Discern When to Be Satisfied with What You Have and When to Yearn for More Though some of our world live in an environment of true need, most people have their daily needs met. Yet they aren’t satisfied with having their basic requirements covered. They want more. And the more that most people have, the […]
The Bible Tells Us to Live a Life of Contentment Though some people in our world struggle to have the basic requirements for life, many others enjoy an existence that meets all their needs and beyond. This is a given for many people in most developed nations. They don’t need to seek God for their […]
May This Year Be Your Best Year Yet As we move from one year to the next, may we put behind us the challenges, fear, and uncertainty of the past year and move into the new one with expectation. Here is my New Year’s blessing for you: May it be so. Receive this New Year’s […]
We Must Put God First Before Worrying about Ourselves In the short book of Haggai, the prophet has a message for the people and an application for us today. God, through Haggai, chastises his people. They live in nice homes, while God’s home—the temple—sits in shambles. It isn’t that God wants us to build great […]
Discover More About Haggai In the short book of Haggai, the central theme is that God’s house (the temple) needs to be rebuilt. It lay in ruins. But the people have not done so because they are focused on their own houses and comfort. As far as God is concerned, their priorities are wrong. They’re […]
We ascend the steps of the church, and a gregarious woman approaches. She’s wearing a white vestment, and I spy a clerical collar underneath. We’ve never been received so cordially. She thanks us for visiting and asks if we’re familiar with the Episcopal Church. We say no. She smiles broadly, “Here’s what I’m going to […]
God Told Abraham That He Would Bless Him and Through Him Bless All Nations How often do we ask God to bless us? It’s a request I make most every day. Sometimes more than once. I suspect you may often ask for God’s blessings too. What do we mean when we ask for God’s blessings? […]
Telling the Truth May Not Be Absolute The descendants of Jacob (Israel) are enslaved in Egypt. They are prolific and their captors fear their growing numbers. To curb their population explosion the king of Egypt commands the midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill every baby Hebrew boy as he is born. They do not. They […]
Prior to his birth, Samuel’s father would give Samuel’s mother a double portion of the meat from his sacrifice. This showed his love for her and affirmed her, despite her being childless. She was doubly honored. Just before Elijah went up into heaven, Elisha requested to receive a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. He did; […]
When God’s people were in Egypt, he promised to send them back to the land of Jacob, that is, the Promised Land. God would give them the land because they deserved it, right? Surely God would bless them with freedom and a place to call home because they earned it. Their endurance while enslaved in […]