Trading Shoes

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake  Colossians 1:24 For Your Sake – Paul understood the process of redemptive suffering.  Do you? In this letter to the church at Colossae, Paul says that he is exuberant and joyful because he has been able to substitute himself in the place of others.  He volunteered…

Deaf and Dumb

For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak Habakkuk 2:18 Cannot Speak – What would it take to convince you that idols cannot speak? Oh, did you think that you already knew this? Did you think that your life was not governed by speechless idols? Then try…

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself and spreading out the earth all alone,” Isaiah 44:24 Maker of All Things – Most of us don’t really believe the verse in Isaiah. We…

The Inner Struggle

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts Psalm 13:2 (NIV) Wrestle with my thoughts – The NIV translation of this passage captures the idea of the phrase but not the exact words. The Hebrew phrase really says, “take counsel with my soul.” The two critical words are ‘etsah (advice, plan) and nephesh (soul, person)….

God in the Dock

God is not a man that He should lie; Numbers 23:19 Lie – Does God lie? “Of course not,” you will answer. “How could He be God if He did not tell us the truth?” You’re right. One of the fundamental characteristics of God’s nature is truth. Lying is simply not possible for the God…

In My Trouble

Now behold, with great pains I have prepared for the house of the LORD 1 Chronicles 22:14 With Great Pains – As David approached the end of his life, he gave us a summary that we need to heed (remember qashav?). David, the man after God’s own heart, the man of great triumph and terrible…

Sufficient Testimony

I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me Nehemiah 2:18 Favorable – Nehemiah’s problem was not his vision. He knew what he was supposed to do. He was sent to rebuild Jerusalem. If you are clear about your vision from God, then you face the same problem that Nehemiah…

Human Bankruptcy

O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man. Nehemiah 1:11 Compassion – Have you prayed like Nehemiah? Or did you think that…

How Long, O Lord?

“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” says that LORD who had compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10 Compassion – How long will God be compassionate? How long will He demonstrate active care and…

Love Your Enemies

And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will again have compassion on them; and I will bring them back Jeremiah 12:15 Compassion – The Hebrew picture of compassion is graphically portrayed by the image of the unborn child in the womb. Let that sink in! The child is totally dependent,…