“How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert! Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.” (Psalm 78:40-41, NKJV) Psalm 78 records the faithfulness of God to His people. But this same psalm also records the actions of a…
But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.” (I Samuel 15:22, NLT) Saul, the first king of Israel, began well. His…
“For exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another.” (Psalm 75:6-7, NKJV) Two men. Two very different motivations. They lived in the same city and crossed paths often. We find their stories in the Book of…
For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me. (Psalm 18:39, ESV) What do we do when the enemy comes at us full force? What kind of battle plan do we make when things look bleak and we are outnumbered?…
“A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.” (Proverbs 14:30, ESV) Having a tranquil heart is a good way to live. It sounds peaceful, calm, serene. But often life is not as tranquil as we would like because other things creep in—things that tear…
“I am who I am.” There are no more important words than these spoken by God. All other words in the Bible are only important because these words are true. In Exodus 3, God manifested Himself to Moses in a burning bush, so He could manifest Himself through Moses as…
Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible was an art exhibition that displayed 197 works from the Renaissance period to present day. The exhibit addressed the question of when a work of art is finished. On display were art pieces in various stages of completion leaving behind traces of the artistic process. The…
The greatest obstacle preventing the Israelites from escaping Egypt and entering the Promised Land wasn’t Pharaoh and his vast army. It wasn’t the daunting Red Sea or the fortified Canaanite cities. The greatest obstacle to the fulfillment of God’s promise was the grumbling of God’s people. Grumbling gives voice to…
Gratitude is the gateway to the miraculous. We can learn to give thanks before our miracle by applying the lessons in thanksgiving modeled by Jesus. Thank God for Providing “He took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and…