Godinterest
Jacob was defeated, but he wouldn’t just give up. He wanted something in return – a blessing. How bad do you want to be blessed? This was normal for Jacob, who was always trying to get something from someone. It’s nervy to think of demanding a blessing from someone who has just gotten the best […]
I must tell you the hard truth: I am not naturally a very sad person. But because of genetics, chemical malfunction, and a history of some bad theology, I’ve struggled with depression. I have sometimes met with counsellors, and I have sometimes used the medications they prescribed. I fully believe in Jesus, but I can relate too well to today’s verses. Though […]
Remember: Christ is the hope for the broken-hearted. Pain is real. He felt it. Heartbreak is inevitable. He experienced it. Tears come. His did. Betrayal happens. He was betrayed. He knows. He sees. He understands. He loves deeply, in ways we can’t even fathom. When your heart breaks when the pain comes, when the whole thing […]
God has given each of us gifts, and He’s given us the grace, the supernatural power to operate in those gifts. In other words, if God has called you to do something, He has equipped you by His grace. Scripture says that His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. That means, when we […]
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “Actions speak louder than words.” One of my friends at university “oozed” the fruit of the Spirit. His kindness, gentleness, joy, and patience were evident. As people saw this, they were attracted to him, and opportunities to share his faith were multiplied. Scripture says, the Spirit of God gave […]
In Matthew 25 we see a picture of the end times. We listen as the King, Jesus himself, returns and gathers all the nations before him. He then separates people individually, as a shepherd would do with sheep and goats. And we wonder of course, “Am I a sheep or a goat?” In this scripture, […]
The second coming is mysterious, and there are differing interpretations about end times and the return of Christ. But in teaching about Christ’s return, the Apostles’ Creed simply states, “He will come to judge the living and the dead.” Someday Jesus will return from heaven. He didn’t say when this will be, but he did […]
The Bible predicts that wars, earthquakes, and other disasters will be a sign of the end times. There are lots of these today. Many are being persecuted for their faith in Christ. We also read that in the last days, “people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their […]
The wickedness Jesus warns about in today’s verse could be called “lawlessness”. It goes beyond refusing to live God’s way – it refuses to live according to anyone’s rules. It’s the attitude that believes “It’s only illegal if I get caught”. As time passes, this passage in Matthew 24 becomes more frightening. Perhaps every generation […]
The former US President, Abraham Lincoln, was considered a great leader because he knew how to interpret the changing times. Someone said that Lincoln “was summoned by events he did not initiate and was exposed to conditions he did not create, but his response was so powerful an interpretation of events that it reshaped the […]
It is God who gives us the time we have, from the beginning to the end of our lives. It is not our own. Many people, however, have the arrogant notion that time is their own, so they should be able to spend it as they wish. But time is not a commodity we get […]
Have you heard the saying, “Some people are so heavenly-minded that they are no earthly good”? The Pharisees were so Sabbath-minded that they were no earthly good. They worried about their righteous standing before God and did not notice the obvious: a woman “crippled by a spirit for eighteen years”. Scripture says, while teaching on […]
Going on holiday is often a source of rest for many people. They are something that we long for after many months of hard work. Each week we need a time of rest too. Yesterday we spoke of God’s rest on the seventh day when he completed the work of creation. That set a pattern […]
When we hear the word “Sabbath”, many of us think of the Jews—as if the concept of Sabbath began with them. When others of us hear the term, we might think of Protestant Reformers, as if the idea of the Sabbath somehow started in the 16th century. But the origin of the Sabbath is with […]
Two things you need to make it through hard times; grace and peace. These two are powerful forces in the life of the believer. Grace empowers us, and peace directs us. It’s like this: grace is the gas and peace is the navigation system. You need both to reach your destination. Scripture says, that we are […]
The Bible includes many passages about the destruction of the wicked, that is, people who refuse to live God’s way. They decide to go their way instead, leading only to destruction. That’s because we are all sinners. Born with a sinful nature, we cannot live pure and perfect lives on our own. Everything we do […]