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Have you ever felt far from God? When the Israelites were in exile before the coming of Jesus, they were far from the dwelling place of God as he chose to dwell among them in the temple. Even though we are in an age of God dwelling with and among us, I often put myself in exile from God’s presence by removing myself from him in difficult times. I’m sure many of you do the same. Today I’d like to challenge all of us to turn our affections toward Christ and to find our deepest satisfaction in hi...
In my last article I said I wanted to do a small series looking at the armor of God from Ephesians 6:10-18. Last time I wrote about the sword of the spirit and the shield of faith. This time I would like to take a look at the helmet of salvation and the shoes that Paul describes in this way: “your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” So what do these two pieces of armor look like historically and how do they help us understand the spiritual implications Paul is ad...
I’ve spoken much on the importance of the local church, but I’ll keep harping on the topic. In this article and a few more to come, I want to focus on the armor of God. Specifically for this article, I’ll be focusing on the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit. Ephesians 6:16-17 reads: “Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” When Paul wrote thi...
In my last article, I wrote about the prophet Isaiah. His response to God’s call was, “Here I am, send me.” He was willing to be used by God before he even knew what God was asking of him and was faithful to carry out every difficult task. In this article I want to focus on the prophet Jonah. God specifically told him to go to Nineveh, calling the people to repent of their wickedness. Instead, he ran in the opposite direction to Tarshish. Jonah ran because Nineveh was a very evil place, enemi...
scribes his calling this way: "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here I am! Send me.'" (Isaiah 6:8) The immediate answer by Isaiah to the question "Whom shall I send" has always been astounding to me. He didn't know the specifics of what he just volunteered for, or the degree of what he would be called to do. Nevertheless, he answered swiftly and assuredly, "Here I am, send me." Dear reader, has God ever called you to do...
“I believe; help my unbelief.” Can’t Christians so often relate to this statement? Mark 9:14-29 describes a father of a boy possessed by an evil spirit. He asked Jesus for help, to which Jesus told him that anything was possible for those who believe. The man responded, “I believe; help my unbelief.” After this, Jesus healed the boy. This is a miraculous story of faith and healing. For some however, it often seems as though God doesn’t answer our prayers. The apostle Paul himself struggled w...
What does it mean to serve without expecting anything in return? As we call ourselves Christians, literally "little Christ," we should be modeling the behavior of Christ. We see in Mark 10:45 just what Jesus had to say about service, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Jesus left his heavenly throne to serve us and that is mind-boggling. But that he served us even to the point of dying on the cross for us is nearly...
Have you ever had these moments in your life where you find yourself pleading and begging to understand why you are downcast? Well the Psalmist who wrote Psalms 42 definitely has. I often find myself in seasons of my life where I become downcast and heavy laden but as a believer in Christ, shouldn't I be filled with this overwhelming joy all the time? Yes! And no...Allow me to explain why. Joy is a long-term expression of gratitude and elation. The presence of despair and downcast is not somethi...
Why is the local church so important to believers in Christ? Can't I stay home and listen to a sermon, pray by myself or go outside and worship through the beauty of nature? Yes, in fact, you can, but that is not church. When you have this mindset, you minimize the importance of what the local church stands for. It is not merely a place to go to sing songs and listen to a sermon; it is the community of believers. Church is not a building; it is the body of Christ. I'm a car guy, so when I'm arou...
"In the beginning..." You might be thinking the next words in this quote are: "...God created the heavens and the earth." But today we will be finishing the quote in the gospel of John. Often, when we read the Christmas story, we turn to Matthew or Luke. But I'd like to look at the birth of Christ through John's perspective in his gospel. Instead of looking at the story narratively, as Matthew and Luke do, we will be looking at it theologically. The first verse of John's gospel starts with the...
The world around us is obsessed with the pursuit of happiness. But what if I told you I had no interest in the pursuit of happiness but am instead more interested in the pursuit of joy? Let me explain. Happiness is a fleeting momentary circumstantial emotion whereas joy is a more permanent state of being. When we receive good news we may be happy, but this happiness can be quickly dashed by bad news. Because joy is a permanent state of being, I and many others choose to find joy in Christ. This...
If you wanted to go on a trip to Seattle today, would you be able to drop everything and make it there and back okay? Before going, you would have to check to make sure you have fuel, money, a decent car, and food and water along the way. This is called counting the cost. To count the cost is to see if you can finish something before you start it. This journey of following Christ is no different. Before committing to Christ and picking up your cross are you able to complete it through to the...
Lilies and Sparrows... That most likely means nothing to you right now, but it will soon. I've been using the phrase "lilies and sparrows" for years now to encourage myself and my wife. Whenever hardship comes up, I say this to myself. To explain why, I encourage you to read Jesus' words in Matthew 6:25-31 and 10:29-31. Are we not worth more than the lilies and sparrows Jesus mentions in Matthew? Absolutely we are! We have been made in the image of God! Even the language used in the creation...
