The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord. – Proverbs 21:31, KJV I’m old enough to know better than to ride roller coasters at my age, but I just had to do it. I just finished my first excursion at Carowinds Thrill Park in Fort Mill, SC with my family. We had a blast, but little did I… Continue reading It’s amazing what you can learn while falling 211 feet at 80 mph.
Category: Submission
Here’s the key to impacting the culture around you.
Because this was in your heart and you have not asked for riches… – 2 Chronicles 1:11, Amplified Bible We often lament the horrid spiritual state of our culture, and rightly so; it is horrid. One of the reasons it is so horrid, however, is that we Christians have done an awful job of being… Continue reading Here’s the key to impacting the culture around you.
Once God has given you the go-ahead, get on with the work He’s told you to do.
Arise therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee. – 1 Chronicles 22:16, KJV The movie Shenandoah, starring the late Jimmy Stewart, tells the story of widower farmer Charlie Anderson and his family during Civil War times. Although not an overtly Christian movie, the story demonstrates how the prideful Charlie learns just how… Continue reading Once God has given you the go-ahead, get on with the work He’s told you to do.
God’s not terribly excited when you rely on yourself.
And God was displeased with this [reliance on human resources], and He smote Israel. – 1 Chronicles 21:7, Amplified Bible Most Christians don’t have a clue how irritated God gets when we rely on ourselves rather than on Him. Consider 1 Chronicles 21. In this passage, King David instructed his captain, Joab, to take a… Continue reading God’s not terribly excited when you rely on yourself.
You aren’t doing God any favors by obeying.
Is he grateful and does he praise the servant because he did what he was ordered to do? – Luke 17:9, Amplified Bible Pride is difficult to shake, even for the most dedicated of Christians. As soon as we think pride is gone from our lives, God will bring something into our lives to show… Continue reading You aren’t doing God any favors by obeying.
Why don’t you wait until God can join you?
Then they were quite willing and glad for Him to come into the boat. – John 6:21, Amplified Bible We make the Christian life harder than it needs to be. In John 6, Jesus had just finished feeding the five thousand. In order to avoid being seized and made king after this miracle, Jesus withdrew… Continue reading Why don’t you wait until God can join you?
Be a faithful sower of the Word.
In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening withhold not your hands, for you know not which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether both alike will be good. – Ecclesiastes 11:6, Amplified Bible Most of us have a near insatiable desire to know the future. We want to know what’s going… Continue reading Be a faithful sower of the Word.
It’s time for you to be like a grain of wheat.
I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains [just one grain; it never becomes more but lives] by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest. – John 12:24, Amplified Bible It is possible to… Continue reading It’s time for you to be like a grain of wheat.
God would rather you not rebuild Jericho.
In his days, Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho… – 1 Kings 16:34, Amplified Bible Merriam-Webster.com defines the word “stronghold” as a “a fortified place” or “a place of security or survival.” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stronghold) The word “fortification” is derived from the Latin words fortis, or “strong,” and facere, or “to make.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stronghold) So, the intent of a… Continue reading God would rather you not rebuild Jericho.
Watch those itching ears. They’ll get you into trouble.
…I hate him, for he never prophesies good for me, but evil. – 1 Kings 22:8, Amplified Bible Years ago we had a missionary visit our church who told us about one of the many interesting plane rides he had experienced in his career. During the flight he was seated next to a man from… Continue reading Watch those itching ears. They’ll get you into trouble.