The fifth and final line in Jabez’s prayer is “that I may not cause pain.” At first glance this is an unclear and somewhat wordy request. However, it can be reworded for clarity. To not cause pain, is simply to do good. Here Jabez is reminding himself—as much as he is telling God—that the purpose of […]
The fourth line in Jabez’s prayer is: “that you would keep me from evil” If this request sounds vaguely familiar, there is good reason. In the best known prayer in the Bible, often called “The Lord’s Prayer,” there is the line “deliver us from the evil one.” Just as Jesus taught his followers to pray, […]
After Jabez asks for blessings so that he could be a blessing to others, he then adds: “and enlarge my territory” In Bible times, territory meant power via increased authority, responsibility, and influence. As, such, a request for “more territory” is not a petition for more “stuff,” as much as a metaphor implying greater authority, […]
This year, I’ve noticed a lot of squirrels in my yard—or at least one squirrel many times over. This is a bit strange, as squirrels like oak trees, walnut trees, hickory trees—seemingly any tree with nuts—and I don’t have nutty trees in my yard. I do have Maples and I’ve never seen a squirrel build […]
After dissing my Maple trees on Monday for turning yellow instead of the anticipated shades of orange or red, I realized that yellow is also pretty, even if not what I expected or was used to. So, I snapped a picture yesterday of one with all its glorious yellow hues. It’s a good thing I did, as even […]
The first line of the prayer of Jabez, is: “Oh, that you would bless me, indeed…” First of all, the word “indeed” is a way of adding emphasis, much like we would do with an exclamation point. It wasn’t enough for Jabez to merely make his request, he made it passionately and emphatically. The request […]
Fall is a colorful time in Michigan. Even so, the colors in our area of the state do not seem to be as vibrant this fall as most. In my yard, for example, is a “burning bush,” which typically turns a deep fire-engine red in the fall. This year the shade is muted, more akin to ruby […]
The prayer of Jabez is a short prayer and is found in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10; it is also the subject of a recent popular book by the same name. After a short, very short, bio of Jabez, his equally short prayer is given, followed by a concise commentary. Jabez’s five line prayer is: Oh, that […]
By Donald S. Whitney (reviewed by Peter DeHaan) As stated in the book’s title, “Spiritual Disciples for the Christian Life,” this work discusses spiritual disciplines for those who follow Jesus. Spiritual disciplines are willing and intentional actions that promote spiritual growth, making us more like Jesus. They should not be thought of actions that earn […]
You may think that I was AWOL last week, having not posted anything since October 3. Actually, I have been extremely busy. At the beginning of last week, I was at the ATA (American Teleservices Association) convention in New Orleans. It was a great convention, but the preparation for the trip, the travel, and the […]