Category: Opposition

5/14/2022 0 Comments

Your Faith has Healed You!

Life is full of challenges. As you read that what challenge comes to mind that you are facing? For some of us, it is financial, for others relationships, and still others health, the need for work, etc. What is unhealthy is when we let the problem(s) we face dominate our thinking because we flounder in fear and uncertainty. In his book Brave, Strong & Tender, Phil Downer asked, “Do you ever find yourself spending more time thinking about the size of your problems than thinking about the size of your God? Do you feel locked up because of fear?”

5/11/2021 0 Comments

Jerusalem

Today as I’m writing this Hamas is firing rockets into Tel Aviv and Israel is conducting counter air strikes. Seeing conflict flare up in Israel made me curious so I consulted the internet: “What city has been conquered the most?” The answers were quite interesting. Don Tano, a full-blooded Sicilian, claims that Palermo is the most conquered city in the world.[1] The Telegraph lists the top seven most conquered cities in the world as: the Northumberland town, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Palermo, Szczecin (Shcheh-cheen) and Gdansk (formerly Danzig) in Poland, Edirne (Adrianople) in Turkey, Jerusalem, and France’s Nice.[2]

2/14/2021 0 Comments

Competition

Competition is one of my signature strengths. I don’t like losing or being wrong. By God’s grace I am mellowing with age. So, I can somewhat identify with John when he and his buddies were bothered that someone they didn’t know was taking on demons in the power of Jesus’ name yet wasn’t part of their signature team. I’m sure he felt that that it was completely inappropriate for one who was not spending time at the feet of the Master to minister as a supposed follower. But John and his fellow disciples were misguided in their thinking.

1/14/2021 0 Comments

Spiritual Warfare

The first evidence of physical battle dates sometime between 4000 and 3500 B.C. from the ancient city of Hamoukar located in modern northeastern Syria. Historians believe the Uruks of southern Mesopotamia invaded the region.[1]Battles around the world have been fought for a long time and their spreading evil caused God regret for even creating man (Genesis 6:6).

9/11/2020 2 Comments

Heroism

On November 18, 1952, LT E. Royce Williams from his ship the USS Oriskany, off the coast of Korea, was given a bombing mission against North Korean targets as part of a strike group. The pilots flew near a river that bordered the Soviet Union. Upon completing their mission, they received information that 7 MIGs were scrambled to intercept them. Williams was ordered to return and provide protection for his ship.

7/18/2020 1 Comment

Self-Dependent

Meditation
Isaiah 22:10,11--You counted the houses of Jerusalem so that you could tear them down to fortify the wall. You made a reservoir between the walls for the waters of the ancient pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or consider the One who created it long ago.

5/30/2020 1 Comment

Judges

Israel experienced the death of their famous leader Joshua still facing the enormous task of conquering Canaan. The book of Judges follows up where the book of Joshua left off, with the challenge of expelling wicked nations in territory God assigned for His people in a period that spans three centuries.

4/7/2020 0 Comments

By What Authority?

In the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, He first made His authority clear to a young, unbroken donkey which He triumphantly rode into Jerusalem. His ride stirred a quick-gathering crowd that placed their robes on the road and spread leafy branches in front of the One they hoped would be their King. Matthew wrote, “The whole city was shaken, saying, “Who is this?” (Mathew 21:10).

3/31/2020 0 Comments

Numbers

The fourth book of the Bible is Numbers which is a translation of Arithmoi, from the Septuagint. It is titled as such because the book contains two census counts, numerous statistics, tribal and priestly figures, and other numerical data. The Hebrew name is included in the first sentence of the book and means “in the desert of ”; an accurate description of the book’s content, which follows the Israelites through almost forty years of desert wandering.[1]
The story began in the second year of the Israelites escape from Egypt, as they camped in the Wilderness of Sinai around 1444 BC. It ends 38 years later “in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho” (36:13) in 1406 BC.[2]

1/29/2020 0 Comments

Civil Disobedience

Meditation
Exodus 1:15-17--Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them as they deliver. If the child is a son, kill him, but if it’s a daughter, she may live.” The Hebrew midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live.

5/8/2019 0 Comments

Overcomers!

Fitbit likes to encourage me when I surpass my daily goal of 12,000 steps. I receive a message on my phone that congratulates me for being an overachiever. The dictionary defines an overachiever as someone who performed better or accomplished more than was expected, especially by others. But to be an overachiever is really not all that great because I’m only surpassing the expectations of someone else. Left to our own effort, we may overachieve all of our lives but end up empty in the end. Death conquers life. Youth succumbs to aging. Health is battered by disease. Human achievement in the end is hollow. Perhaps this is why so many overachievers feel empty and despondent.

7/6/2018 0 Comments

Desolation, Decimation, Devastation!

