“Hear, O my people, while I admonish you! O Israel, if you would but listen to me!” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Do you listen to God? I don’t know about you, but I can pretty easily find myself in a rut of talking to God a lot, but not stopping to listen very often. I can get into a pattern of reading God’s word every day because I’m supposed to (especially as a pastor!), but not paying very close attention to what He might want to say to me through it. Let’s just call it what it is: Listening to God is tough. Read the rest…
“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
It is popular nowadays to talk about the all-encompassing power and importance of love. We are sometimes led to believe that if we do nothing other than love each other, our lives will be perfectly harmonious and the world will have all of its problems resolved. But, while love is certainly the chief of the virtues–there’s no question on that fact in the Scriptures–contrary to popular theology and the Beatles popular song, love is not all we need. Read the rest…
In this fourth part of our series in Esther, Stand Up: How to Fight Injustice, we finally get to the action Esther takes to battle the gross injustice facing the Jewish people in Persia. But, the exact nature of her action really isn’t all that important. Rather, it’s how she goes about it that matters most. Keep reading to see just what it is she does that makes her plan so effective.
Stand with Humility
I was born in what some would call the Golden Age of cartoons. While they weren’t making new episodes, I had all the classic Looney Toons shows available to me. But I came of cartoon age with the truly classic versions of Batman, Superman, Justice League, the X-Men, and Spider-Man. I grew up loving superheroes—a love that is now being richly rewarded on the big screen. The rewards are coming mostly from Marvel Studios which by next May when the fourth Avengers movie releases will have given us 25 movies over the span of 11 years, all telling one, big, overarching story. It’s a little like the comic book world’s film version of the Bible. And indeed, the latest Avengers movie has crossed the billion dollars in ticket sales mark faster than any other movie. I’ve seen it: It was amazing. It is not a standalone film, however, so I am eager as can be to catch part two next May. Read the rest…
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Friday morning I started a conversation with you about two important things that we’ve got to understand in what Jesus says here. The first thing is that we are going to be judged someday and so need to be living like it now. Read the rest…
“And Joshua said, ‘Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we have been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! . . .The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Get up! Why have you fallen on your face?'” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Joshua was devastated and dismayed. He had put his entire being on the line before the people that God was leading them to occupy this land and drive out its inhabitants entirely. They had crossed the Jordan on dry ground. They had conquered Jericho with its impregnable walls. There was nothing that could stand in their way for the Lord was obviously with them. And then they got beat by Ai. Read the rest…
The Nexus 