Morning Musing: Joshua 2:9-11

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“and [Rahab] said to the men, ‘I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.  For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.  And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.'”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

When we set out to follow God’s lead into new and challenging places, what we often don’t think about is that the place we are going is not new to Him.  He’s been there ahead of us, preparing the ground for our arrival. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Ephesians 4:28

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“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

God’s love moves outward.  That’s its nature.  It exists for the benefit of the other, whoever the other happens to be.  If we think we have love for someone else, but that love is not primarily oriented toward seeing them advanced in the direction of who God made them to be regardless of any benefits such a commitment might have for us, what we have is something other than love.  It might be strong, positive feelings, but it isn’t love. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: 1 Corinthians 2:9

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“But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’–”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

I love this verse.  Here’s how good our God is: We cannot even imagine all the good things he has planned for us.  We cannot even fathom them.  Some of them, perhaps, have not even been invented yet.  And God is prepared for them. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Habakkuk 3:17-18

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“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Have you experienced something disappointing yet today?  Not to start you off on a downer here, but the odds are pretty good that you will.  It may be a small disappointment–the parking space you were really hoping to be able to nab gets filled at the last minute.  It may be a big disappointment–someone close to you fails in some significant way.  Or, more likely, the disappointment will fall somewhere in between these two ends.  Whatever exactly is the extent of the disappointment, you are probably going to face one before the day is out. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: John 11:33

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“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Two verses over from this one is the shortest verse in the Bible: Jesus wept.  Here, we are told He was deeply moved and greatly troubled.  Basically, Jesus was really emotional.  This provides fodder for some theological pondering, which is fine, but it should also be really encouraging for us.  Here’s why. Read the rest…