When people don’t know the Word of God well, they fill the pages with foolishness that sounds biblical. Perhaps you’ve heard some of these before: God helps those who help themselves. God wants me to be healthy and prosperous. Don’t eat food with hands that haven’t been ceremonially cleaned.
The Pharisees were citing oral law here. Tradition taught that filthy hands were an open door for evil spirits to enter the body.
Read More Pharisees, tradition, God’s Word
A person’s true character is often most evident when under great pressure.
The looming Philistine battle sent King Saul into great distress. A king who is supposed to be confident, heroic in nature, superior in stature and domineering, is now falling apart and full of fear.
In disobedience to what the Old Testament teaches, Saul seeks out a medium for guidance about his future instead of waiting on the Lord for answers.
Read More God’s Word, psychic, occult, wisdom, Holy Spirit, guidanceA farmer carefully prepares the soil to increase the chances of a good harvest. But the quality of the seed is of utmost importance. If one out of every ten seeds a farmer planted failed to grow, he would lose ten percent of his crop. If two out of every ten seeds failed to germinate, the farmer would lose 20 percent.
In this story the seed was the highest quality possible.
Read More heart, God’s Word, parable
Read Reflect In a study on marriage, Paul Tripp compares a water bottle to our hearts. He holds up a water bottle with the lid off, and then furiously shakes it. Of course water begins to fly everywhere. Paul then begins to explain that the water spilling out wasn’t merely a result of shaking it; […]
Read More protection, heart, God’s Word, mouth
Read Reflect Have you ever written an essay on your computer and accidentally deleted it? I can bet that anyone this has happened to will never let it happen again! (Incidentally, if you’ve ever done this, and re-written it, the second version was probably better than the first. Believe me, I know.) Now imagine how […]
Read More prophecy, promises, God’s Word, warningWith respect to eating healthy foods, there is a slogan, “You are what you eat”. It stresses how what we intake into our bodies affects our physical wellbeing. The same can be applied to our spiritual wellbeing. Feeding moral or spiritual trash into our lives, does negatively influence how we live.
Read More God’s Word, food, wellbeing
It’s complicated to live as faithful followers of Jesus, speaking a language that engages the culture and addresses contemporary needs while remaining true to Jesus. Anybody can just go with the flow, adapting to culture while abandoning the lordship of Jesus. On the other hand, it’s easy to retreat into rules that cut ourselves off from the culture.
Read More God’s Word, culture, lifestyleYou have probably heard the phrase, “the joy of the LORD is your strength.” But what does that mean? We often say it as a generalized truth, not knowing that the context in which it originally occurred is Nehemiah 8. With the physical task of rebuilding the wall having been completed, the leadership now turns to the spiritual rebuilding of the people.
Read More obedience, joy, God’s Word, the LawHaving looked squarely at the characteristics of those who are opposed to the gospel and to everything that is good, Paul now urges Timothy to consider three important truths. All of these come out of Timothy’s past experience and push him to re-examine both the reason and the purpose of his present ministry.
Read More faith, encouragement, God’s Word, Conviction, truthsI think most of us will admit that at times we all need to be reminded of things. It may be something we have promised to do or an appointment we have to keep. Today’s technology provides so many ways to keep on top of things but even with all that help, some things may slip our minds.
Read More reminders, God’s Word, laws, commitments, judgment