Your Own Worst Enemies

Your worst enemies will be right in your own home, meaning in your own mind. Family members may be a problem to you, yes, but your own mind and outlook is YOUR biggest challenge. God will give peace to you, and thereby others, as you depend upon and trust him.

Matthew 10:36 (TLB) 36 a man’s worst enemies will be right in his own home!

9/29/2019

Teaching Each Generation

All have intrinsic awareness of God but his ways must be taught to each generation. Judges 2:10-14 says if you abandon God, he will leave you to the mercy of your enemies. Enemies are internal and personal as well as geographical and political. 

Judges 2:10-14 (TLB) 10 But finally all that generation died; and the next generation did not worship Jehovah as their God and did not care about the mighty miracles he had done for Israel. 11 They did many things that the Lord had expressly forbidden, including the worshiping of heathen gods. 12-14 They abandoned Jehovah, the God loved and worshiped by their ancestors—the God who had brought them out of Egypt. Instead, they were worshiping and bowing low before the idols of the neighboring nations. So the anger of the Lord flamed out against all Israel. He left them to the mercy of their enemies, for they had departed from Jehovah and were worshiping Baal and the Ashtaroth idols.

9/22/2019

The Suffering of Job

Why would God collude with Satan to ruin Job, a holy man?  Wrong question. This is a teaching story.  Others may cause you to suffer but God always has your solution. One lesson is to show that true faith in his goodness (not that of your wife or friends) will restore all loss.

Job 1:8-12 (MSG) 8 God said to Satan, “Have you noticed my friend Job? There’s no one quite like him—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil.” 9-10 Satan retorted, “So do you think Job does all that out of the sheer goodness of his heart? Why, no one ever had it so good! You pamper him like a pet, make sure nothing bad ever happens to him or his family or his possessions, bless everything he does—he can’t lose! 11 “But what do you think would happen if you reached down and took away everything that is his? He’d curse you right to your face, that’s what.” 12 God replied, “We’ll see. Go ahead—do what you want with all that is his. Just don’t hurt him.” Then Satan left the presence of God.

9/18/2019

The Great Physician

Chronic medical problems and economic loss have been and still are with the world! This woman did all she could to be healed with conventional methods.  Upon hearing about Jesus, she was strongly drawn to the Great Physician. Jesus healed her and said, “Live well, live blessed!"

Mark 5:25-34 (MSG)  25-29 A woman who had suffered a condition of hemorrhaging for twelve years—a long succession of physicians had treated her, and treated her badly, taking all her money and leaving her worse off than before—had heard about Jesus. She slipped in from behind and touched his robe. She was thinking to herself, “If I can put a finger on his robe, I can get well.” The moment she did it, the flow of blood dried up. She could feel the change and knew her plague was over and done with. 30 At the same moment, Jesus felt energy discharging from him. He turned around to the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” 31 His disciples said, “What are you talking about? With this crowd pushing and jostling you, you’re asking, ‘Who touched me?’ Dozens have touched you!” 32-33 But he went on asking, looking around to see who had done it. The woman, knowing what had happened, knowing she was the one, stepped up in fear and trembling, knelt before him, and gave him the whole story. 34 Jesus said to her, “Daughter, you took a risk of faith, and now you’re healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague.”

9/15/2019

You Can't be Anything You Want to be

“You can be anything you want to be.” Children are told this and aspire to it. Actually, you can be anything God created you to be. God knows what you are best at and knows how you will flourish. If you are floundering, ask God if you are where it is best for you to be. 

Romans 14:7 (TLB) 7 We are not our own bosses to live or die as we ourselves might choose.

9/8/2029

Heroes of the Bible

In the Bible everyone who had favor with God also failed God. Heroes held up as good examples were also poor examples - liars, schemers, murderers, adulterers.  Each blossomed while in God-confidence. Their problems always came from their self-confidence. 

1 Corinthians 10:11-12 (MSG) 11-12 These are all warning markers—danger!—in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence. 

9/1/2019