“Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me; O Lord, be my helper.” Psalm 30:10 Gracious – Back to Exodus. God’s self-definition uses a form of this same word, but the word in Exodus 34:6 is never applied to anyone but God. “I am the Lord, compassionate and gracious”. David would never be so bold…
“Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me; O Lord, be my helper.” Psalm 30:10 Hear, O Lord – Those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. So goes the great thought of Wellington. And this is what David has in mind. The phrase David uses is not just any ordinary…
“What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target,” Job 7:20 Target – Have you ever felt like God’s bull’s eye? Right in the center of His aim? God draws back the bow and lets the arrow fly and “Whap!” it penetrates right into the center…
“for the LORD is not restrained to save by many or by few.” 1 Samuel 14:6 Restrained – Mass marketing. The numbers game. Mega-lotto. Our world view is all about “bigger is better”. How many business decisions do we make based entirely on the premise that mass exposure will produce results? How many projects do…
“Hear, my son, your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching;” Proverbs 1:8 Teaching – Who laid down the law in the home where you grew up? If you experienced that era where Father was off to work early every day, the chances are pretty good that Mother was the rule maker. Her…
“so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” 2 Timothy 3:17 Good Work – Real work is “to feel that what we do is right for ourselves and good for the world at exactly the same time” (David Whyte). Work is inside-outside. It’s not just paying for my lifestyle. …
“Therefore, if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36 Indeed – This word describes a quality of freedom. It shows us that this freedom, the freedom given by the Son, is the freedom to be. What does that mean? Let me give you one example and you will immediately…
“for the LORD will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the LORD has been pleased to make you a people for Himself.” 1 Samuel 12:22 Pleased – Watch out! God is at work! Willing. Choosing. Determining. This is not about saying the magic word. It’s not about being nice and…
“for the LORD will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the LORD has been pleased to make you a people for Himself.” 1 Samuel 12:22 Abandon – “Why did you leave me?” The piercing blade of those words wounded me, cutting through my rationalizations. I felt only shame. How often…
“Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that it may come among us and deliver us from the power of our enemies” 1 Samuel 4:3 Deliver – Yesterday we saw the reaction to Israel’s defeat. The elders recognized immediately that the issue was with God, not the…
