Grains of Sand

Pixabay This year's journey through the Scriptures has landed me in the minor prophets. And as much as some like to downplay the message of the Old Testament to today's world, I take the warnings seriously. The parallels between the apostasy of God's people in the Old Testament and the modern church are too striking to ignore. And if those parallels are similar so will be the judgment that will come on us, as it once came on them. The warning has been preserved for us down through the centuries, and though there are so-called evangelicals today who poo-poo the importance, and even the veracity, of the Old Testament, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to look around and see just how far we have fallen from Biblical truth, from the teachings of Jesus, from being a people of God for the glory of God. History is cyclical. Our experience is something we share with generations past. The trappings might be different, but the evils are not. And those who do not learn ...

Google Images We don’t always see God’s sovereignty in action. We don’t always choose to acknowledge God’s sovereignty in our lives. We rail at Him when we think He has done nothing when, in fact, He has acted, though we are not always happy with how He has answered. The dictionary definition of “sovereign” is: supreme, absolute, unlimited, unrestricted, boundless, ultimate, total, unconditional, full; principal, chief, dominant, predominant, ruling; royal, regal, monarchical. As Jesus stands before him in John 19, Pilate, the governor of Israel, representative of the Caesar in Rome, considers himself to be just about sovereign when he says: “‘ Do you refuse to speak to me?’ Pilate said. ‘Don’t you realize I have the power to either free you or to crucify you?’ ” (vs. 10). Our lives often seem to be lived at the mercy of others. The authorities over us; our employers, our government, our spiritual leaders, all seem to have the right to tell us what to do, when to do it, and what it...

Time for MONDAY MANNA, hosted by our very own Joanne at An Open Book . Check it out. Does God "fudge" a little? Exaggerate? Understate? We often act as though he does. That's what got Eve into trouble a way back in the Garden of Eden. Satan remarks: "Did God REALLY mean to say that…" She swallowed the doubt; hook, line, and little, wriggly worm. Unfortunately she wasn't the first, and she won't be the last, to not take God seriously when he says something. Balaam was a little dense, but he wasn't stupid. After God make an "ass" out of him by speaking to him through the mouth of his donkey (Numbers 22), the prophet finally delivered the message to Balak that he couldn't possibly curse the nation that God has chosen to bless. " God is not a man, that he should lie [ouch!], nor the son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? " —Numbers 23:19. If God did "fudge...