Tag: Hope

Digging in Deeper: Habakkuk 2:9-11

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“Woe to him who dishonestly makes wealth for his house to place his nest on high, to escape the grasp of disaster! You have planned shame for your house by wiping out many peoples and sinning against your own self. For the stones will cry out from the wall, and the rafters will answer them from the woodwork.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

How have you come by what you have? Hard work? Probably. Inheritance? Perhaps. Gift from others? Certainly some of it. Did you come by any of it by…less savory…means? Let me change lines of questioning on you. How do you think about money? What does it mean to you? What kind of a role does it serve in your life? These two themes may not seem to have anything to do with one another, but they have a great deal more in common than you might think.

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Digging in Deeper: Habakkuk 2:6b-8

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“Woe to him who amasses what is not his–how much longer?–and loads himself with goods taken in pledge. Won’t your creditors suddenly arise, and those who disturb you wake up? Then you will become spoil for them. Since you have plundered many nations, all the peoples who remain will plunder you–because of human bloodshed and violence against lands, cities, and all who live in them.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the principles that spans both testaments of the Bible and in fact can be found in some form across many different religions is that we will reap what we sow. The choices that we make now will eventually become the reality facing us when the future arrives. We cannot live however we please without experiencing the consequences of this. While this may be a bit of a disconcerting idea when we are the ones who are making the poor choices, in general, this should be a point of great comfort and encouragement. Let’s talk about why.

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Digging in Deeper: Micah 4:10

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“Writhe and cry out, Daughter Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you will leave the city and camp in the open fields. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued; there the Lord will redeem you from the grasp of your enemies!”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

I don’t know about you, but I love action movies. I love action movies that are about good guys trying to stop bad guys. The more imaginative the problems, and the more creative the solutions, the better. What works so well about these movies, especially when the good guys get in that situation where it looks like the bad guys are going to win, is that we know how the movie is ultimately going to end. The good guys win. Because we have that hope, we can endure whatever trials we face in the movie to get there. Something like this is what undergirds what Micah has to say here.

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Morning Musing: Micah 4:3

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“He will settle disputes among many peoples and provide arbitration for strong nations that are far away. They will beat their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nation will not take up the sword against nation, and they will never again train for war.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

We live in a day when chaos seems to reign more and more. We may be 80 years from the last armed conflict that could truly be described as a world war, but the world seems to be at war everywhere we look. For those who live in areas where this conflict is part of the rhythm of daily life it is exhausting. When will it end? We don’t know that, but we do know beyond a shadow of doubt that it will.

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Digging in Deeper: James 5:7

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“Therefore, brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Do you like waiting? I can honestly say that I don’t mind at all waiting for things…if I can be entertained while I’m waiting. But to simply sit with nothing to do but twiddle my thumbs until it’s time for whatever it is? Yeah…I don’t do very well with that. Are you with me? Given our culture, I suspect you are. Patience is a virtue in which we tend to be sorely lacking.

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