“After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” Nehemiah 4:14 There will always be people who want you to fail. I don’t understand it myself, but some people just hate to see others succeed, and this was the case in the fourth chapter of Nehemiah. They were working tirelessly to complete the wall, and at every turn, they had…
“No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a washtub or shoves it under the bed. No, you set it up on a lamp stand so those who enter the room can see their way. We’re not keeping secrets; we’re telling them. We’re not hiding things; we’re bringing everything out into the open. So be careful that you don’t become misers of what you hear. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes.” Luke 8:16-18 MSG I have two daughters, who at this very moment, are fighting over a cardboard box. The day is winding down, we are all tired, and emotions seem to be running high. The most paramount issue of their young lives is who gets to have the box next. Many outgrow the “everything is mine” stage of their lives and eventually mature into respectful, considerate adults. I remember a few friends that I had in high school, who I thought were Christians of some form. When asked about their beliefs, they quickly became silent and rejected the conversation. Things got awkward, and our discussion abruptly turned to another topic. I was so confused at the time, as I had always been told that the gospel was to be shared.…
“Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” ( Matthew 20:28, NKJV) To truly follow Christ, we should pray for a servant’s heart. A servant is A person employed by another, especially to perform domestic duties. A person in the service of another. And “service” is defined as an act of helpful activity. But, before obtaining a servant’s heart, we need a servant’s mentality. We must die to our flesh and be born again with a servant’s mentality. We serve God because He is God, and to serve Him means to serve people. What do a servant’s heart and a servant’s mentality look like? For our example, we don’t need to look further than the three years of Christ’s ministry recorded in the New Testament. Even though He had great power and all authority, He was not recognized as such by most people during His earthly ministry. In Matthew 20:28, Jesus stated that He came to serve. His entire ministry was serving people by teaching, healing, and feeding everyone who would allow Him to, even those He knew would not follow Him, and those who…
“Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.” Acts 16:25 We sing songs in our worship services quite often about how worship can change a situation, and we proclaim and believe that worship can set us free. This story in Acts is a perfect example of that. Paul and Silas had been severely flogged. They were stripped, beaten, and publicly humiliated, then thrown into a dark and cold prison cell. Their feet were then fastened in stocks and thus began a very uncertain future for these two men. After all…
“Do what I tell you; live what I tell you. I am God.” Leviticus 22:31 MSG I’ve always considered myself to be a great listener, but I now realize that I was only hearing what was being said, and not sincerely listening. There is a profound difference between the two, one is a habit, and the other is intentional. Hearing requires very little effort on our part, but listening forces us to get over ourselves and focus on others. I believe that God speaks to us through His Word, it is inspired and is our road map for life. But in my daily bible reading, it’s too easy to skim and not absorb any of it. I’m hearing what it’s saying, but sometimes I’m not attentively listening to the voice that calls me to go deeper. If we take the time to consciously listen to what His Word is speaking to us, we will recognize that we are being called to live it out. Reading is fantastic (I’m a huge bookworm) but if I don’t properly apply it to my life to better myself and follow His plan, I’m not doing it right. The Word is alive, always in motion and we should…
“From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety” Psalms 61:2 NLT Is there anyone else out there who is afraid of heights? Surely I can’t be the only one whose knees go weak even looking at a picture like the one above. Sure, the view is spectacular, but also breathtakingly terrifying. I have the hardest time to try and wrap my mind around the idea of climbing a rock like that, for fun. My feet do much better planted securely on the ground. I am not naturally drawn to heights, but there are moments in my life when I need to rise above and go a little higher. We all encounter seasons of adversity and struggle, and it can cause us to naturally become overwhelmed. For some, our immediate reaction is to withdrawn and shrink down. When our hearts and spirits are overwhelmed, we can cry out for help to the One who has all the answers and everything we could need. Standing at the bottom of a towering mountain will most likely cause us to feel instantly defeated, but the view and…