You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4:3 Wrong Motives – Since James is so pragmatically focused, he doesn’t mince words. What he really says is a jab to the solar plexus of our selfish desires. Maybe that’s why we…
What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? James 4:1 Quarrels and Conflicts – “I want it and I don’t care how I get it!” “I deserve better.” “You can’t treat me like that.” Have you ever found yourself speaking (or…
The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, and he who sires a wise son will be glad in him. Proverbs 23:24 Wise Son – Today is my youngest son’s eighteenth birthday. You will excuse me if I glow just a little. I am proud of this young man. He is a wise son. What…
Sometimes the teacher is more in need than the pupils. For quite awhile, I have been disturbed by the experience of worship. My wife and I have gone to many different church buildings (I deliberately use this expression to make the distinction between the church as an assembly of God believers and the place where…
Solomon also made a house for Pharaoh’s daughter whom he had taken. 1 Kings 7:8 Taken – In the middle of several chapters that describe the opulence of Solomon’s building project comes this one sentence comment. We might be tempted to skim over it. After all, it’s not as appealing as the vivid imagery of…
And do not turn aside to go after worthless things which do not profit and do not deliver, for they are worthless. I Samuel 12:21 Worthless – Let’s consider one of the strangest and most difficult words in the Hebrew Scriptures. You might think you are quite familiar with this word. After all, it is…
But if you will not listen to the voice of the LORD and you rebel against the mouth of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD shall be against you and against your fathers. I Samuel 12:15 Rebel – A few weeks ago I spent some time in Cuba. It is a stark reality…
If you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of he LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God. 1 Samuel 12:14 Fear and Serve – Biblical themes are consistent. The prophets proclaimed them. …
“and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.” John 10:3 Hear – The human ear detects frequencies between 15 and 20,000 cycles per second. That range gives us a wonderful appreciation of the deepest bass tones in a thundering waterfall and the highest shrill of…
Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? Mark 6:3 Carpenter – Are you saddled with a history? Jesus was. It is quite common among human beings to refuse to believe any claim that stretches our past experience. This is particularly true when…
