“So the Lord saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond Beth-aven.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
We never know when God will use our small thing to accomplish a big one. The Philistines were defeated and Israel had hardly lifted a finger to do it. This was a big, big thing because absent some other kind of divine intervention Israel stood no chance against the Philistines in battle. And yet, this big thing began with a small one. Read the rest…
“But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Ruth is one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible. This is for several reasons which unfold over the course of its telling. It takes place during the same time period as Judges. And, in the beginning, it figures to be about as dark as its companion narrative. Read the rest…
In this special Fourth of July edition, allow me to share my message from our community patriotic service this past Sunday evening. Here, with the help of Jesus’ declaration of where real freedom lies, I talk about what freedom is and how we can preserve it for future generations. Happy Fourth of July!
Where Real Freedom Lies
I have a confession to make: I love the Fourth of July. Now, I don’t necessarily think I’m more patriotic than anybody else. I think the reason I love the Fourth of July so much is because growing up my family always made such a big deal out of it. We’d cook out. We’d have friends over. We’d enjoy hanging out with neighbors. And we’d blow stuff up. A lot of stuff. That’s the real reason I love the Fourth of July: I love fireworks. Read the rest…
“Then Gideon said to God, ‘If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.'” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Gideon’s fleece has become synonymous with testing God. And that’s exactly what Gideon was doing. But, far from anything praiseworthy or worth imitating, this was an act of faithlessness by a man who was a coward. Read the rest…
“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…
