Author: joemarino (Page 25 of 54)

Joshua 5 | Trust and Obey

October 20, 2019 / joemarino

The prerequisite for spiritual victory is renewed trust in and obedience to the Lord. The Lord has just done a really miraculous thing in bringing the Israelites across the flooded Jordan River. If you put yourself in the shoes of the Israelites it would make total sense to storm the gates of the city of Jericho right now since the hearts of the kings of their enemies were melting like butter under a hot knife (5:1).

Joshua 4 | Something To Remember

October 13, 2019 / joemarino

Joshua chapter four is a slightly confusing chapter at first glance. It’s confusing because of its repetition and it’s non-linier narrative fashion. The language is just sometimes confusing.

Joshua 3 | God of the Impossible

October 6, 2019 / joemarino

“What do you believe is impossible?” It might be easy for some of us to proclaim that nothing is impossible with God. Greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world. So goes the common Biblical Christian thought. And it’s true to be sure.

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.