Tag: Wonder

Morning Musing: Psalm 19:1

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“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the things our Internet-addicted age has suffered is a loss of wonder. We see so many wild and incredible things online that it’s hard for us to be impressed by anything. Unless it is simply a spectacle, we hardly look up. This is really too bad because the world is wonderful. I mean that literally. It is filled with things that are wonders of the first order. This is because it is created by a wonderful God. We are created in the image of this God and are wonderful ourselves. We are capable of wonders. But this is so easy to forget when we get caught in a rut of the mundane and cease to see even the wonder in the mundane. This can become a pretty hopeless situation, but sometimes a story comes along that reminds us to see the wonder in life once again. Let’s talk today about one of these stories that took the form of a movie released just before Christmas about the world’s most famous chocolate maker. Let’s talk about Wonka.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 18:9-12

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“Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the Lord had done for Israel when he rescued them from the power of the Egyptians. ‘Blessed be the Lord,’ Jethro exclaimed, ‘who rescued you from the power of Egypt and from the power of Pharaoh. He has rescued the people from under the power of Egypt! Now I know that the Lord is greater than all God’s, because he did wonders when the Egyptians acted arrogantly against Israel.’ Then Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in God’s presence.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When God does what He does, it is always with a purpose in mind. We may not always know exactly what that purpose is, though, which can be really frustrating. We want to know the specifics so that we can respond appropriately. Not knowing the specific purpose God has in mind, however, doesn’t mean we don’t know the general one – and there’s always a general one. A conversation Moses has with his father-in-law points us toward this general purpose. Let’s talk about what this is and how we can always make sure we are on board with it.

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Morning Musing: Jeremiah 32:17

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“Oh, Lord God! You yourself made the heavens and earth by your great power and with your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you!” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I’m tired as I write this lying in my bed waiting for the ZzzQuil I took almost an hour ago to kick in so that I can get at least a reasonable night of sleep on the hard, bunk house mates currently underneath me. And why am I in such a state? Because I have spent the week chaperoning our kids at LifeWay’s flagship kids camp, CentriKid. Tomorrow is the last day, and I can’t wait to see my wife and to sleep soundly in my own, much more comfortable bed. Yet for the lack of amenities this week, it has been wonderful and worth every sacrifice to be here. This is not only to get to see growth in a great group of kids with my own eyes (something not very many senior pastors ever get to witness), but because I, too, have spent the week being reminded to not lose their far more natural, childlike sense of wonder at our God. Rather than tell you about the latest Marvel offering this week, let me tell you why this was such a good week.

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Morning Musing: Mark 10:13-15

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“People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The lot of children used to be difficult one. They were generally seen as a drain on a family’s resources until they were old enough and strong enough to contribute meaningfully to the household. Vaudeville-era comedian, W.C. Fields was famous for his rather sardonic quotes about children. For instance, “There’s no such thing as a tough child – if you parboil them first for seven hours, they always come out tender.” Today, the place of children in some circles is so high we can scarcely imagine a world where it wasn’t. In fact, in many segments of our culture, we’ve swung the pendulum so far in the other direction that we are sometimes guilty of creating equal, but opposite, problems for them as we work out our own issues through them. That being said, there’s something wonderful about the wonder a child brings to this world. Jesus agreed. Let’s talk about it.

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Digging in Deeper: Mark 8:31-32

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“Then he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever really had your mind blown? The disciples thought they were really starting to figure some things out. After all the doubts and questions and misunderstandings, they had finally gotten their minds around the truth: Jesus was the Messiah. They were certain of it. Everything He had done pointed them unavoidably to this conclusion. There was just one problem? They didn’t have any idea what that actually meant. They thought they did. But they were wrong. Learning the truth was something they were not prepared to do.

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