David was angry. He had acted honorably toward King Saul by sparing his life, although Saul was pursuing him unjustly. But Saul went back to the comfort of his home while David remained a fugitive living in a cave. David had acted honorably toward Nabal, protecting his flock from wild animals and thieves. But Nabal in turn disrespected David and his men. This perhaps was the proverbial straw that broke...
100 Proofed Grace
Sunday, I missed church. Instead of church, I spent the morning in a friend’s garage trying to get my files off a hard drive. But since I’m a walking church, our conversation landed on the topic of grace. Is the church teaching grace in such a way that we are simply giving people a license to sin? What is the role of discipleship in this new grace movement. My friend...
Valiant Warrior
Three life lessons we can learn from Gideon: 1. On your absolute worse day, when you have received a bad report, when you feel as if all hope is gone, when you have nothing else to give, God looks at you and declares: “ I am with you, oh valiant warrior.” But we have to choose if we will believe that statement. 2. God can handle our temper tantrums. Gideon...
More of Him
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” Or “More of Him less of me. John 3:30 NKJV Are these legal prayers for New Testament Christians? Are these prayers full of false humility and a lack of understanding of our authority and identity? Yes and No. John the Baptist originally uttered these words when his followers were jealous of how quickly Jesus’ following was growing. They wanted John to share in...
False Humility
“I’m just a sinner saved by grace.” We have all heard it; perhaps have even said it! But this is one of the biggest lies Satan has sold us. Yes, we were all sinners. We were born into sin. But once we accept Jesus as our Savior, he gave us a new name. A new identity. A new spirit. He declares we are now The Righteousness of God in Christ...
Today is a Good Day for an Eviction
My brother-in-law and I have this ongoing discussion on whether or not Bucky, from the Captain American movies, was responsible for his actions. In the movie, Bucky was genetically modified and brain-washed to be an assassin. I thought about my brother-in-law’s and my conversation this morning as I read the story of Judas. The Bible says Satan entered Judas before he betrayed Jesus. Was Judas brainwashed by Satan? Genetically modified?...
Hobby or Calling?
“Is writing a hobby for you,” I was asked twice this weekend. I kind of wonder if the Holy Spirit prompted others to ask me that question. When I arrived at a writing conference yesterday morning, before I walked in the building, I had a conversation with the Father. “Why am I here? Why am I giving up my weekend, my money to pursue this? Did you truly call me...
Jesus Encounter
She literally lived on the wrong side of town. Samaria. The Jews avoided Samaria like the plague. Not only was she from the wrong side, she was a sinner amongst sinners. Shunned by her own people because of the severity of her sin. Today, like everyday, she made her way to the well in the middle of the day to avoid the condemning looks, the self-righteous stares, and the biting...
True Humility
“For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Matthew 23:12 NIV Agreeing with who God says you are is not exalting yourself. It is exalting the Jesus within you! It is trusting more in the finished work of Christ than your past mishaps. It is trusting more in his power to redeem, resurrect, restore you than in your ability to screw up....
Conceited or Convinced
David had just won a major victory. His nemesis, Saul, had been defeated in battle which opened the door for David to be King of Israel. To celebrate, Dave wrote a Psalm: “All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the...