Author Archives: Steve

Taking the Long Way to the Promised Land – Genesis 46:3-4

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promisedland“I am God, the God of your father, the voice said. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make your family into a great nation. I will go with you down to Egypt, and I will bring you back again” (Genesis 46:3-4, NLT).

Due to a great famine in the land and at the behest of Pharoah and the prime minister of Egypt, Jacob’s son, Joseph, Jacob (Israel) and all his family, which included his eleven sons and their wives and children, moved from Canaan to Egypt.

Their first stop on their journey was at Beersheba, so named 200 years earlier by Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham, who lived in the area for a long time (vs. 21:34). In a night vision God reaffirmed His covenant with Jacob, but in a peculiar way. God promised He would make Israel a great nation in Egypt and then bring them out of Egypt to live once again in the land of Canaan. So, they went to Egypt as a tribe of seventy people (vs. 27) and left Egypt as a nation of quite possibly more than two million people (see Exodus 12:37, 38:26, six hundred thousand men, not counting women and children)!

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Pursued By Love – Psalm 23

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ShepherdandSheep“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever” (vs. 6).

This well-known psalm of David describes how God watches over and cares for His people like a shepherd for his sheep.

It was a common analogy for people in this culture in David’s time to view rulers as shepherds. But the Psalmist raises the stakes with his analogy by declaring that the Lord not only watches over and cares for His flock, but He also pursues them with His unfailing love.

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Living Like It Matters for Eternity – Matthew 25

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vigilanceWe live in the time between the first and second comings of Jesus. It’s a time when we are joined to Jesus by His Spirit but awaiting his final coming. At His coming we will dwell in His personal presence. When Christ appears for the second time, those in Christ who are dead will be raised and along with those who are living in Christ will be transformed to share in the reality of the new heavens and earth where God personally dwells.

To live effectively and productively in this present age, Christians should be focused on eternity while making the most of the life they have in this present world.

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The Fury of God’s Salvation – Psalm 18:1,3,6,16

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GodRescues“I love you, Lord; you are my strength…I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,and he saved me from my enemies…But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears…He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters” (Psalm 18:1,3,6,16, NLT).

This psalm describes how God will move heaven and earth to save those who love Him. David, the psalmist, entitled this as a song to the Lord when He rescued David from Saul and all his enemies.

The psalm first expressed David’s love for God and his assurance that God was His protector. When David called out to God for help, God heard him from His sanctuary in heaven where He resides and rushed to his aid.

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Shine! – Matthew 5:14-16, Part 4: Clandestine Christians

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light-under-a-basket“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16, NASB).

Are you a Light-Under-A-Basket Christian? A Clandestine Christian? A good gal or guy but people don’t know why?

A lot of Christians are Clandestine Christians. They want to conceal the fact that they are Christians because it might be uncomfortable for them or others . More often than not, I am! And, sometimes, maybe you are too…

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“Leadership” According To Jesus – Matthew 20:26-27

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serving-people“Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave” (Matthew 20:26-27, NLT).

Jesus told His disciples in private of His impending death and resurrection. In Matthew each prediction of Jesus’ suffering is connected to instruction about discipleship in light of suffering.

After the private meeting with His disciples, the mother of James and John came to Jesus and requested that her sons sit at Jesus’ right and left hands in His Kingdom. Jesus replied that was a decision made by the Heavenly Father.

When the other disciples heard of the request, they were indignant and probably argued among themselves. Jesus then called them together and defined the primary qualification for leadership in His Kingdom: a leader must be a servant.

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Big Problems? Little Faith! – Matthew 17:19-20

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faith mustard seed“Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not drive it out?’ And He said to them, ‘Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” (Matthew 17:19-20, NASB).

A man with a demon-possessed son came to Jesus and asked Him to cast out the demon. The man explained that he had brought his son to Jesus’ disciples but they couldn’t cast out the demon. Jesus rebuked His disciples’ for their failure to trust Him and his saving and healing power (vs. 17).

Later the disciples asked Jesus why they couldn’t cast out the demon. In the NASB, Jesus describes their inability to cast out the demon using an unusual explanation–“because of the littleness of your faith.”

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Why Things Happen Like They Do – Job 37:13

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crossroads-2“He makes these things happen either to punish people or to show his unfailing love.” (Job 37:13, NLT).

During Elihu’s discourse to Job, Elihu counseled Job to proclaim God’s majesty and the greatness of God’s providential action in His creation rather than questioning God’s judgment and justice by proclaiming his own righteousness.

God is sovereign and He wants His good plans and purposes to be accomplished. God is greater than evil and can even use the evil actions of Satan and human beings to accomplish His good purposes.

So the same act by God can serve multiple causes–judgment and love. God’s redemptive action in His creation and in our individual lives may provide for our correction; it may enable his plans and purposes; or maybe it’s just because God is good to us that He causes things to happen the way they do!

If you are a child of God, you can be assured that God is working His will for your good and your good for His will.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28, NLT)

An Offer You Can’t Refuse – Genesis 17:1-2

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offeryoucantrefuse“When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, I am God Almighty. Live in My presence and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly” (Genesis 17:1-2, ESV).

Thirteen years after Ishmael’s birth, God again appeared to Abram, whom He renamed as Abraham during this appearance. In these verses God calls Himself “El Shaddai,” for which the meaning is unknown, but its translation as “God Almighty” is based on a tradition going back more than two thousand years.

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The Secret Practice of Discipleship – Matthew 6:1-18

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Secret-Prayer“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven…Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you” (Matthew 6:1, 4, NLT).

When we practice the spiritual disciplines of giving, praying, and fasting we are cultivating a quality of life that helps us develop an authentic relationship with God.

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