New Every Morning
“…yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!” (Habakkuk 3:18) After God shows Habakkuk the looming “day of distress,” this is the prophet’s response. Up to this point, to me at least, the greatest selling point of this little book of the Bible has been its authenticity. […]
Being Faithful
“This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to stand before me always.’” (Jeremiah 35:19, CSB) Two weeks ago, we read the story of Jonadab and his descendants. They believed God’s word and built their lives on the solid foundation […]
“The Plans I Have for You…”
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.“ (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV) In the real estate world, they say “location, location, location!” In Bible study world we say “context, context, context.” How many times have […]
My Hope is in You
“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.“ (Romans 5:5, NIV) I saw a political bumper sticker the other day that actually made me laugh. Picture a typical political endorsement but instead of the politician’s name it read […]
The People You Meet
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I […]
America’s “Self-Terrorism”
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not […]
On the Potter’s Wheel
At New Life Church, we’re studying the book of Jeremiah together this summer. The central question of the book is whether or not a society can live with complete disregard for moral and spiritual truth and not suffer the consequences of wickedness? It was a question worth asking back in 600 B.C., and a question […]
God and the Fairness Doctrine
“Lord, you always give me justice when I bring a case before you. So let me bring you this complaint: Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil people so happy?“ (Jeremiah 12:1, NLT) Did your daddy tell you growing up that life isn’t fair? Mine did. He always said it as kind of […]
Terror Prayer
Terrorism, as a term, dates back to 18th Century France…but they didn’t invent it. It has been around since biblical times. The word terrorisme means “to frighten.” Sun-tzu, the master Chinese warrior from 2100 BC wrote in his book The Art of War, “Kill one, frighten 10,000.” The Assyrians and Babylonians, during Jeremiah’s day, were […]
God-Shaped Holes
““My people have committed a compound sin: they’ve walked out on me, the fountain of fresh flowing waters, and then dug cisterns— cisterns that leak, cisterns that are no better than sieves. “ (Jeremiah 2:13, The Message) Blaise Pascal famously said that we humans were created with a God-shaped hole in our souls. This longing/desire […]
You are a Gift from God
““Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”” (Jeremiah 1:5, NIV) I love this verse for many reasons, not the least of which is that it reminds us that a fetus is a human (by the […]
