The story of Gideon in the book of Judges shows him to be uncertain in what God is asking of him. God wanted to use Gideon to rescue Israel, so He sends the angel of the Lord to Gideon to call him into this service. Gideon wasn’t certain of this calling, and he didn’t believe that he was fit for God’s service. Gideon, weak in faith, puts out his fleece to determine what God really wanted him to do. He…
Psalm 119 is a favorite of many, as it is rich in many different aspects: prayers of praise, lament, vindication, worship, obedience, and petitions for wisdom. It has been researched that the word of God is mentioned in every one of the 176 verses except Psalm 119:122. Many beautiful songs are based on verses from Psalm 119. Open My Eyes That I May See (Clara Scott), For the Beauty of the Earth (Folliott Sandford Pierpoint), Break Thou The Bread of…
I read the book of Job about once each year, and each time, I find myself getting frustrated with Job’s friends. The old saying “with friends like these, who needs enemies?” always comes to mind. But I believe that reading these exchanges are meant to force us to think about how we handle people who think they know what is going on in our life and try to make suggestions, help us see what we might be missing, or tell…
Do you ever think about the 12 disciples that Jesus chose and how normal they were? He didn’t choose a rabbi, scribe, priest or anyone from any religious establishment. He didn’t choose anyone from nobility, famous, or powerful. Just ordinary common working men with average abilities and no exceptional talents. He chose these disciples so people could see that it is only God’s power working in them, and these men brought nothing of their own. Look how they continued Jesus’…
In 1 Kings 3:4, God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” Solomon asked for a discerning heart – or wisdom. In Proverbs, the words “wisdom” and “wise” appears 113 times, and in Ecclesiastes, 49 times. With our cell phones at our fingertips, knowledge is one swipe away. But is knowledge the same as wisdom? No! Knowledge, commonly called wisdom of the world, is the accumulation of facts and information, while…
Of all people, Paul knew what it was to struggle with the law. In Romans Chapter 7, verses 15-25, he makes this very clear to us: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but…
Robert Louis Stevenson, the Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer said, “I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in.” Christianity Today magazine did a survey and found that only about 10 percent of Americans who are Christians read the Bible daily. Don Whitney, professor of biblical spirituality at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary notes that, [The Bible is] “a challenging book, and even if people believe, in the abstract, that it would be good…
Author-pastor-teacher John MacArthur wrote a book in 2002 called Twelve Ordinary Men. This was an in-depth character study of each of Jesus’ 12 closest disciples. MacArthur describes Simon Peter as the disciple with the ‘foot-shaped mouth’. Jesus gave Simon the name ‘Peter’ (meaning Rock) because that is what Jesus wanted him to become, not what he already was. When you read Jesus addressing him as “Simon”, it’s when he was displaying his flesh and failures; when Jesus addressed him as…
Anyone take a road trip this year? Spring break, summer vacation, or the holidays? Directions have gotten a little easier with GPS in our cars and Google Maps on our phones. Every summer growing up, we would visit my cousins who lived in northwest Wyoming. It was an all-day drive—depending on which way we went based on the atlas and the fold-up maps in the back seat—but ultimately, we always pulled into their driveway right around dinnertime. In the account…
© Jennifer Slattery, JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud, printed with permission Read Part 1 here Read Part 2 here Read Part 3 here Our real life, the life which we were created for, the life which will bring us the greatest joy and fulfillment, is hidden in Christ. We discover this life by throwing off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and running with perseverance the race marked out for us (Hebrews 12:1). Our real life is found not in promotions…