Sometimes, God’s giving us what we want is a display of His wrath against us rather than a display of love. Therefore, we should not always rejoice when we get what we want. In Psalm 78, the psalmist describes how the Israelites spoke against God doubting His power to provide the necessities in the desert. And […]
People perish without the word of God. The word is truly life-giving not only to individual persons but also to nations and people groups. When Russia was under the communist regime, it went through all kinds of atrocities and evil. Millions died of starvation and interrogations. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a Russian novelist and historian who lived through the […]
Ephesians 2:12–remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. What can “spark” joy and contentment without anything else changing in a Christians life, is the gratitude we can live with despite […]
We learn obedience through what we suffer. That is one reason why God allows us to suffer. He is teaching us to trust and obey Him. However, this is not the way most of us think. When we are made to suffer, the first thought is, “What have I done wrong?” (or we know what […]
It is heartbreaking when the sons (or daughters) do not follow the faithful ways of their fathers. And it is jarring to read how many sons do not follow the ways of their fathers in the Old Testament. And there is a lesson here…. About the king Hezekiah, it is said, “He trusted in the […]
Psalm 22:2-3–O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. 3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. There are numerous opportunities to encourage or try and strengthen people in their faith, given my position. In all cases where my faith […]
Psalm 19:10-12–More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. When I think about what makes a […]
Good guys do not always win. As a matter of fact, it seems that bad guys win more often than not. And if we expect everything to go wrong for the bad guy eventually, that’s not always true either. There are plenty of bad guys that live till good ole age and die in peace […]
I dread having my children grow up. Because I know what’s coming. Not only external struggles for them, but internal struggles with sin. And therefore, struggle with us, their parents. If I could help it, I would bundle them up and tie them down so that they would stay at this age forever (Actually, I […]
Psalm 15:1&4-O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?… 4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; One of the things I think I took very seriously growing up […]