happened today at Virginia Tech. In my life I have wondered why does this happen. Today is no different. Sin is alive in the world and God ordains or allows things to happen for His greater good. That is little consolation to the families and friends of this victims but all the same God is still there. May God sustain the people of Virginia Tech tonight as they cling to what hope they have. May they find hope and assurance in God.
