“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” (Luke 15:4, KJV) We would complain if we worked all of the required hours and our employer only gave us half the agreed-upon salary. Yet, many Christians give God 99 percent when He asks for total commitment. How does God feel when His children only give part of themselves instead of all? Do we tend to give God the leftovers rather than the main course?…
“The Lord satisfies us each morning with His unfailing love so that we may sing for joy to the end of our lives” (Psalm 90:14) When we rise in the morning, “Give me Jesus.” As we go through the day, exciting or mundane, “Give me Jesus.” At the end of our days on earth, we can sing for joy with a feeble voice, “Give me Jesus.” Jesus’ love never fails, and we will never regret living our days for Him–He always satisfies! We do not have to fear or feel anxious when we trust the Lord. Isaiah 41:13 states, “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand saying unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee.” We can trust that He will guide and help us. Like a child holding the hand of her Daddy, we can trust that He won’t lead us down the wrong path. Even if that path looks unfamiliar, untraveled, rugged, and filled with obstacles – Jesus is there to hold our hand and promises to help us! We have amazing promises from God’s Word in Isaiah, chapters 40-41: He promises to make the crooked places straight and bring the mountains low. In…
“For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone” (Psalm 86:10, KJV). Con·text (‘kän-,tekst): “the circumstances that form the setting for a statement or idea, by which it can be fully understood and assessed; the parts that immediately precede or follow a word or passage and help to clarify its meaning.” Information is shared through words. A sentence or paragraph’s full meaning and intent are not just the sum of the words and their definitions. More importantly, it must also include consideration of the setting surrounding the text—or the context. We can often guess the definition of an unfamiliar word by looking at its use in context. Likewise, words taken out of context may convey a meaning significantly different than what was originally intended by the speaker or author. It is said that the three most important things to consider to interpret a Scripture text accurately are: context, context, context. Consider the word selah. It is a word in Scripture that stands alone. It’s a complete idea all by itself—a one-word imperative. Its surrounding context does not impact it as it doesn’t depend on other words to clarify its meaning. The word is repeated many times in…
It’s time. We have come to that season of our lives when it’s time to sort through our stash—the accumulation of a lifetime. To throw out the trash, discard the broken and useless, donate what we no longer need, and keep what we can’t live without. We are peeling back our fingers to release the death grip we’ve had on our Stuff—and distilling it all down to what we can reasonably contain within the walls of our home. Some people do this regularly; some never do. But, for me and my house, it’s time to declutter—in preparation for the next…
“Altared” – the devotional title is not a typo. Research data shows the percentage of regular church-goers is diminishing weekly, so congregations have upped their marketing game to get the unchurched masses through their doors. First-time visitors get bags of gifts, while church services are designed to offer comfort and convenience—“no purchase necessary.” Happy faces, beaming from church billboard ads, extend an unreserved welcome with almost giddy enthusiasm: “Everyone is someone special! Come as you are!” Some folks take that to mean, “Come in your pajamas if you want!” And some do, as they stream through the doors singing “Just as I am.” The problem is not the church making sinners feel welcome—it is when it makes them feel comfortable. As-is. When the marching orders given at the end of the service are simply “As you were. Feel free to hit the reset button on your way out.” Leaving the lost unchanged. Unmended. Unmoved. “Unaltared.” When the church lets you come broken and lets you leave as you came, then the church has let you down. The church is not a cocktail lounge—where we occasionally relax, enjoy live music that gives us good feelings, and have our emotions lightly stirred…
“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” Daniel 1:8 “If it is important to you, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.” – Ryan Blair” When I saw this quote, I thought of the story of Daniel. He was just a young man when taken captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with other children who were part of the king’s family. The king of Babylon selected these children, to be educated because of their physical appearance, and their knowledge and understanding. The Bible does not tell us anything about Daniel’s life before this, but because of how he conducted himself in this new environment, we can be sure that he had been taught about God and the necessity to obey His commandments and to live a clean, pure life. Now he found himself having to make some important decisions. He could have reasoned in his heart that he was in a different country, and so he should forget about what he had…