Progress

10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.                                                     Isaiah 41:10 NLT As we look into a new year we think of progress. Where does that idea come from,Continue reading “Progress”

Heavenly Peace?

When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgaveour transgressions.  (Ps. 65:3 NIV) My favorite Christmas carol is “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” but I confess when I sing “How silently the wondrous gift is given” I wiggle a little bit. Rev. Phillips Brooks was a bachelor and I wonder a bit how much he knewContinue reading “Heavenly Peace?”

Pleasure

. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.                                                                                                                    Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death                                                                                                                                                                James 1:15 You show me the path of life                                         Psalm 16:11 Delight yourself in the Lord,Continue reading “Pleasure”

O Give Thanks

Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.              Psalm 105:1 NLT Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.   1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT One of the more common commandments in the Bible is to giveContinue reading “O Give Thanks”

When He Became . . . .

Jehoshaphat enjoyed great riches and high esteem, and he made an alliance with Ahab of Israel by having his son marry Ahab’s daughter.                                                                                                               2 Chronicles 18:1 NLT One of the features of the Biblical narratives is the general lack of moralizing. That is, the narrators do not often tell us what we should thinkContinue reading “When He Became . . . .”

The Work of the Holy Spirit: Reviving

Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’”                                                                                                                                                Ezekiel 37:9 NLT One of the most vivid allegoriesContinue reading “The Work of the Holy Spirit: Reviving”

The Work of the Holy Spirit: Revealing 2

“Stand up, son of man,” said the voice. “I want to speak with you.” The Spirit came into me as he spoke, and he set me on my feet. I listened carefully to his words.                                                           (Ezek. 2:1-2 NLT)             Last week we saw that the Holy Spirit gave Ezekiel an awesome and awe-inspiring visionContinue reading “The Work of the Holy Spirit: Revealing 2”

The Work of the Holy Spirit: Revealing

On July 31of my thirtieth year,while I was with the Judean exiles beside the Kebar River in Babylon, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.                                                                                           Ezekiel 1:1 NLT I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet…. Then I turnedContinue reading “The Work of the Holy Spirit: Revealing”

The Work of the Holy Spirit in Ezekiel-Renewing

On July 31of my thirtieth year,while I was with the Judean exiles beside the Kebar River in Babylon, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.                                                                            Ezekiel. 1:1 NLT It was almost certainly Ezekiel’s thirtieth birthday, one that should have been a great day of celebration, a day when, after years ofContinue reading “The Work of the Holy Spirit in Ezekiel-Renewing”

“Man/Woman of God”

As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons came home and told him what the man of Godhad done in Bethel that day. 1 Kings 13:11 NLTOne of the troubling passages of scripture is 1 Kings 13, where a true prophet dies because hebelieves the lies of a falseContinue reading ““Man/Woman of God””