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I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. — Romans 8:18In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. — 1 Peter 1:6There are two kinds of grace for the Christian: present and future grace. Future grace allows us to acknowledge the pain of the present without getting lost in it. Yes, the boss may yell, the spouse may be difficult to live with, injury may be present, suffering may occur, but, for the believer,…
After GOD had finished addressing Job, He turned to Eliphaz the Temanite and said, "I’ve had it with you and your two friends. I’m fed up! You haven’t been honest either with me or about me — not the way my friend Job has." — Job 42:7 from The MessageI like this rendering of this verse because it reminds us that God invites our struggle with Him. Job engaged God honestly. No, he didn’t have a clue about many things and neither do we. But Job didn’t settle for pat answers and comfortable theology. He led the way to authenticity.If…
Moses listened to his father-in-law [Jethro] and did everything he said. — Exodus 18:24The silence of God. No one knew God like Moses. Moses spoke with God face to face, he had a relationship with Him unparalleled in his day. Yet God never told Moses how to organize a judicial system. He was silent on that point.Why? Because God wanted Jethro to tell Moses. Jethro had administrative insight to bring to the table. I’m glad that God has put Jethros in my life. One of the most important of these advisers is my wife. She has enough common sense to…
"Why bother the Teacher any more?" — Mark 5:35While Jesus was sailing through the storm, a 12-year-old girl was getting sicker and sicker. While Jesus was delivering the man afflicted with demons, she grew weaker and weaker. Her father was frantic. Where’s Jesus?Jesus finally returned, and the father pushed his way through the crowd. He rehearsed in his mind what he was going to say. "Yes, many people are sick, but you don’t understand. This is my daughter." In a race against time, this father pleaded with Jesus to hurry. But what did Jesus do? He dawdled. He paused. He…
Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. — Mark 5:5Here is a man who was in torment. He had no rest day or night. He was driven away from people and had no one to share his suffering with. He was lonely and in terrible pain.Yesterday we looked at the storm from the perspective of the disciples. God brought them through the storm so they might see a clearer picture of who Jesus is.Today I’d like to look at the storm from the perspective of this desperate, demonized…
"Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?" — Mark 4:38I’d like to focus in on the word "care." We all know the story. The storm is out of control. Jesus is asleep. The waves are swamping the boat. The disciples are terrified.Where was God’s care? In a sense, that’s an unfair question, because we have a big advantage. We are looking at this storm 2000 years later. We know that God’s care was there all along. The disciples didn’t know how to stop the storm. So they did the only thing they knew how to do, they found Jesus inside…
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. — Exodus 20:17Why would we think that a gift from the devil is better than a gift from God? The whole point of this commandment is this: God gives good gifts.There have been times in my marriage when I couldn’t figure out what drug induced me to say, "I do." This is usually the time when the devil brings out the dessert tray and whispers, "See what you’re missing!"We all know, I hope, that there’s nothing but candy-coated poison on that tray.But what is God getting at here, when he tells us to…