Author: joemarino (Page 23 of 51)

Joshua 1:3 – 18 | Let’s Go!!

September 22, 2019 / joemarino

All I need to do for my heart to harden, after God has spoken his word, is… nothing! These words from another author (Jackman 2014: 31) are a warning to us in the church today. The only thing that will produce a hardened heart to God’s Word is a refusal to put our faith into obedient action. But how do you do obedience?

Joshua 1:1 – 2 | How Do I Do This?

September 6, 2019 / joemarino

There’s a question that often nags me in the back of my mind. It’s a reoccurring question that keeps popping up like those stupid little pop-up windows on my computer with those annoying little ads. It won’t go away. I can’t hide from it. I can’t minimize it. I can’t dismiss it. The question is: “How do I do this?”

Psalm 10 | Where Is God When It Hurts?

August 30, 2019 / joemarino

Where is God when it hurts? Where is he when bad things happen? Is he far away? Is he hiding? These are the questions that the Psalmist wrestles with right out of the gate in Psalm 10.

Psalm 9 | God Is Triumphant

August 25, 2019 / joemarino

Music is moody. Even for the most unemotional of people, music has a way of moving our emotions. Genre matters too. Country music can emotionally move you to the bank of a stream with a fishing pole and a cooler of drinks. Pop and rap music can put you into a dancing mood. Blues music can move you to inner reflection.

Psalm 4 | The Court Of Public Opinion

July 19, 2019 / joemarino

Charles Spurgeon said that this Psalm teaches us to approach God with our troubles before going to other men and women with them. He reminds us that the God we serve will not help us in the midst of six troubles and then leave us wanting in the seventh trouble. He reminds us that God does nothing by halves and he will never cease to help us until we cease to have a need.

Psalm 3 | When All Hell Breaks Loose

July 11, 2019 / joemarino

The opening line to this Psalm sets the context for everything that David says here. Notice that he says this is a Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. The Israelites would have actually sung these words in their weekly gathering. Sounds like a great, light and fluffy song for the lineup in our church gatherings doesn’t it?

Psalm 1 | Blessed and Miserable

June 30, 2019 / joemarino

I often love to ask myself who I want to be in ten years. What kind of a person do I want to be? What kind of character traits do I want to be known for? What do I need to do right now to set the ship of my life sailing in that direction? This kind of vision driven assessment of my life is oftentimes hard and exciting at the same time.

1 Timothy 6:17 – 21 | Wealth, Generosity, Eternity and the Gospel

June 23, 2019 / joemarino

The last five verses of this letter from the apostle Paul to Timothy and the church at Ephesus are a postscript to the main body of the letter. The main body of the letter ended with Paul’s benediction in verses 15 – 16 of chapter 6. But it appears that as Paul reviewed his letter to Timothy and the church that he needed to make one last postscript statement regarding wealthy Christians.

1 Timothy 6:11 – 16 | Belonging, Living and Trusting

June 16, 2019 / joemarino

These verses are a charge from the apostle Paul to Timothy his son in the faith. There’s something very powerful that happens when a father speaks to his child. The Scriptures teach us that death and life are in the power of the tongue. With our tongues we can speak deadly hurtful words that wound people unnecessarily. Likewise, with our tongues we can speak life-giving words that challenge and encourage and motivate people.

1 Timothy 6:3 – 10 | A Wandering Heretic

June 9, 2019 / joemarino

Teach and urge these things. Some have wandered away from the faith. These phrases act as bookends to everything that Paul says in verses 3 – 10. In our study of 1^st Timothy, Paul has consistently drawn our attention to the issue of false teachers, shipwrecked believers, departed disciples and now wandering heretics. And he says: teach and urge these things. Paul’s message to us in this letter regarding those who apostatize from the faith is an urgent matter.