Category: God

12/3/2024 0 Comments

The Seeking Trifecta

Marine Captain Ray Smith, while serving as a military advisor to 250 Vietnamese Marines, was attacked by an overwhelming Viet Cong force while defending a hilltop outpost. The assault was so savage, and the weather was so bad (preventing close air support) that Smith had to lead the remaining 28 Vietnamese Marines to the safety of friendly lines. Because he was carrying a radio, Smith courageously threw himself backward on top of their own booby-trap-infested wire barrier so 28 Marines could move over the crushed wire, stepping on his prostrate body to safety. Despite severe cuts and bruises, Smith successfully fought and led those under his care to safety, winning him a Navy Cross.[1]

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11/19/2024 0 Comments

Hidden Things

Jesus performed many miracles in the cities He walked, which should have authenticated His message, and yet most of those He encountered would not repent of their sins. Their hardheartedness kept them from recognizing the hand of God’s Son at work and connecting their need to listen to Him. He criticized them for their attitude and warned them of God’s impending judgment (Matthew 11:20-24).

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11/12/2024 0 Comments

Omnipresent

When I was a junior officer attending Infantry Officers Basic Course (IOBC), we sponsored foreign military officers. Some of those officers were married Muslims who were quite happy to be in America and to engage in all kinds of immoral activity. When asked why they were getting intoxicated and frequenting strip clubs when they had wives back home and strict rules against consuming alcohol, their answers were quite revealing. “Allah cannot see us. He is not present here.” They firmly believed that only in their own country were they visible and accountable for their behavior. Their Allah was a god with limitations.

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10/29/2024 1 Comment

Gems

For those of you who love gemstones, scientists discovered that gems may be classified through cross-polarized light as anisotropic or isotropic.[1] The former produces a “colorful array when viewed in crossed-polarized light, reflecting all the colors of the rainbow, whereas isotropic stones [ex: diamonds, rubies, garnets] lose all their color and appear black.”[2]

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10/19/2024 1 Comment

Den of Robbers

One of a person's most detrimental beliefs is that attending church offers a pass for bad behavior. The thinking runs like this. I attend church every Sunday. Therefore, God is pleased with me. He gets His due, and I can do whatever the hell I want during the rest of the week.

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10/10/2024 0 Comments

Mickey Mantle

Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931—August 13, 1995) was a Hall of Fame Center Field player for the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1968. [1] During his illustrious career, he was a 3x Most Valuable Player (MVP), Gold Glove winner, Batting and Triple Crown (batting average, home runs, and runs batted in) winner, and Major League Player of the Year. Mantle played in the All-Star game 16 times. He was part of seven World Series-winning teams. He is considered one of Baseball’s best players and sluggers. He is the only player to hit 150 home runs as a left and right-handed batter.[2]

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10/3/2024 0 Comments

Peerless

In Isaiah chapter 45, God communicates to King Cyrus nine times that He has no peer; there is no other God. This message extends far beyond a pagan king; it applies to all people.

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9/17/2024 0 Comments

With My Eye on You

It did not make sense. John needed to make a difficult financial decision, and the smart move, according to his advisor, was to invest in a quality dividend growth fund to gain more financial stability. But as he prayed about this, he did not have peace. More unsettling, He felt God leading him to give to a single mom in his church who was facing eviction from her apartment along with her two young children. He knew she could not pay him back if he gave her the money; to his surprise, his wife was okay with that. She agreed with what John felt God was leading. So, they gave Steph the money.

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8/9/2024 0 Comments

Music

The first time the word song is used in the Bible is in Exodus 15, when Moses and the Israelites sang to the LORD after He delivered them from the Egyptian army chasing them. What a grateful sound they shared toward heaven. Generations later, King David assigned duties to the Levites to serve as musicians for God’s temple. Those duties languished under the rule of evil kings when the people turned their backs on God to worship idols. Later, one of David’s lineage, King Hezekiah, recognized the importance of music devoted to God.
Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the Lord’s temple with cymbals, harps, and lyres according to the command of David, Gad the king’s seer, and Nathan the prophet. For the command was from the Lord through His prophets (2 Chronicles 29:25).
The tradition of music with worship was so ingrained in the writings and history of the Israelites that they could reinstitute practices that occurred hundreds of years earlier.

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7/31/2024 1 Comment

You are His Temple

King David’s vision was to build a temple for God. Previously, God gave Moses specific instructions for the Israelites to construct a tabernacle for Him. Once it was completed and dedicated, “The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34). David, understanding that the Israelites occupied the land God promised them, concluded He should have a temple, a more special place of worship in which to reside. God concurred but would not allow David to build it because of the blood he had shed as a warrior (1 Chronicles 22:8). Instead, the temple was built by David’s son, Solomon.

