At that moment in the Garden of Eden when the Master confronted the serpent-disguised enemy, He articulated a reality that all of us had better understand: within the cosmic arena there is a war going on between Satan and all that is evil and God and all that is good. Consider God’s words to Satan, found in Genesis 3:15: I […]
The people of Israel mastered two tasks during their trek through the wilderness: winding their way through the mountain passes and desert straits, and whining as they went. In fact, their impatience was so irritating to God that at one point He sent poisonous snakes to smite them. Numbers 21:8-9 develops the story, saying, “And the LORD said to Moses, […]
Shortly before entering Jerusalem for his death march, Jesus offered a parable that highlights the long-suffering of our heavenly Father. It is the story of a vineyard owner who early in the day hires workers for a set amount of pay. As the day progresses and his need for help increases, the vineyard owner hires still more workers. When the […]
Six days of silence must have left Moses ready to hear something—anything—from the LORD. Having been summoned by God to the top of Mt. Sinai, Moses expected some kind of interaction. But silence? Yet, Exodus 24 implies that for six days Moses—while shrouded by God’s glory—awaited God’s verbal initiative. Finally, “on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from […]
Elijah had invited the prophets of Baal to join him in building two altars. They were to see which altar would be set afire by the ones they each worshipped—Baal, or the Holy God of Israel. Baal was not responding, an indication of his falsehood. Note how Elijah prepared for God’s anticipated response. Elijah took twelve stones (18:31). With these […]
Though we are now a few weeks beyond that date in which we arrived so enthusiastically in Fargo, North Dakota, we still have a plethora of boxes filling our garage like one of those obscure government warehouses in the Indiana Jones movies. Floor to ceiling, front to back . . . boxes are everywhere. What we need to do is […]
“When we get our hearts broken in ministry, that is not a dead-end, that is a threshold on the verge of something glorious.” - @rayortlund
“LORD, be merciful to us!”
Isaiah 33:2
When churches convey (explicitly or implicitly) that race & ethnicity are topics they'd rather not talk about, it communicates to ethnic minorities that a *huge* part of their daily lived experience is not welcome or meaningful to God.
