A Half-Empty Glass – Philippians 4:11-13

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Steve

“I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13, NKJV).

Is the glass half empty or half full? This expression is commonly used as a litmus test to determine an individual’s worldview. Half full expresses optimism and half empty expresses pessimism.

The Apostle Paul seems like a “glass-half-full” type of guy. Unfortunately, I often fall into the “half-empty-glass” camp…

Sure, I try to look at problems as challenges, troubles as opportunities. But hard as I try, problems are just problems, trouble is just trouble. Although I don’t consider myself a pessimist, I try to avoid problems and trouble, not embrace them!

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After the Screaming Stops – Psalm 3, Part 2

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Steve

“Lord, I have so many enemies! So many are standing against me.
So many are talking about me: ‘Even God won’t help him.’
But you, Lord, are my shield! You are my glory!
You are the one who restores me.
I cry out loud to the Lord and he answers me from his holy mountain.
I lie down, sleep, and wake up because the Lord helps me.
I won’t be afraid of thousands of people surrounding me on all sides.
Stand up, Lord!
Save me, my God!
In fact, hit all my enemies on the jaw; shatter the teeth of the wicked!
Rescue comes from the Lord!
May your blessing be on your people!” (Psalm 3:1-8, CEB)

When I was a young child, each summer my parents would send me and my sister to swimming lessons. But, I never really learned to swim from those swimming lessons. My swimming fail may have been due to the philosophy of teaching swimming that was used. The teaching philosophy was something along these lines: Throw them in the water and if they don’t drown, then they will swim!

The way the lessons worked was the lifeguard would show us the swimming stroke and then we would practice it in the shallow end. After practicing for a short time, the lifeguard would take us down to the deep end and make us jump off the diving board and swim to the side…whether we could swim or not!

And when you’re a little kid standing on the diving board, the water below you looks extremely deep and the distance to the side of the pool looks extremely far away!

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Who’s Got Your Back? – Psalm 3, Part 1

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Steve

Have you ever felt like your critics were starting to outnumber your allies? Maybe it seemed that way because some of your former allies turned into critics!

And, then it makes you wonder, “Who’s got my back?” Who’s on my side? Who do I trust when friends become enemies?

Undoubtedly, David felt that way when he wrote this Psalm. Only, he experienced the most extreme form of betrayal, that of his own family, his own son.

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Moving On – Ezekiel 24:15-27

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Steve

“The Lord ’s word came to me: Human one, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you in a single stroke. Don’t mourn or weep. Don’t even let your tears well up. Sigh inwardly; be deathly still. Don’t perform mourning rites, but bind on your turban and put your shoes on your feet. And don’t cover your upper lip or eat in human company” (Ezekiel 24:15-17, CEB).

Like several of the Old Testament prophets, Ezekiel’s prophecies were often intertwined with his personal life. On one occasion God told Ezekiel that his beloved city of Jerusalem was about to be destroyed. Then, God told Ezekiel his wife was about to die!

And if that wasn’t enough bad news, God told Ezekiel not to mourn over his wife’s death and not even to participate in the rituals of grief and mourning that were a part of that ancient culture. Ezekiel was to keep his grief to himself.

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Living Forward – Hebrews 11:24-26

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Steve

“By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter when he was grown up. He chose to be mistreated with God’s people instead of having the temporary pleasures of sin. He thought that the abuses he suffered for Christ were more valuable than the treasures of Egypt, since he was looking forward to the reward” (Hebrews 11:24-26, CEB).

A few years ago I wrote a book entitled, The Kingdom Order: Living for the Future in the Present. It took me 12 chapters and about 250 pages in the book to make the same point about the Christian life that the Hebrews writer makes in these 3 verses describing the godly legacy of Moses.

Like Moses, Christians live life by looking forward to their reward–living forward!

Human beings were created for eternal life! God created people for eternity and eternity is ever present in the life we now live.

