Throughout Scripture we see countless examples of God meeting with man and countless lives being transformed as the result of those encounters.Each morning I read a devotional titled “First Fifteen” by Greg Denison. He comments, “These Scriptural encounters with God are designed to stir our faith and fill us with a desire to meet with our Creator. […]
Last Sunday I was at Auburn Oaks Retirement Community sharing a compelling story from Numbers 20. (FYI – we are blessed to conduct a service the third and fourth Sunday of each month). My intent today is to encourage you to get into this passage and ask the Holy Spirit to unpack for you the […]
Last week we introduced the idea that “for a time” Jesus was perhaps the most popular person in all of Israel (Matthew 4:25). We tied His popularity to the many things He did for the people; healing the sick, feeding the hungry, teaching with divine authority and forgiving the sinner. All of these actions added to His […]
Early on in his ministry Jesus Christ was perhaps the most popular person in all of Israel. Matthew 4:25 comments that “great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem to Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.” What was his popularity tied to? Certainly his ability to heal the sick (Matthew 7:28-29), teach with divine authority (Matthew 7:28-29), and feed massive […]
The persistence of BAD NEWS calls for persistence from those who would make and share GOOD NEWS. The scales desperately need to be balanced, and I think J.J. Watt, NFL Player of the Year and Pro Bowl Defensive Star is doing just that. Watt has been a powerful force behind reconstruction efforts in Texas after […]
I hope you have this day off from your routine Monday labors and can make a wonderful memory with family and friends. Whose way is most effective…yours or His? We all know the story of Moses and his initial efforts to free the children of Israel as found in Exodus 2:12. The truth is Moses […]
What effect does YOUR Christian faith have on YOUR interactions with others? That really is THE question isn’t it! I remind myself of what Josh McDowell said years ago, “If you were on trial…accused of being a follower of Christ…would there be enough evidence to convict you? Now that is convicting! There are some people […]
Last week we were chatting about the value of listening to the Lord, and then making obedience to His Word our top priority. We considered passages from Luke, Joshua and Exodus (nets, walls and a staff). The truth is…it is dangerous to refuse to listen to God and obey his directives. In fact we read […]
Despite Peter’s vast fishing experience, he returned from a night’s work with nothing to show for his efforts. It’s quite possible that the Lord’s request to let the nets down one more time (Luke 5:1-6) struck him as unreasonable, after all Peter and his partners were the professionals. Never-the-less, the “fisherman” complied, and his obedience was rewarded […]
Can you trust God? Can we confidently trust in His promises? Even the most mature Christ follower has moments of doubt as they walk through life. Our experiences, and the experiences of those around us can cause us to question the motives and methods of God. However, one of the greatest truths about our great […]
