Tag: Digging in Deeper

Digging in Deeper: Isaiah 30:18

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“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.  For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

The people of Israel were in a pretty hard spot.  They had turned on the Lord.  In fact, they had been turned away from the Lord for a long time.  They had been turned away from the Lord for a long time and it was beginning to show.  Their world was teetering on the edge.  Some of them had started to realize just how dire their situation really was.  They could read the international tea leaves.  They saw the Assyrian army moving steadily in their direction, gobbling up nations in their path and spitting out nothing but ruin and destruction.  But, instead of heeding Isaiah’s call to return to the Lord for their hope and salvation, they were running everywhere but to Him. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 1 Kings 17:7

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“And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Do you remember this story?  Kings and Chronicles tend for me to be four books with lots of exciting stories to read, but not very much that sticks.  First Kings gets started with the transition of power from David to Solomon and all the court intrigue that surrounded that.  Then we get to the almost tabernacle-like detail of the building of the Temple and Solomon’s exceedingly long prayer of dedication.  Then his son, Rehoboam, blows it and sparks a civil war that leaves the nation permanently divided.  After that, it’s pretty much a list of various kings and how they blew it and the names, faces, and events all run together.  Second Kings is even muddier. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Deuteronomy 20:1

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“When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Reading verses like this in books like this is tough when it comes to the Scriptures.  Moses is about two-thirds of the way through his farewell speech to the people of Israel here.  And he’s talking about a hypothetical future situation and what the people should do if they are to face something like this.  The challenge is this: What on earth are we supposed to do with something like this?

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Digging in Deeper: Hebrews 10:24-25

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“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

“Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than going to an auto parts store makes you a mechanic.”  Ever heard something along those lines?  “I can worship just fine when I’m on my own, so I don’t need to be in church all the time.”  How about that one?  Or maybe this: “I connect with God better out in the woods than I do in a roomful of people.”  Or perhaps this: “The church is full of hypocrites; it’s better for my faith to not be around all those people very often.”  You know what?  There’s at least a little bit of truth to every one of these. 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…