faithfulness

Favor in the Unfamiliar

“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.” – Luke 2:4 Not only did God call Mary and Joseph to a long journey on a rough road in order to get to Bethlehem, but the required travel meant that Jesus would be born in an unfamiliar place. I don’t know about you, but when I’m facing something new or scary, I’m always looking for things that I know to give me stability and a point of reference. I can’t imagine what it was like for a young couple getting ready to welcome their first child as they attempted to find their bearings in a foreign land that was crowded with people. There were no plans laid out nor was anything certain, so they had to cling to each

December 12, 2022 1 Comment

The Last Page of Your Story

“The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.” – Revelation 3:5 My good friend Rich Mouw, a former president of Fuller Seminary, shared in a sermon his unusual way of reading a novel. When he begins to get worried about the protagonist or the situation, he goes to the book’s last page and reads it. His reasoning is he wants to know in advance the good outcome. He would say, “Oh good, they got together, or whew, he lived.” When he learns what the ending is, he goes back to whatever chapter he’s on, and reads his book in a more relaxed posture. What he shared in his sermon is this: I have a book about your life. I’ve read

August 17, 2022 No Comments

Keep Hope Alive!

“If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” – 2 Timothy 2:13 We’ve been looking at the story of Joseph and how getting to where he needed to be was a long process that required unexpected twists and turns, many of which looked like anything but the fulfillment of a destiny. His story is encouraging to us because it teaches us about God’s redemptive sovereignty. You see, the Lord is not holding our sins against us. We can count on the cross for our forgiveness and know that as we put our trust in Him, He will get us to where we need to go. Even when we are faithless, He is faithful! This reminds me of my son, Cohen, who just loves Disneyland. To him, it really is the happiest place on earth. I remember a few years ago, he didn’t understand the concept of

April 18, 2022 1 Comment

Utterly Pure and Persecuted

“Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ But he refused. ‘With me in charge,’ he told her, ‘my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care…One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.” – Genesis 39:7-9,11,12 Yesterday, we looked at the beginning of the story of Joseph. He was a young and naive dreamer who was sold into slavery by his brothers in their jealousy. After being sold, Joseph’s saga progressed, and he ended up in the household of a wealthy Egyptian named

April 15, 2022 1 Comment

Present Through Suffering

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance…” – Romans 5:3 We talked yesterday about the importance of not asking too many questions during the winter seasons of our lives. Today, I want to provide another tip that can aid us in navigating the difficult times we are in: be present in your suffering. I’ve previously told the story of a boy and a silver ball on a string, and it perfectly illustrates the argument I want to make today. It’s a Russian tale about a school-aged child who meets a fairy while roaming through the woods. She gives him a present during the encounter, which appears to be a simple silver ball on a piece of string but is actually a magic wand that allows him to pull the string and fast forward past difficult aspects of his life. While

January 22, 2022 1 Comment

Separation Precedes Elevation

“On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin — the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the Lord was on him.” – Ezekiel 1:2,3 The story of Ezekiel is an interesting one. Born a Levite and set apart by God to be a Jewish priest, his life turned out nothing like he thought it would. In fact, when he was just 25 years old, the Babylonians came and attacked Jerusalem. Though this was many years before the Babylonian exile, it foreshadowed it, and when the enemy armies ransacked the city, though they left it intact, they took a bunch of loot and a large group of Jews with them back to Babylon. One of their unlucky captives was Ezekiel. Now alone

July 17, 2021 No Comments

Lions in the Daniel Den

“So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, ‘May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!’” – Daniel 6:16 Yesterday, we looked at the life of Daniel and how he made prayer both a matter of habit and priority. Although he was taken away from Jerusalem, transported to the pagan world of Babylon, and put at the disposal of the king, he refused to waver in his conviction, and he continually sought the presence of the Lord. While it could have cost him his life, his fierce devotion afforded him ongoing supernatural favor. In fact, through the years, he was filled with the Holy Spirit so powerfully that he could interpret dreams and visions and figure out mysteries that no one else could fathom. Despite refusing to bow to idols, he gained influence with heathen

June 2, 2021 No Comments

Time and Immortality

“For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’” – 1 Corinthians 15:53,54 I love history. As I’m studying Scripture, I put myself in the shoes of Biblical characters and examine their reactions from the standpoint of culture, and I glean more application for my life now. When I immerse myself in first-century Jewish society, I see a clearer picture of Jesus, and I gain a deeper understanding of my fellow man. In addition, as I learn about the chronology of world civilizations, I enlarge my knowledge of the arc of time and begin to see patterns in the unfolding of events on this planet. In fact, the more I examine what’s happened before, the

April 25, 2021 No Comments

For Your Good and His Glory

“Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.” – Job 13:15 Many times, the enemy will try to harm us by using our misfortunes to fill us with shame and guilt. However, the wonderful thing about God is that He delights in turning seemingly dire and hopeless situations around for our good and His glory! There’s a story in the Old Testament about a guy named Job, who was an exceptional person. He loved God with all of his heart, and he was a hard-working, decent family man. However, out of the blue, tragedy struck him, and he lost everything he held dear — his livestock, his wife, his children, his friends, and his health. And while it seems his circumstances would have been enough to make any human being crumble, Job had a choice to make: he could

March 11, 2021 No Comments

Speak Victory!

“David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.’” – 1 Samuel 17:45 Lest any of us forget, words are powerful, and the things we say to ourselves and to others dramatically impact our outcomes. David was proof of this. Although he was young, inexperienced, and may have looked foolhardy to some, he spoke affirmatively and confidently in the presence of people. In fact, such a leader was he that he used his words to comfort and assure King Saul himself, telling him not to lose heart, and reminding him that the Philistines would ultimately be defeated. Even when Goliath spoke violently and intimidatingly in his hearing, the young shepherd responded with resolve as he invoked the name of His great

November 23, 2020 1 Comment

Favor in the Unfamiliar

The Last Page of Your Story

Keep Hope Alive!

Utterly Pure and Persecuted

Present Through Suffering

Separation Precedes Elevation

Lions in the Daniel Den

Time and Immortality

For Your Good and His Glory

Speak Victory!

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