Grains of Sand

Pixabay As followers of Jesus we often refer to ourselves as being servants of the Lord, or as serving Him. We ask other believers about what they are doing in their local churches or in para-church organizations, considering that such activity is service for the Lord. We talk about pastors and missionaries serving the Lord. Sometimes, depending on how long and/or impressive the list, we begin to believe that we must be pretty important in the grand scheme of kingdom-building. Or, on the flip side, we are forced to deal with feelings of envy when others seem to be serving the Lord in better,  bigger, or much appreciated ways than we are. Don't get me wrong, serving the Lord is a fundamental theme in Scripture. In fact, everything in life becomes service when we are reminded of Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 10:31 as he writes: " So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. " Our service lends the practical evidence to our clai...

Sani Emmanuel — Google Images Between Numbers 14 and 20, Moses and Aaron intercede for the people several times. I mentioned one of those incidents in yesterday’s post on Numbers 14. At the beginning of chapter 20, the two leaders once more “ stand in the gap ” between the people and God. Israel was prone to complain. That sounds unhappily familiar to most of us. But in Numbers 20, the stress of dealing with these miserable people finally gets the better of Moses. This time the people are complaining about the lack of water (a situation they would not have to deal with if they had not refused to listen to Caleb and Joshua’s reports and had entered the land of God’s promise. They are blaming God for something they could have avoided themselves!). Moses and Aaron gather the people together. God has instructed Moses to speak to the rock. Instead Moses strikes the rock twice. God delivers the water but He is not happy with either Moses or Aaron. I wish I had more of the detail of this ...

Google Images If there ever was a portion of the Gospels that testifies to the deity of Jesus Christ, John 1 is that portion. The writer begins with those famous lines, “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. ” One of the reoccurring questions that bubbles to the surface here and there on the otherwise stagnant pond of today’s church is, “How can I know God better?” The deepest desire of a believer ought to be a more intimate connection with his Creator, John, reported to be the disciple who had that connection with Jesus more than any of the others, tells us the secret to knowing God. “ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth...No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known ” (John 1:14, 18). To know Jesus is to know God. Those who say t...

Google Images All of us keep secrets. There are some things that are no one else’s business but ours—and God’s. In the middle of the Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, recorded for us in Matthew 5 through 7, the Lord mentions three things that are to be kept secret. We are to keep our charitable acts a secret (Matthew 6:1-4). Matthew writes: “ Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men to be seen by them ” (vs. 1). To make a big deal about how generous we are with the expectation that others will honour us for that generosity ends up becoming our only reward. People may praise us, but God won’t. We are to keep our personal prayers to ourselves (Matthew 6:5-8). There are many Scriptures that tell us how important corporate prayer is so this passage isn’t saying that we shouldn’t come together as a group of believers to pray together, The message is that we shouldn’t pray to be admired by men. “ And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to ...

Every time I read these verses, I wish that I could experience them at least once in my lifetime. " The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: 'He is good; his love endures forever.' Then the temple of the Lord was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God " (2 Chronicles 5:13, 14, NIV). Have I been in inspiring services? Yes! Have I been reduced to tears because of the worship? Yes! Has the presence of God been so palpable, so obvious, that worship and service came to a halt because of it? I'm sure I would have noticed if I had. What would be my response? I hope it would like Isaiah's as described in Isaiah 6 as the sound of the music took on an angelic voice: " And they were calling ...

Reading: Acts 13-15 The heavens, and the earth, continue to declare the glory of God.

“ Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me ” —John 12:26, NIV. Doesn’t this verse sound soooooo good? Yes, Lord, I’ll serve you. I’ll follow. I’ll be where you are. My Scripture reading program for this year only gives me one or two isolated verses each day—a dangerous thing because it’s possible to miss the point of the passage when I look at it apart from its context. I thought I should look this one up. Jesus has already entered Jerusalem on his first, and last, donkey ride. Though the occasion was triumphant, the crowds appreciative, and new interest in the gospel sparked, the Lord immediately hauled His disciples down from their “cloud nine.” The interest in Christ’s message came from an unexpected quarter, some Greeks who were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. They asked to see Jesus. We can assume from the answer Jesus gave to their request that He was challenging them to count the cost of...

Even a picture isn't sufficient to capture the full meaning of this verse. But as the sun descends on 2009 and the dawn comes of 2010, it is fitting to remember the One Who is responsible for the hours, days, months, years, and everything else we enjoy. To this One all the earth will one day bow its knee. " You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being " —Revelation 4:11. To God be the glory!