2015-06-07 - Learn to Listen Fools think their own way is right - Proverbs 12:15 David advised Solomon to observe the requirements of the Lord and follow all his ways - 1 Kings 2:3-4 Solomon may have spoken words of wisdom but his life ended in foolishness:
Solomon's failure to practice what he preached led to his downfall His wives turned his heart away from God and toward idol worship You will save yourself a lot of trouble by knowing the Word of God and doing what is says
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2015-06-12 - It's about love Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath or is it a day for doing evil? - Mark 3:4 Nothing gets the attention of a religous old guard faster than trying something new and different Example: Jesus on earth with the Jewish leaders with so many rules and regulations No one could keep all the rules and certainly not while joyfully serving God Jesus' wisdom steered people back toward the spirit of the law - root in the love for God and neighbor He healed a man in need and the leaders called it working therefore wrong Are you legalist or do you enjoy the freedom Jesus came to give you? |
2015-07-05 - Bottomline Wisdom My final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone's duty - Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 There is in hte heart of every man a God-shaped void Solomon had it all, but he eventually concluded that those things were not enough - which amounted to exactly nothing His life was empty Solomon asked God for wisdom and became the wisest man who ever lived Despite God's warnings, Solomon drifted from the Lord and turned to other gods Without God, life amounts to nothing but birth, lots of hard work, and death When you make Jesus Christ central to everything, even everyday events have meaning and significance |
2015-08-10 - True Leader An elder... an honorable position - 1 Timiothy 3:1 Timothy faced the daunting responsibility of picking the right leaders for his congregation Paul instructed Timothy to look for leaders with:
Timothy understood that God had called all believers to live by a higher standard than the world around them Being a church leader means consistently demonstrating the kind of character worthy of being emulated |
2015-09-01 - Real Life Knowledge Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance? - Job 42:3 You really find out what he or she is made of when you're not at your best After suffering through the loss of his property, wealth, health, and family, Job came to better understand God - Job 1:8 God had called Job a man of complete integrity - Job 1:8 When he suffered, he began to question God, complaining to God and accusing God of treating him unjustly When God revealed himself, Job had to retrack the foolish things he said. I take back everything I said and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance - Job 42:6 Job began to understand his smallest: I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes - Job 42:5 |
2015-10-07 - Pressure is On I thanks and praise you, God, for you have given me wisdom - Daniel 2:23 Nebuchadnezzar had a strange dream and wanted to know what it meant When his advisors couldn't help, he had them all executed Daniel asked the king if he could take a crack at interpreting the royal dream The pressure was on - Daniel needed answers and soon Daniel asked his friend to pray for divine revelation and he received a vision that clearly explained the kig's dream God gave Daniel exactly what he needed to save his life and his friends lives When Daniel was squeezed, out came his faith in God who does his best work under pressure |
2015-10-26 - Message Make the Man While I was with you I would forget everything expcet Jesus Christ - 1 Corinthians 2:2 People who encoutered Paul understood what was most important to him: Christ sin-defeating death and grave-defeating life He spent most of his life observing the Jewish laws and traditions but now everything was about Christ Paul made it a point to forget everything else besides Christ:
Paul had more education and experiences more than anyone but chose to focus on one simple message of faith and love Does your life convey the simple message that Jesus loves them? |
2015-11-21 - Choose Carefully You and I are as one. My troops are your troops and my horses are your horses - 1 Kings 22:4 There is a danger of entering into alliances with evil men who have no intent to keep the peace Jehoshaphat marred his legacy into an ill-advised and miltary alliance with Ahab - the godless king of Israel - 2 Kings 22:43-44 This led to a stinging defeat for Jehoshaphat and Israel and strong rebuke from the prophet Jehu - 2 Chronicles 19:13 God spared him because he had otherwise served him faithfully His error was the comprise and lack of wisdom in dealing with Ahab |