For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (Romans 8:6) I often imagine a light switch when I read this passage. When we flip the switch up, the lights come on; when we flip the switch down, darkness invades. The same is true...
In describing the influence that Jeroboam had upon the people of Israel, II Kings 17:15 uses one significant key word – vanity. And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and...
Meditation October 2020 - Jeroboam Jeroboam proved himself to be an industrious young man and a mighty man of valor in the courts of Solomon; therefore, the king elevated him to a position of authority in the nation – not knowing that he would eventually rise up...
God asked one requirement of Solomon when He established him on the throne of his father David – that he walk according to the legacy that his father had established. (I Kings 3:14, 9:4, 11:38) However, Solomon failed to do so (I Kings 11:6) and set in motion a...
William Carey – after being told to sit down and shut up – eventually won the privilege to stand up before the top leadership of the British churches and convince them that it was the responsibility of European Christians to evangelize the “heathen” of lands they had...
I’ve spent essentially the whole time up to this point dealing with the question of why bad things happen to good people; so, now it is time to consider why good things happen to bad people. But before we do any theological study on the point, I’d like to invite you...
There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?...
The humanitarian aspect of my missionary work has taken me around the world in relief projects associated with every kind of natural disaster short of a volcano eruption. I’ve seen firsthand what the insurance companies refer to as the “acts of God” – a legal term...
Have you ever noticed how it’s always the Democrats or Republicans who are at fault? We always want to blame the President – and always without even giving him the respect of prefacing his name with the title “President” or even “Mr.” It’s just “Clinton” or “Bush” or...
One of my friends tells the story of how his father often promised him things and somehow failed to come through, but the most traumatizing event was the day that he sat at home all day waiting for his dad to show up to take him to the circus. When nightfall came,...
A Hindu philosopher once said, “Unless you specifically declare that you are not a Hindu, you are a Hindu,” – and I’ve come to believe that all humans really are intrinsically Hindus and that we all instinctively believe in karma. Just think about when anything out...
As Christians, we often have the simplistic opinion that we live by the New Testament and the Jews live by the Old Testament. However, if you were to investigate the Jewish faith, you would discover that their beliefs and practices are not actually formulated from the...
In the only line I remember from the Christmas special of a long-forgotten sitcom, a Jewish lady who was trying to adjust to the Christian-dominated society made a statement about something which had to do with one of our holiday customs. Because Hanukah -- the Jewish...
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. (Psalm 39:5) In this psalm, David reminded himself of the brevity of man’s life and summed up his thoughts with...
Although King David left an indelible impact on all of human destiny, we can see that he essentially “missed the boat” in one specific area of influence where he should have focused his attention. In this one arena of life -- his parenting skills, well actually, his...
At the height of his career as Israel’s second king, David desired to build a monument to the God who had so spectacularly blessed him. When David presented his plan to build a temple in Jerusalem to his spiritual advisor Nathan, the Lord’s response came that David...
Did you ever realize that no one was watching when David slew the lion and the bear, but the whole world watched when he killed Goliath? While the rest of the army of Israel trembled for forty days without even trying to fight, David “stepped up to the plate” and did...
Until David took the city of Jerusalem, it had never been captured. When Joshua came into the Promised Land, he defeated the king of Jerusalem, but the city itself was never taken. (Joshua 10:23-24, 15:63) The Jebusites boasted that Jerusalem was so secure that its...
As we’ve already learned, David’s influence changed the lives and destinies of not only his own immediate acquaintances but also left an enduring effect on generations to come. Let’s take a closer look at the circles of influence he demonstrated. The first area of...
It was this uniquely God-oriented heart that first got David “on the map” when he took the field against the Philistine giant Goliath. For King Saul to be willing to put his whole nation at jeopardy in the hands of a little boy who had shown up from nowhere was an...