The Call to Worship

When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.”    Psalm 27:8 Seek – You will never find God by accident.  Jacob learned that lesson when he spent the night in the wasteland.  God found him!  “Accidental” encounters with God are only human descriptions of our insensitivity…

Ecclesiastes in John

Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves, and were filled.   John 6:26 Seek – Have you ever misplaced your keys?  You know they’re around somewhere, so you go hunting.  Pretty soon, you find them just where you left them, inside the…

Right When It Hurts

Now I Paul myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ  2 Corinthians 10:1 Gentleness – Don’t be fooled!  Epieikos (Greek for “gentleness”) is a far cry from quiet calm and tranquility.  It’s not about soft tones and balmy breezes.  This word is about power; the power to do what is right even…

The Antidote

Now I Paul myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ  2 Corinthians 10:1 Meekness – Sometimes the children’s songs we teach in Sunday School are nearly blasphemous.  “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,” certainly paints the wrong picture of the Man of sorrows.  Just look at Mark 3:5.  Jesus is angry.  Does that…

Glorious Vanity

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit   Philippians 2:3 Empty Conceit –  What images come to mind with “empty conceit?”  Did you picture an arrogant, boasting person, full of opinions without substance?”  Or did you think about someone who is never wrong – and therefore, never humble?”  I remember a greeting card years ago that…

The First Principle of Life

Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden to Eden to cultivate it and keep it.  Genesis 2:15 Put – There are two fundamentally different views of life’s purpose, but they are hidden in the same methodology.  Because the process needed to reach these goals looks identical, it is easy…

In the Field

He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.  Proverbs 13:20 Companion – Life is really pretty simple.  God’s way is not obscure, confusing or exhausting.  In fact, God actually promises to assist us in every way when we wholeheartedly obey Him.  Since human beings are creatures…

Uriah’s Theology

By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.   2 Samuel 11:11 By Your Life – Uriah died because he was a man of principle.  When we read his story, we acknowledge this fact.  But I wonder if we appreciate it. David’s affair with Bathsheba results in pregnancy.  David…

Liquid Diet

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.  Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  1 Peter 5:8 Devour – Peter uses a mixed metaphor.  When he suggests that the devil acts like a hunting lion, we expect a word like “devour.”  That’s why it is surprising to…