Psalm 153 from Beyond Psalm 150 The shortest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 117. It weighs in at a mere two verses, serving as a reminder that our efforts to praise God need not be long or wordy. Sometimes succinct is better. Miriam’s song of praise to God, only one verse long, is a […]
Do God’s Instructions to the King of Judah Apply to Us Today? It’s dark times indeed for God’s people. The prophet Jeremiah is his mouthpiece to speak truth. God sends Jeremiah to the king of Judah with a message. This message begins with some commands and ends with a promise for obeying and a threat […]
Today’s passage: John 16:6–15 Focus verse: “When he comes, he [the Advocate] will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment.” (John 16:8) Jesus tells his disciples he will soon leave. This dismays them. But he says his departure is for their good. Unless he leaves, the Advocate can’t […]
To Hear from God, We Must Be Ready to Listen Advice that’s commonly given to writers is that we need to unplug from time to time to fuel our writing and feed our creativity. When we remove the distractions of our technology is when inspiration strikes. It’s when we solve writing problems and are best […]
For 52 Churches, we took a year off and visited a different Christian church every Sunday. When the year wrapped up, we returned to our home church. This time it’s different. Throughout More Than 52 Churches, we interspersed our church visits with regular attendance at our home church. This provided a balance, a stability to […]
Psalm 152 from Beyond Psalm 150 Psalm 90 is the oldest chapter in the book of Psalms. Moses wrote it. Though it’s his only entry in the Psalms, Moses penned other songs as well, but we need to search for them. We encounter one in the book of Exodus, we’ll call it the song of […]
The Bible Addresses Complacency Complacency. The word complacent means to be “pleased or satisfied” or especially, to be “extremely self-satisfied.” This seems to describe many people that I know. They are complacent, perhaps not materially, but certainly spiritually. They are content to sit back, with no concern for their non-material well-being and little remorse for […]
Today’s passage: John 15:18–John 16:5 Focus verse: “They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.” (John 16:2) Too many people do not see God at work and instead oppose those who follow him in fresh […]
How We See Ourselves May Differ from How Our Heavenly Father Sees Us I was recently reminded that God’s perception of us can be quite different from our own self-perception. The pressures of life overwhelmed a friend. One concern, a second, and then more conspired to weigh her down and steal her joy. She emailed […]
Greek Orthodox sits fourth on my mental list of churches to visit. Like Anglican Catholic, I’ve never talked to anyone who went to a Greek Orthodox church. Historically, I understand they split from the Roman Catholic Church about a thousand years ago. Consider these three discussion questions about Church 75. 1. What little I know […]