Without Compromise
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon desired to unite his kingdom by instituting a centralized form of worship. He built a statue of gold about 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide and ordered that everyone must fall down and worship the statue whenever the royal music began to play. A report was delivered to the King […]
God’s Chosen Instrument
The great and mighty Apostle Paul was once the great and mighty persecutor of Christians and destroyer of the Church. He was so zealous that he actually went from house to house and dragged believers off to prison (Acts 8:3). Paul then set off for Damascus in order to rid the land of these “misguided” […]
Opportunity For Action
We often see the call of God as accompanied by a perceived risk. The risk we see may be in terms of finances, rejection, or failure; but there is always an element of the unknown in God’s call which requires us to trust and increase our faith. We should note that when we follow God’s […]
With You Always
Soon after the death of Joseph and his brothers, the descendants of Israel were forced into Egyptian slavery. For several hundred years, the Egyptians greatly oppressed the Israelites: “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly” (Exodus 1:12-13). God […]
Hiding Among The Baggage
When Samuel became too old to be an effective judge, the leaders of Israel asked for a new kind of ruler; “Appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have” (1 Samuel 8:5). This request was actually an indication of the sad decline of God’s people. By requesting a king, “as […]
A Greater Love
In one of the last messages Moses gave to the people of Israel, he told them to obey all the commands of God and to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). About fifteen hundred years later, Jesus referred to this […]
Build According To The Spirit
When the armies of Babylon made their final invasion of Jerusalem, they took many captives into exile and completely destroyed the temple – destroyed God’s dwelling among His chosen people. After many years, a group of Israelites were allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild. This group began the work with great excitement: “With praise […]
The Promised Land
In the message “The Search” we saw how searching for God’s will is a natural step of Christian maturity. As we become more like Christ, we naturally desire to do only those things consistent with the will of our Heavenly Father. We also saw that this can be a frustrating time as we search…and wait! […]
The Search
We have come to that wonderful place where our only desire is to do God’s will. We have begun to view our time on earth with an eternal perspective and are now in the process of aligning our life with His desires. We truly desire to do the will of God, so we desperately (and […]
Refuse To Be Afraid
As wars continue around the world, we must remember our true battles are not against flesh and blood – not against terrorism or deceptive governments, not against an oppressive boss or unappreciative spouse, not even against attacks on our health – but “against the spiritual forces of evil in the Heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). The […]
Gifts To Be Returned
After Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land, the nation was governed by a series of judges. The period of the judges lasted several hundred years and ended with the prophet Samuel. Samuel lived his entire life dedicated to God. In fact, Samuel’s mother dedicated him to God before he was even born. For […]
A Taste of Eternity
In the message “An Eternal Perspective” we saw the need to consider our life on an eternal time scale and to weigh our current burdens against the eternal glory of Heaven. But there are many believers who are unable to gain strength or comfort from this view of life. Although they know the concept, they […]