Sometimes God asks us to give something up that is not sinful, or even bad. Sometimes he asks us to give up something good. This has always been a struggle for me. I understand giving up sin, and want to do so, but have difficulty with the other things in my life He asks for. … Read More
God is Not Explaining
In Genesis 4:1-7 is the story of Cain and Abel’s offering. God accepted Abel’s offering and rejected Cain’s offering. The interesting thing about this is that God never explained to Cain why his offering was rejected, He just gave him instructions and a warning about the future. Our natural inclination is to do everything to … Read More
Growth through bad circumstances
In Acts chapter 4, it shows Peter and John being arrested the first time after they healed someone because they were preaching publicly. They are told to stop preaching and threatened and everything. Then they go back to their people and pray and it is this big deal, they tell everyone what happened and they … Read More
Are you touching holy ground?
Exodus 3:4-5 4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” 5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Why did God … Read More
Going to the boss
Recently I had a situation at work that was a very difficult and emotional experience. There was a fairly intense altercation I had with a coworker regarding something that I felt I was innocent in. It left me furious, and I was unable to focus for the rest of the day. Thankfully, God gave me … Read More
Confidence in God
In his book Winning With People, John Maxwell makes an interesting point about one of the differences between being secure and insecure. He said that those who are secure tend to expect the best for themselves in situations, whereas those who are insecure tend to expect the worst. In prayer the other day at church, … Read More
Peter’s Sleep
There is an amazing passage in Acts that talks about a miracle that Peter experienced in his life. The context is also interesting. King Herod had just killed James, the first pastor of the Jerusalem church. He saw that it pleased the people, and so he decided to kill more Christians. He had Peter arrested. … Read More
The Power of Disappointment
Our associate pastor was back at church for the first time since he was stabbed 37 times (I believe that is the correct number). He stood up and spoke briefly to thank everyone for their prayers and gifts. Seeing the humility and brokenness and compassion and love in him was a shock to me. He … Read More
When God allows bad things to happen
The associate pastor at my church, Revival Tabernacle, in Highland Park, was stabbed in his home last week. He survived, but is expected to be in the hospital recovering for a month. It is sometimes difficult to go through times when God seems to allow bad things to happen. One of the natural tendencies is … Read More
Joy through what we say
In Proverbs 15:23 it says “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!“ It is the common experience of mankind to have conficts with others at some point in our lives. It is amazing to me how often the things that give … Read More