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Showing posts from July, 2024

Why is Our Faith Short-Lived? (Part 3)

                 In my most recent posts, we have considered the question:   Why is our faith so short-lived?   I’ve already given you two reasons.   Today, I want to offer one final reason for our shallow faith—focus on self rather than on God.             We live in a culture that encourages us to put ourselves above everyone and everything.   We’ve all heard the saying, “Look out for number 1.   If you don’t, no one else will.”     Frank Sinatra taught us that we should do everything “My[our] way,” and even Burger King reminds us that we can “have it your way.”   In short, much of what we see and hear directs us inward.             My point is that we have become focused on ourselves—our own success, self-preservation and promotion, self-importance, and the list can go on and on. ...

Why is Our Faith Short-Lived? (Part 2)

                 In my last blog post, we began to consider the question, why is our faith short-lived?   Peter is a prime example of short-lived faith when he began to sink after taking only a few steps on the water.   The truth is that we are also guilty of too little faith.   The question is, why?   As I said last time, part of it is that we are more concerned with “head knowledge” than “heart knowledge,” but I think there are other reasons as well.             One of those reasons is that we have short memories.   When it comes to people who have offended us or hurt us, we often remember long after we have tried to forgive. Unfortunately, we don’t often have the same response to those special moments when God touches our lives in mighty ways.   Those we seem to forget way too soon.   Why?         ...

Why Is Our Faith Short-Lived? (Part 1)

                 In a recent sermon, our minister recounted the story of Peter walking on the water.   Jesus had sent the Disciples on ahead in a boat, while He took time alone to pray.   In the middle of the night, He came walking on the water towards them.   They were all terrified, but Jesus identified Himself and assured them that there was nothing to fear.   Still, only Peter was able to muster the courage to get out of the boat.   As Jesus beckoned him to “come”, Peter also began to walk on water.   Unfortunately, his “miracle walk” was short-lived.   He took his eyes off Jesus and immediately began to sink.   Jesus reached out His hand to save him.   He also rebuked him with these words, “You of little faith,” he said, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14: 31NIV84).             In other words, Jesus might have said it this way, “Why wa...

Learning to Agree to Disagree

               There are millions of things in this life that people disagree about— “Can you wear white after Labor Day?   Is it better to vacation in the mountains or at the beach? Chick-fil-A or any other chicken place? The Cardinals or Wildcats? (Cardinals, of course!)”   With the possible exception of that last one, we can usually discuss each of these topics with good-natured comments and, sometimes, a little laughter.   In other words, we can agree to disagree.             Why is it that when we bring politics into the discussion, we seem to lose all measure of civility?  This past weekend, we experienced one of those moments that causes flashbacks for those of us who are old enough to remember similar events.  I remember when JFK, MLK, and RFK were assassinated.  I also remember when the attempt was made on President Reagan’s life.  Those were ...

The Reputation of Solomon

                 Sometime during the reign of King Solomon, the Queen of Sheba traveled some 1,200 miles to “test him with hard questions” (I Kings 10: 1).   Her visit with the Israelite King teaches us several valuable lessons.             First, she heard of both Solomon’s fame and his relationship with God (I Kings 10:1).   Solomon was the wisest man in the world, and she likely came to test his wisdom.   She may have also come to test his relationship with God.   Either way, Solomon’s reputation was part of what attracted her.             It was only word-of-mouth that spread Solomon’s reputation.   Today, social media is most often the source of our reputations.   People will view our pictures and posts, our comments, and actions and then draw their own conclusions about our character. ...

God's Forgiveness for Sinful People!

                 The story of David and Bathsheba is well-known to most students of the Bible.   It is a tale of lust, covetousness, adultery, murder, and lying.   The surprise twist is that all these sins were committed by David, “the man after God’s own heart” (I Samuel 13: 14).   To us, that is one of the greatest contradictions of all time.   Yet, God uses this story to help us better understand who God is.             He is a God who gives us free will.   God did not stop David from committing sin after sin.   He allowed him to make his own decisions—even though they were contrary to God’s teachings.   God is not a puppeteer who pulls the strings and makes us dance.   He will allow us to make our own mistakes and sins.   The sad part is that the farther we travel down the sin road, the more difficult it is to find our way back. ...

Relationships Need Respect

                 David is probably one of the most well-known characters of the Old Testament.   However, we often overlook his wives and the impact they had on his life and work.   He had at least eight wives, but the two that we hear the most about are Michal and Abigail.   The character of these women as well as their interaction with David are very different.             Michal was the second daughter of King Saul.   She loved David (I Samuel 18: 20).   King Saul offered her to David as if she were property in hopes that she would somehow lead to David’s downfall.   David killed 100 Philistine warriors to become the King’s son-in-law, but there is no indication that he loved Michal.   Later, when Saul tried to kill David, Michal foiled the plot by helping David to escape.   Saul punished her by giving her to another man (I Samuel 25: 44)....

Three Mothers!

                 Motherhood is something that I have not had the privilege of experiencing, but I’ve seen many new mothers express great joy upon seeing their children for the first time.   “My heart melted the first time I held my baby” is a common response.   Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.             Today, I want to briefly look at three mothers with very different reactions to the birth of their babies.               First, we look at the unnamed mother of a child named Ichabod.   The mother was the daughter-in-law of the high priest, Eli, the same man who accused Hannah of being drunk when she prayed.   This woman’s husband and brother-in-law were killed in battle, and when Eli heard that they had also lost the Ark of the Covenant, he also died.   In one day, she lost her entire...