Thoughts on Christ and His Word

Today I was struck by a simple yet profound truth: "you reap what you sow". For non farmers that means you eat the consequences of your actions. Proverbs 1:23-33 came alive to me today. First, by seeing the benefits of responding correctly to God's instructions. If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you...whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm." Prov 1:23, 33 WOW! When I listen to God, He pours out His heart to me. God pours out HIS HEART to me. The more I listen and obey God the more He will reveal His thoughts and heart to me. The God of the universe will speak and reveal himself to me. If that weren't enough, God says if I listen and obey I will also live in safety, ease, and without fear of harm. However, if we reject God's advice, rebuke, and outstretched helping hand (vs. 24-32) we will reap the consequences --- disaster, calamity, ove

I finished reading Job today and came upon an interesting characteristic of "leviathan" ( possibly a crocodile or some extinct super creature). God said about leviathan: Nothing on earth is his equal — a creature without fear. Job 41:33 I began to think about how fearful man is --- how fearful I am. Yet God exalts leviathan because he is "a creature without fear." God doesn't like it when we fear because fear is the opposite of faith and we all know that "without faith it is impossible to please God". Fear also has a paralyzing effect. It keeps us from trying great things for God. Our fear of failure or fear of what others might think keep us from taking leaps of faith for God and his kingdom. Fear is a trap from which God wants to release us. The one thing we are repeatedly told to fear in the Bible is God. Let all the earth fear the LORD Psalms 33:8 Here is a little known principle: We serve that which we fear. It controls our lives - thoughts, a

Yesterday was Father's day. I had a great day. My wife made me breakfast fit for a king - scrambled eggs with ham, cheese, tomatoes , and mushrooms. With that she served me pancakes with maple syrup. Then I played Axis and Allies (a manly war game) with my kids and brother-in-law. I won (my son Josiah helped me win). Then we went to church. I preached a message titled "The Importance of Fathers" (you can hear it on-line on The Rock's website). I challenged the men of our church to take up their proper roles as the leaders of their families - to take the lead in nurturing and disciplining their children in order to raise godly/kingdom building children for God. I firmly believe that if men would stop abandoning their wives and children and grab hold of their God-given role we could effectively wipe out violent crime in our cities and virtually reduce all social ills that plague our society. It takes courageous God-fearing men to raise kids right. I pray th

As I was reading through Job this morning I began to realize how deep this man's character was. His integrity and uprightness came from the core of his inner being - and he knew it. When his friends misdiagnosed his suffering as a result of his wickedness and secret sins he responded to their verbal accusations by saying: "I will never concede that you are right; I will defend my integrity until I die. I will maintain my innocence without wavering. My conscience is clear for as long as I live." Job 27:5-65 NLT As I kept reading I noticed the righteous character of Job (especially as seen in chapters 29 and 31). Job was a man: of compassion of justice who would not lust after women who was honest (without deceit or falsehood) who was faithful to his wife who treated his employees with dignity and fairness who helped the poor, the widow, and the fatherless who trusted God for his security and not his wealth who did not worship any other god who did not hold grudges nor