Since 2014, what consistently is the third most terrorized country in the world? To find your answer you would want to look up the Global Terrorism Index (GTI). This is produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) based on data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). This data is collated by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) led by the University of Maryland. As late as 2017, because of persistent Boko Haram and Fulani militant attacks, Nigeria ranks as the third-most terrorized nation. Only Iraq and Afghanistan rank higher in carnage.[1]

11/14/2017 0 Comments

Pray Like This: Your Will Be Done

My parents are living on a farm in Zolfo Springs with my brother Nate and his wife Melissa. Recently, their guard dog Shepherd went missing. Less than a week later, Nate’s longtime companion, Minnie, was hit and killed by a truck on the road outside their home. As my parents were out walking alongside a ditch looking for Minnie, a car stopped and the driver asked what they were looking for. A conversation ensued in which the driver asked about getting permission to fish in the farm. Dad explained that he was the owner and he would agree for Alex and his wife Elisa to fish as long as they were willing to let him share with them about Jesus. They decided that was a fair arrangement and after fishing a couple of times at the pond and catching nice Bass, Alex one afternoon sat down on the farm porch and conversed with Dad about John 3:16. He ended up placing his faith in Jesus.

Meditation
Matthew 6:10—Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

7/20/2017 0 Comments

Praising God's Greatness

Meditation
Psalm 145:1—I exalt You my God the King, and praise Your name forever and ever.

Psalm 145 is one of my favorite psalms in the Bible. Aside from the eleven different verbs or participles used to praise or recognize God, the entire twenty-one verses are a tribute to God’s greatness. The predominant verb is the word praise (used six times). In addition, the words exalt, honor, declare, proclaim, speak, give a testimony, sing, thank, and informing, are used in the Holman translation. Five times God’s greatness is specifically highlighted.

1/17/2017 0 Comments

Running from Adversity

Jackie called her friend Sandy and informed her that she was going to quit her job. When asked why, she said that her company changed management and the new boss was unfriendly towards her and very critical of her work. Rather than try and figure out the profile of her new boss and how she might modify her behavior, it was easier for Jackie to leave. Jackie does not like conflict. Not many people do.

7/14/2015 0 Comments

You Will Recognize Them

Jeb spread a false rumor about another leader in the church. His pastor after confirming the report was untrue, confronted him about the report and asked him to recant. Jeb refused and shortly thereafter, left the church. Unfortunately, in a bizarre twist of events, Jeb’s departure ended up in the elders expelling their pastor and church founder. The body of Christ lost a talented leader and in hearing this true story I was reminded of Jesus’ warning to his disciples.

5/3/2014 0 Comments

A Gentle Answer

You could hear them screaming at each other five offices away. Heads poked out to see what was going on—I was afraid words would escalate to blows, but fortunately that did not happen. Don looked like he was going to have a heart attack, his face was beet red and he was shaking. Rich’s jaw was clenched and his palms rolled into fists but with three of us coaxing we managed to get them separated and back into their own offices.

I asked Rich what happened. He said he went into Don’s office to ask how Allie was doing on the project she was working with him. Don told him she was worthless and to get out of his office, he was sick of taking Rich’s broken employees and felt like Rich deliberately was out to make his life miserable. Rich said the way Don spoke penetrated his brain and hit his anger button. He knew Allie had her weak areas but he was proud of her hard work and resented Don’s judgmental attitude. Furthermore he didn’t appreciate the way the older manager always blamed people instead of trying to get along. So instead of finding a response to deescalate the tension, he spoke the first thought that raced across his brain, “Don you are a loser and I’m sick of trying to help you.” Those words brought Don out of his chair and began a two-minute shouting match.

1/20/2014 0 Comments

Nanawatai

Navy Petty Officer First Class Marcus Luttrell was the sole survivor of a US Navy SEAL team ambushed by Taliban fighters. Severely wounded, Luttrell somehow managed through great courage to evade an enemy zealous to kill him. Fortunately, members of the Afghan Sabray tribe found him and whisked him into their village. Despite incredible danger, the tribal chief protected him, fending off Taliban attacks until word reached nearby American forces who then came and rescued him.[1]

12/9/2011 0 Comments

It Was God's Battle

Brian dreamed for a long time of building a house for his family on a wooded, five-acre plot of land nestled within the city. Notice I used the word dreamed. Brian did not just want to put up a simple home for his family of five. He wanted to build a ten-thousand square foot ministry center. I remember many of us thought he was overreaching. Why not just build a modest home and then as God provided continue to expand?

12/6/2011 0 Comments

Escape

I met Lam in a dining facility at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. As we were chatting I asked him when he came to the United States. Lam escaped from Viet Nam at the age of eleven with an uncle and his older brother. His parents were afraid that when he turned thirteen he would be forced to serve in the military and potentially die or come back maimed as so many of their countrymen who were forced as children to fight the Cambodians.

Photo used under Creative Commons from Rachel Maxey Miles