Salt

“You are the salt of the earth” Matthew 5:13 Salt – We’ve all heard messages about this verse.  We have been reminded that as believers we are to “infect” the world.  We are to spread the message of the good news to the “unsalted”.  But salt has another meaning that needs some attention.  Salt is…

Not laying again

“Therefore, leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance”  Hebrews 6:1 Not laying again – What does your ship’s log say about progress on your journey?  If you feel like you are just going in circles, if you look back over your life…

Maturity

“Therefore, leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance”  Hebrews 6:1 Maturity – I still love one of Rod Stewart’s songs.  The words are magical.  “I am sailing, I am sailing, Home again ’cross the sea.  I am sailing, stormy waters, To be…

Press on

“Therefore, leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance”  Hebrews 6:1 Press on – When you read this verse, think about the implication of this action.  Who is the agent here?  Who does the “pressing”?  At first it seems like this is a…

Point

“And you shall point them out to your sons, and you shall speak of them as you sit in your house, and as you walk in the way, and as you are lying down, and as you are rising up.” Deut. 6:7 Point – Did you know that God invented the cattle prod?  Of course,…

Anger

“O Lord, correct me, but with judgment, not with anger” Jeremiah 10:24 Anger – “Anger” might not be quite strong enough.  “Wrath” is more like it.  Why do we need to see the difference?  Because we are not dealing with some impersonal force that creates accidental cataclysms.  We are dealing with a personal God Who…

Judgment

“O Lord, correct me, but with judgment, not with anger” Jeremiah 10:24 Judgment – What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “judgment of God”?  Do you think of fire and brimstone like the judgment on Sodom?  Do you imagine the fiery lake reserved for the devil?  With those images in mind, it’s impossible…

Me

“O Lord, correct me, but with judgment, not with anger” Jeremiah 10:24 Me – Jeremiah asks God for something most of us avoid.  We are all quite willing for God to correct others, but how many times have we begged God to correct us!   How many times have your children come to you and asked…

Correct

“O Lord, correct me, but with judgment, not with anger” Jeremiah 10:24 Correct – I don’t like correction.  My almost immediate reaction to correction is defensive.  I don’t want to be wrong.  My observation is that we are a society that has a very hard time with admission of failure or error.  But without correction,…

Not in himself

“O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself:  it is not in man that walks to direct his steps.” Jeremiah 10:23 Not in himself – One of the greatest admissions of insufficiency we can make is the moment when we finally realize that we are not capable of determining our…