“While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and lying face down on the ground in front of the Temple of God, a very large crowd of people from Israel—men, women, and children—gathered and wept bitterly with him.” (Ezra 10:1, NLT) After years of exile in Babylon, Artaxerxes, king of Persia, decreed that any of the people of Israel who desired were free to return their homeland. Ezra, a priest and scribe, led a group of fellow Jews back to Jerusalem. Their journey took four months, but they were finally in the land God had given them long ago. What…
I’ve talked to several people in the last few months that are in tough situations. Problems with their finances, their children, their marriages, addictions, you name it. What has shocked me in every instance is their lack of desperation. They’re complaining, crying, and even asking for help…but they really don’t want to make a change. So much so that I wonder if they’ve grown attached to their pain. It has tagged along for so long that it’s become their pet. They feed it, water it, and complain because it’s not house-trained yet, but they’ve come to see it as their new reality. Seriously, it’s scary. So the next time I hear, “I just don’t know what to do anymore, I can’t continue living like this…” I’m going to ask this question: “What are you going to do about it?” It’s the same question I would pose to you. Zacchaeus was a tax collector. The Bible says that he was “chief among publicans.” He was high ranking and very rich. Jesus was passing through Jericho, and this very rich tax collector was desperate to see him. There was just one small problem. He was short. Too short to see above the…
“Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.” Psalm 139:13-16, MSG He knows everything about us…and still loves us. He knew everything about us before we were born. He saw all of our sin and all of the times that we would fail Him, and He still came down to redeem our imperfect, flailing souls. Our society demands perfection, but God just demands honesty and openness. He can work with our failures, as long as we continually bring them to the foot of the Cross. The only way we ruin our chances is to stop coming to Him. King David was awestruck by this concept: “I…
“A talebearer revealeth secrets; but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter” (Proverbs 11:13). In the information age that we live in, it seems as if there are no secrets anymore—especially when it comes to the personal lives of those in the public eye. In the past, the magazines or other news media that exposed private (and often humiliating or embarrassing) details of people’s lives were considered tabloids and frowned upon by other respectable news outlets. But not anymore. The boundary lines of decency have been erased, and it is a race between all the news media…
James Hastings wrote, “According to recognized aero technical tests, the bumblebee cannot fly because of the shape and weight of its body in relation to the total wing area. The bumblebee doesn’t know this, so he goes ahead and flies anyway.” A person who walks by faith and the bumblebee have much in common. Neither should be able to function by rational standards, yet they are somehow able to soar above the facts and naysayers. If the bumblebee listened to the limitations posed on him by those who think they know it all, he would be no more than an insect, crawling on the ground. Eking out an existence amid the dirt, debris, and rocks, with earthworms as his companions. Instead, he defies science, flutters his wings, and buzzes from flower to flower. Butterflies, bright sunshine, and soft breezes are his domain. Oh, what a difference a little faith makes. Faith in God and hope for a better tomorrow lift us above the dreariness of today into a realm of light and laughter. Regardless of how your circumstances may appear or what the doctor says or your accountant or your employer, God is on the throne. “Now unto him that…
“I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul.” Psalms 31:7 Have you ever felt at any point in your life that no one cared? I know, it sounds like such a cliche, but I can say that I have felt so weighed down by the cares of life that it did seem like no one cared. This was obviously not the case, as I have always been surrounded by an amazing circle of family and friends; however, in those moments of anguish and confusion, you feel completely alone and isolated. In those seasons of life when we feel absolutely and utterly alone in our struggles, God is with us. All the nights you silently wept into your pillow, He was right there with you. He surrounds you always and cares so much for you. He cares about the anguish of your soul, and He wants to comfort you. When you are distressed, He cares. When you are broken and hurt, He cares. When life is just too overwhelming and you are struggling to cope, He cares. He wants to hide you under the…