Dear fellow citizens of the Kingdom of God, Are you inclined to hold back doubting the Lord? In the days when Jerusalem was under siege by the Babylonians, the Lord gave a command to his prophet Jeremiah. What follows is an abbreviated account: "Jeremiah, go buy this piece of land" - YHWH [Jeremiah goes to buy the land. But, after purchasing the land, he has some questions for the Lord.] "Ok God, I bought the land you asked me to, but aren't you about to destroy Judah for th

Dear Brothers & Sisters, Consider these words, "As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire." (Jeremiah 36:23) The moment Jehoiakim burns the scroll of prophecies that God gave Jeremiah is a moment worth pondering. What do you do with the words you don't want to hear? We may not cut up our Bible line by line, but do we not often ignore the parts we

Dear Brothers & Sisters, 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 [ESV] “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. ” Grace is a humbling thing. Grace means my accomplishments are not mine to boast. Yet, Grace also means, I am loved, I am v

Dear Brothers & Sisters, Disclaimer: Three years ago I sent a devotional about the life of Job. Today I am taking the liberty of borrowing a portion of that email (and adapting it for you). "Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” Job 2:10 ESV Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) experienced many hardships: the death of his wife, the loss of his ministerial office (because he refused to conform to certain teachings and practices of the church of England). His

Dear brothers and sisters, Do you struggle with why God allows the godly to suffer? (I have). Psalm 44 was written for you and I. "O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old: 2 you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free; 3 for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand

Dear Brothers & Sisters, I love the old hymns, especially the ones that walk us through the story of God and remind us of his glorious grace. How Great Thou Art is one of those hymns. Verses 1-2 walk us through Creation and point us to the God who created all things. Verse 3 takes us to the Cross and shows us the God who forgives. Verse 4 takes us to the moment of Christ's return. Songs like this are full of spiritual food, a soundtrack for life. We need to hear the emphasi

Dear Brothers & Sisters, The shepherd theme runs like a long thread throughout the Scriptures God loved to choose shepherds; Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Amos, etc. so much so that he chose to identify Himself as the Shepherd of Israel (Psalm 80:1, Ezekiel 34:11-12). In John chapter ten, the Lord Jesus took this Divine title for himself and taught there is... A. One way to safe pasture (vv1-2, 6-15) B. One voice the sheep heed (vv3-5, 16, 25-30) C. One man who

Dear Brothers & Sisters, The psalmist contrasts those "whose portion is in this life" (Ps. 17:14) with his portion and delight "as for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake I shall be satisfied with your likeness" (Psalm 17:15). Question: What satisfies you in the morning? What gives you joy throughout your days? Is it the temporary pleasures of this world or to behold the eternal God, to be near Him? Be honest. Pretending and good intentions don't equal

Dear Brothers & Sisters, Consider the following Scripture, [1] O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? [2] He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; [3] who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; [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; [5] who

Dear Brothers & Sisters, When the walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins and the people lived without protection, Nehemiah heard the news and God used him to set in motion the rebuilding of the walls. "And they (the people) said "let us rise up and build." So they strengthened their hands for the good work" (Nehemiah 2:18 ESV) The verse above tells us that the people set their minds and hands to the task. The next chapter, chapter three of Nehemiah, lists all the people who helpe

Dear Brothers & Sisters, Who was David's delight? The LORD? Yes, the LORD God was David's joy. But this joy in God produced in David another joy. "As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight" (Psalm 16:3) David's love for the LORD had implications for his love for others. His delight was in the company of the saints, the excellent ones, while he refused to have fellowship (close friendship) with those who run after other gods (16:4).

Dear Brothers & Sisters, My children drew pictures of Super Dad for Father's Day. They are objectively bad art, but I love them, for they communicate the love and creativity of my children. I think of how our Father in Heaven looks at our attempts to paint His likeness in word and deed. Are we not all like kindergarteners trying to convey what is beyond our skill? Yet still he loves our attempts to honor Him. I do not say this to excuse misrepresentations of the Almighty Go

Dear Brothers & Sisters, There is, as they say, more than one way to skin a cat and there is also more than one way to worship falsely. 1) Offer homage and sacrifices to a false god (Exodus 20:3-6, 23) 2) Worship the true God (in name), but not according to his commands (Exodus 20:24-26, Isaiah 29:13). Many have fallen because they offered praise to God with their lips and even sacrificed in His name while they simultaneously refused to obey Him. God does not care for a form

Scripture Reading: Psalm 103 “I love You Lord, I bless Your Holy Name, I worship You.” These words roll so easily upon my tongue. There’s just one word that trips me up, a word so small, yet it means everything. All. All is not simple or tidy. All means even when the passion is gone and the happy glow has faded, when the worship set is over and the Sunday morning service done. All I have within me is what I want to give, yet so often all I give is some. But when I gaze upon

"And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God" (John 3:19-21 ESV) Only the light of the truth can set you free. In the light my rotting

Shepherd of Israel Shepherd my Soul Lord I read of how you shepherded Jacob and freed your flock from Pharaoh's hand how you guided and took them through wilderness and gave them a home in Canaan Then when they left you again and again, you traveled far in search of them Lord I have been so stubborn and wayward, Will you lead me home again? We wander far from the God who created us seeking happiness and peace in things that are passing away. But the Scriptures reveal goo

[18] And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." [Matthew 28:18-20 ESV] "Go" he said and go we must to every nation. The ones in our backyard and across the ocean. Go with news of

Last week Shanay typed "Christian Mother's Day Cards" into Google and saw the following quote: "God can't be everywhere so he made mothers" There's only one problem, this "cute" saying isn't true. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? [8] If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! [9] If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, [10] even there your hand shall lead m

Dear Brothers & Sisters, Mary didn't see him coming. She stood weeping outside the tomb and looking in she saw the angels. Then she turned and saw him, but thought he was the gardener. Only when Jesus called her name did she realize He was her Teacher and Lord (see John 20:11-18). Sometimes we take for granted the moment Jesus first appeared to his disciples. Think of it, the shock and awe and grief turned to delight. We're grown accustomed to the resurrection of Jesus, but t

Dear Brothers & Sisters, The Scripture are full of written prayers. Records of the prayers of God's people and testimonies of God's answers. The practice of writing prayers is less common today, but is of much value. Some of you may question, "why should I write down a prayer when I can just talk with God?" Others of you may feel as though you aren't much good at writing so "what's the use?" I will be the first to say that writing your prayers is not commanded in Scripture,