So, when you follow Jesus, you start to live life life forward…

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God Is With You. No, God Is In You. – Haggai 1-2

Posted on December 12, 2015 by Steve

“Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave the Lord’s message to the people: I am with you, says the Lord… be strong, all you people of the land, says the Lord… Work, for I am with you, says the Lord” (Haggai 1:13, 2:4, CEB).

The Lord told Haggai to encourage the people to get to work to rebuild the Temple. God encouraged them to get started and reminded them that they were able to do it because He was with them. God reminded them in both chapters of this two-chapter Old Testament book.

Now, God is with us by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. And He has an assignment for each of us that accomplishes His purposes. So, we should be bold and get to work doing His will because “I am with you, says the Lord!”

Here’s the problem: Instead of being bold, we are reticent about doing God’s will. We hesitate because we don’t know what His assignment is for us.

Or we think we don’t know. Or we think we can’t accomplish His assignment for us because it’s so overwhelming.

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God’s Will? Go Figure… – Romans 12:1-2

Posted on November 15, 2015 by Steve

“So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service. Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature” (Romans 12:1-2, CEB).

In this life the only right you truly possess is your right to your self–that is, your will. Your will is the the unique quality of self or being that God has created to make you distinctively human: “The Lord God said, ‘The human being has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil'” (Genesis 3:22, CEB).

In other words, human beings have free will. And, they are free to use their wills to choose good or evil.

You are free to choose how you live your life. You can choose to live according to your own will or you can choose to live according to God’s will.

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The Shining- 2 Corinthians 3:13-18

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Steve

“We aren’t like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the Israelites couldn’t watch the end of what was fading away… All of us are looking with unveiled faces at the glory of the Lord as if we were looking in a mirror. We are being transformed into that same image from one degree of glory to the next degree of glory. This comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:13,18,CEB).

The Old Testament story of Moses’ practice of veiling his face that the Apostle Paul is referencing in these verses is found in Exodus 34:33-35. The Old Testament story is one of my favorites because it’s theologically rich and yet, counter-intuitive.

Moses periodically entered into the presence of God at the Tent of Meeting. When he left the Tent of Meeting and returned to the people, he fastened a veil over his face. It seemed that Moses hid his face so as not to scare the already fearful Israelites with the shining glory of God that was reflected on his face.

But, that’s not really the case!

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Taming the Monster – 1 Timothy 4:7-8

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Steve

“I have fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. At last the champion’s wreath that is awarded for righteousness is waiting for me. The Lord, who is the righteous judge, is going to give it to me on that day. He’s giving it not only to me but also to all those who have set their heart on waiting for his appearance” (1 Timothy 4:7-8, CEB).

Recently, a friend congratulated me for getting a project started that I had been working on for some time–years, actually. He told me that getting this project going was like “taming a monster.”

I appreciated his kind words and encouragement. I was quick to note, however, that it wasn’t due to any exceptional skills I possessed but because of the participation of others with expertise that this project ever got off the ground.

But, I think I do have the spiritual gift of perseverance!

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When Sadness Turns to Joy – Ezra 3:10-13

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Steve

“No one could distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping because the people rejoiced very loudly. The sound was heard at a great distance” (Ezra 3:13, CEB).

When Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, took over a vast territory from the Babylonians in 539 BC, he allowed the Jewish exiles from the Babylonian captivity to begin return to their ancestral land of Judah and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem that had been destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. They returned in several waves beginning in 538 BC.

The returning exiles encountered opposition to the rebuilding of the Temple from the nobles who had taken control of Judea after the exile that were closely related to the aristocracy of Samaria. So, reconstruction came to a halt.

The rebuilding of the Temple was resumed during the reign of Darius. Despite continued harassment by their neighbors, the Judeans persevered in their work. The construction was completed in 515 BC and the re-dedication of the Temple was celebrated with great ceremony.

During the celebration some of the priests, Levites and heads of families who had seen the First Temple wept aloud mourning the First Temple’s destruction. Yet, others shouted with joy at the completion of the construction of the Second Temple.

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