“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” (Genesis 2:2-3, ESV) Do you have a “usual” Sunday schedule? Mine begins with spending time in the house of God (a priority), followed by a good meal, and then an afternoon nap. Sometimes my day will include relaxing and chatting with a friend, either in person or…
“He appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever.” (II Chronicles 20:21) What do you do when you are under attack and greatly outnumbered by the enemy? King Jehoshaphat found himself and the people of Judah in just such a situation. They were outnumbered and he knew it. Worse still, he had no answer. He called for the entire nation to come together and fast as he did the only thing possible—seek God. “For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us: neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.” (II Chronicles 20:12) The battle plan as given by God was not for the faint of heart. It did not involve vast numbers of highly trained forces or the latest in weaponry. In those days there was certainly no air force, tanks, or missiles. What God asked Jehoshaphat to do would be considered foolhardy and suicidal by any military leader today. Jehoshaphat called out the choir! The people were to sing their way to victory. No, the choir…
And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. (Mark 6:31, NKJV) A friend is going through a stressful time right now. While dealing with her own health issues, she is also the primary caregiver for another family member. She is stressed and struggling. Sometimes there is no easy solution. Since we don’t live close and I can only offer encouragement from afar, I keep reminding her that self-care is important. A couple I know is carrying a heavy load in their ministry. They live in a very unstable and dangerous part of the world. Caring for the people they serve and trying to keep everyone safe weighs heavily upon them. Although they realized they needed rest, they felt guilty about taking time away. Then God spoke to them and said, “If you do not come apart, you will fall apart.” Stress. None of us live without it, but we each face different circumstances. We may experience change (relocation, marriage, employment), loss (death, finances, broken relationships), or uncertainties about the future. Even happy events, such as…
But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62, NKJV) When I see someone who has turned back from serving God—taken their “hand off the plow”—I always want to ask: What happened? Why did you return to things you once left behind? What distracted you, enticed you, or pulled you back? How did you allow this to happen? We’ve seen it happen to friends and perhaps even within our own family. We worshiped with them and worked together in various ministries of the…
“Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.” (Matthew 8:8, ESV) Matthew 8 tells the story of a Roman centurion with a big request for Jesus. The man’s beloved servant was extremely ill. Having heard about Jesus, he believed the Teacher could heal his servant. In the eyes of society, the centurion was “higher up” than Jesus. After all, he was part of the ruling forces stationed in Israel. Jesus was an itinerate teacher with numerous followers but also many detractors. Why should the centurion feel unworthy? But he did. The Roman said to Jesus, “I am not worthy for you to come to my house, but You can just speak the words and my servant will be healed.” Jesus could have replied, “You’re right. You aren’t worthy of my attention. You’re not a Jew; you’re a Roman soldier.” Instead, the Lord declared that the man had “great faith” and healed his servant. Thankfully, the Lord does not judge our…
“But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the LORD. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the LORD by sailing to Tarshish.” (Jonah 1:3, NLT) God chose Jonah for a special assignment, but the result was one very unhappy prophet. We know little about the man except his name and his father’s name, but we are all familiar with his story. It’s a favorite of children, but the lessons within this short four-chapter book of the Bible are definitely for adults too. God instructed Jonah to go to Nineveh and give them a special message from the Lord. Nineveh (near modern-day Mosul, Iraq) was large, affluent, and wicked. Cruelly wicked. This was not a place the prophet would choose to intentionally visit. The Assyrians were Israel’s enemy. east . . . or west? God said go east (approximately 500 miles from his homeland). Instead, Jonah quickly turned west and determined to go as far as possible in that direction. He ran from God’s mission. But bad decisions often come with bad consequences. In…