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7/15/2024 3 Comments

Assassination Attempt

The report was shocking. How did Thomas Crooks get into a line-of-sight position after being spotted by local Trump supporters and then fire off multiple shots, killing former fire chief Corey Comperatore and critically wounding others while grazing the ear of his intended target, former president Donald Trump?[1] But for an inch . . . had the Secret Service been more vigilant, Crooks might have been neutralized before shooting anyone. But for an inch . . . Trump could have died. But for an inch . . . an entire nation might have experienced gargantuan turmoil.

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5/27/2024 1 Comment

When in Doubt, Ask Twice

In God’s Workmanship, Oswald Chambers wrote, “We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties.” Sometimes, our difficulty surpasses the faith we need to trust God’s voice. In this season of doubt, what are we to do?

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2/24/2024 0 Comments

Giving Glory to God

This year, I bought a journal and am using it to develop my prayer life. I’ve divided it into sections for praise, thanksgiving, prayer for friends and family, prayer for those who don’t know the Lord, personal requests, ministry, etc. Psalm 71:14, 15 says, “But I will hope continually and will praise You more and more. My mouth will tell about Your righteousness and Your salvation all day long, though I cannot sum them up.” This verse is recorded at the top of page 6 of my journal to remind me of things to praise God. So far, I have 54 items, which is on pace for one topic per day. Page 7 continues with Psalm 146:2—“I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing to my God as long as I live.” I start with these two pages daily because they set the tone of praise and remind me of what is most important in life—God!

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2/6/2024 1 Comment

You Must Be Quiet

I was talking to my stressed certified public accountant (CPA). It is that time of year when he prepares tax returns for all his clients. The strain on his face was palpable, so his answer was no surprise when I asked him what I could pray for him. “Ask God to relieve the stress and anxiety of this tax season.”

Eric requests prayer for Ben and Kelly’s failing marriage. Erwin needs intercession for his beloved wife, Sue’s deteriorating health. Jerry seeks wisdom in his job addressing conflicts with Iran, Russia, Ukraine, China, Taiwan, Israel, and Hamas. Nanette argues passionately for the right to see her grandson to the deaf ears of a drug-addicted daughter. Her prayer is for reconciliation and healing.

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1/21/2024 0 Comments

Purify Yourselves

My father was given a valuable porcelain Buddha figurine from an Asian antique collector. He would display it in the house until guests came over and then hide it in a drawer. He always knew where it was. Years later, my brother, Nate, was at a point in his life where he decided to follow God. He was convicted that his music collection was holding him back spiritually. So, he purged his CD collection of music worth over $1000 by breaking them apart in our parent’s garage. Seeing what Nate was doing, Dad was convicted of his Buddha figurine. He brought it out to be destroyed. While holding a bowl of eggs, he placed the antique on a stump and brought an ax head down to smash it.

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1/7/2024 0 Comments

Three Consequences of Sin and a Great Danger

Recently, I spoke with Jackson,* a sailor who was part of my ministry over three decades ago. He called to apologize over a series of texts that frankly were spawned from frustration and anger over racial issues he was troubled by. During our conversation, he linked his bondage to pornography to his father, who beat his wife, Jackson, and his older brother. His justification troubled me, and he permitted me to speak candidly.

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12/31/2023 0 Comments

Beginning-Ending

What is your favorite memory on New Year’s Day or your best-loved New Year’s Eve? Jeremy shared with Impact’s congregation this morning, “You can stay up tonight and watch the same ball drop after a ten-second countdown as every year. Or you can go to bed and get a good rest. You won’t be missing anything.” That got quite a laugh from people used to the tradition of staying up for the new year.

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11/20/2023 1 Comment

Karma

Brita angrily kicked the wandering Cocker Spaniel, who dared to enter her front yard. Her neighbor, Betty, viewed the mean action with disgust. Two weeks later, when Brita broke her leg after slipping off her front porch, Betty noted to her husband with some satisfaction, “That’s karma. She’s getting what she deserved.”

Karma is a Hindu concept that views one’s actions as bringing upon themselves good or bad results either in their present life or in a reincarnation. It is a cosmic reward or punishment principle based on a person’s deeds. In The Logic of God, Ravi Zacharias explained, “Hinduism has two nonnegotiable beliefs: karma and reincarnation. No Hindu will trade these away.”

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11/9/2023 0 Comments

If

Oswald Chambers made an interesting observation in My Utmost For His Highest, after musing upon John 14:15, “If ye love Me, ye will keep my commandments.” (RSV):
"Our Lord never insists upon obedience; He tells us very emphatically what we ought to do, but He never takes means to make us do it. We have to obey Him out of a oneness of spirit. That is why whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an IF—you do not need to unless you like."

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10/10/2023 0 Comments

Pressure is a Privilege

The guest speaker on Sunday said, “Pressure is a privilege.” That got my attention. What?! Is pressure really a privilege? Pressure causes stress. Stress can be debilitating both physically and mentally. Pressure is synonymous with anxiety, burden, and difficulty—three words hardly appealing. So, how in the world is pressure a privilege?

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