Buried deep in the Old Testament is this fascinating description of a woman named Sheba: “A troublemaker named Sheba happened to be there” (2 Samuel 20:1). We all have at least one Sheba in our lives. Their lone purpose seems to be to make trouble. They will take us off track, distract us from our…
Jesus healed the sick. He raised the dead. He fed the hungry. He brought light to the darkness. And for that, he was mocked, spit upon, and eventually crucified. Just days before his death, Jesus reflected. “They hated me without reason” (John 15:25). Did you catch that? Without reason. Before you go crazy slinging darts…
“The Lord declares, ‘Is not my word like a fire, and like a hammer which shatters a rock?’” (Jeremiah 23:29). In ancient days, men would heat gold or silver to extreme temperatures that would burn away all the impurities. Then with great skill, they hammered the metal into a desired form. This was a process…
A few months ago, I spoke to a men’s group near Boston. This afforded me the opportunity to attend Fenway Park for the first time. The date was August 10, and my Astros defeated the Red Sox in a thriller. But something was happening at the game that I didn’t know about until much later. …
This may be my favorite verse from the Old Testament . . . “Now the word of God came to Jonah the second time” (Jonah 3:1). God spoke to Jonah a second time because Jonah messed up the first time. It would have been impossible to fail any more miserably than Jonah failed. But life…
The only reason people fail is that they quit too soon. Jesus offered this three-fold promise: “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). All three action words in this verse are what Greek scholars call “linear.” That means…
Jonah 1:3-6 “But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa, and he found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” When God instructed…
“There was a famine for three years, so David sought the face of the Lord” (2 Samuel 21:1). For most of us, a famine is the last place we go to seek God. Have you ever noticed when we pray at the dinner table? After the food is served. We need to learn to seek…
A father asked his young son to go out to the barn to get his tool chest. The boy was afraid of the dark and protested, “But it’s dark outside!” The dad handed the boy a lantern and said, “Hold up the lantern. How far can you see?” “I can see to the mulberry tree,”…
In their natural habitat, trees are buffeted by winds that blow every which way. Trees respond to that wind resistance by growing stronger bark and deeper roots. Without adversity, trees atrophy. People are a lot like trees. We grow through resistance. Notice how God led his children. “God did not lead them along the main…