It’s God’s Grace, Stupid! – Deuteronomy 9:5-6

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Steve

“You are not going to take possession of their land because of your righteousness or your integrity. Instead, the Lord your God will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness, in order to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people” (Deuteronomy 9:5-6, HCSB).

First, let me say that I’m not calling you (the reader) stupid. So please don’t be offended by the title. Rather, these are the words that I’m imagining Moses would have really liked to declare to the Israelites after their forty-year wandering in the wilderness.

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Life’s Not Fair – Ecclesiastes 9:11-12

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Steve

“Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, or bread to the wise, or riches to the discerning, or favor to the skillful; rather, time and chance happen to all of them. For man certainly does not know his time: like fish caught in a cruel net or like birds caught in a trap, so people are trapped in an evil time as it suddenly falls on them” (Ecclesiastes 9:11-12, HCSB).

In a previous post I remarked that the Teacher, the writer of Ecclesiastes, is a deep thinker that has tried everything in life. If he hasn’t tried it, then he has at least thought about it.

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Seize the Day – Deuteronomy 1:8

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Steve

“Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants” (Deuteronomy 1:8, NLT).

To prepare the Israelites for the conquest of Canaan, Moses reminded them of life in Egypt, of the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, and of their past fearfulness that resulted in disobedience to God and rebellion against His promises.

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God’s Know-It-Alls – Proverbs 28:5

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Steve

“Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand everything” (Proverbs 28:5, HCSB).

Those who seek and know God bear the unique responsibility of assimilating God’s spiritual kingdom, the Kingdom of God, into the reality in which they live because they are residents of both realms—the present created order and the future spiritual order.

But we live, think, and experience the world in which we live through our five senses. Unfortunately, according to the order of this world, if you cannot see it, hear it, touch it, feel it, or smell it, then it does not exist.

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Extreme Makeover – Luke 6:27-36

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Steve

“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36, ESV).

Jesus told His disciples to love their enemies, do good and pray for those who hate and mistreat them, and give without expecting anything in return, even if someone is stealing from them.

Seems pretty radical doesn’t it?

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Religion or Relationship – Luke 6:1-11

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Steve

^“And Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?'” (Luke 6:9, ESV).

Luke 6:1-5 describes how once when Jesus and His disciples were walking through grain fields on a Sabbath, some of His disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain.

Some Pharisees considered plucking grain on the Sabbath as forbidden work and challenged Jesus on the matter. The penalty for profaning the Sabbath was death (Exodus 31:14), so this was a pretty serious charge made against Jesus’ disciples by the Pharisees.

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The Great Cover-Up – Exodus 25:8-22

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Steve

“Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them…Have the people make an Ark of acacia wood…place inside it the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, which I will give to you. Then make the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—from pure gold…Then make two cherubim from hammered gold, and place them on the two ends of the atonement cover…Place inside the Ark the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, which I will give to you…I will meet with you there and talk to you from above the atonement cover between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of the Covenant. From there I will give you my commands for the people of Israel” (Exodus 25:8-22, NLT).

After God gave Moses the law, He proceeded to describe the plans for the Tabernacle and its furnishings so the Israelites could construct a place where God could abide among His people.

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Youth Ministry for the Mature – Psalm 71:17-18

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Steve

“God, You have taught me from my youth, and I still proclaim Your wonderful works. Even when I am old and gray, God, do not abandon me. Then I will proclaim Your power to another generation, Your strength to all who are to come” (Psalm 71:17-18, HCSB)

WANTED: MATURE PEOPLE FOR YOUTH MINISTRY!

That’s the message contained in these verses. The Psalmist exclaims that God needs him for youth ministry even though he is an old man.

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Trouble Along the Way – Acts 14:6

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Steve

“And there they kept evangelizing” (Acts 14:6, HCSB).

This is one of those days when I get to the end of the day and find myself really weary. Some would say “weary from well-doing,” though I question how much “well” I’m really “doing.”

I’ll spare you the details of all my troubles because as hard as I think I have it, my troubles pale in comparison to the troubles encountered by Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13 and 14, who were undertaking the task God had assigned them.

In Acts 13:2 God sent Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey: “The Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work I have called them to.'”

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Fortunate Misfortunes – Psalm 66:10-12

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Steve

“For You, God, tested us; You refined us as silver is refined. You lured us into a trap; you placed burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but You brought us out to abundance” (Psalm 66:10-12, HCSB).