GOSPEL :: FAMILY :: MISSION
As I studied this passage, this week, I became aware of some high levels of anxiety and fear deep within my soul. When I say that the levels of fear and anxiety in my soul are high, I mean that they are maybe the highest they have ever been in my twenty-plus years of ministry. This is mainly due to things happening in the world around us, in our ministry, and in my personal life.
Continue readingIn my twenty-plus years of preaching the Bible, I am constantly surprised at how God orchestrates the preaching of specific passages of His Word in the midst of specific circumstances at the personal level, church family level, and cultural level. It was over a year ago when I first laid out this series in 1 Samuel. From that point forward, we have studied through this book, chunk by chunk, according to the outline I created, and we have not deviated from it. And here we are today, studying a passage about the biggest bully in all of Scripture.
Continue readingJohn Woodhouse, whom I often quote as we study 1 Samuel, notes that we live in a “confusing and uncertain world” and that because we often only see things with our limited human eyes, it is difficult to fully understand the significance and meaning of what we see.2
Continue readingJohn Woodhouse, in his commentary on this passage says, “it is hardly surprising that we all see lots of things differently. But God is not limited as we are limited. Therefore, if God has a point of view, that point of view will have an absolute validity.”2 Woodhouse goes on to explain that the only view worth pursuing is God’s view; to literally seek to see what God sees, even though we will never fully see what he sees, this side of Heaven, because we are limited by sin.3
Continue readingThere are many places throughout the Bible, where we read bone-chilling words; words that cut deep into the dark places of our souls. I think of the time when God enters the Garden and calls out to Adam, “Where are you?” and then subsequently says “Who told you that you were naked?” (Gen. 3:9, 11).
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How would you describe your prayer life? Would you describe it as vibrant and full of wonder or dull and lacking? Sometimes my prayer life is a continual conversation with God where I am laying everything at his feet throughout the day. Other times, my prayer life feels like a series of Hail Mary’s in the final moments of a game where my opponent is kicking my butt. That is kind of how David’s prayer in Psalm 70 feels; it feels like David is throwing up a Hail Mary in a desperate situation.
Continue readingWhy do we praise God through thick and thin? Or better yet, how do we praise God through thick and thin, through the good times as well as the bad times? Admittedly, it seems easier to give God the praise when things are going well. But the fact that we have all experienced the difficulty of praising God in the bad times says something about our struggle with believing the truth about God.
Continue readingThe superscription of this Psalm, which reads “A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah”, helps us to understand the unique circumstances that were going on in David’s life when he wrote the words of this Psalm. Whenever you see the word “wilderness” in the Bible it usually means “desert”; like the hot, dry, desert, wastelands found in places like Texas, and New Mexico, and Nevada.
Continue readingPsalm 61 has been described as a Psalm of Desperation by many commentators.2 Desperation means, “Not having hope, filled with despair, a situation of urgency in which a person does not know what to do”.
Continue readingThere are many difficult aspects of following God. It is difficult to trust him when your world is falling apart. It is difficult to hear his voice amidst all the noise of this life. It is also difficult to discern what God wants for us when we are faced with deciding between two equally good options.
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