Job and His Friends Contend with God Job’s life has crumbled. His wife turned on him. And his friends don’t help. After listening to their back-and-forth dialogue that accomplishes nothing, God interjects. At last he speaks. At one point God says, “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?” (Job 40:2). In this […]
Word Picture: Vine Another word picture to help us better understand God is that he is the vine and we are the branches. We can view God as a vine, as our vine. In this, God is revealed as the source of nourishment, the giver of life, and the means of support, sustenance, and existence. […]
What the Bible Teaches About Wisdom May Shock Us The book of Proverbs talks a lot about wisdom. The word pops up in fifty-five versus in this thirty-one-chapter book. That’s a lot of wisdom. This may be the reason why many think of Proverbs as a book of wisdom. As Solomon and his co-writers compile […]
Discern When to Be Satisfied with What You Have and When to Yearn for More Though some of our world live in an environment of true need, most people have their daily needs met. Yet they aren’t satisfied with having their basic requirements covered. They want more. And the more that most people have, the […]
God Created Us to Thrive in Community In visiting congregations for my book 52 Churches, I realized the importance of community. Regardless of the music or the message we encountered during their service, the bigger factor in our experience was the human connection. Make a Human Connection at Church If I interacted with others before […]
We Benefit When We Share Our Joys and Burdens with Others When God created us in his image, he put within us a desire for community. Just as God lives in community with himself—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—he wants us to be in community with him. He wants a relationship with us. He pursues us. […]
I struggle through the first half of the service. I can’t identify what’s wrong. Despite their efforts at excellence, something turns me off. Now is the minister’s turn. An affable man, with combed-back hair, he wears a gray vest and maroon shirt, open at the neck. He tells the congregation to follow along in their […]
Questions Arise as We Study the Bible and That’s Okay In the post Is It Okay to Question God? I share stories of Job, Abraham, Moses, David, Mary, and Jesus. They all question God. Seriously, they do. But God doesn’t punish them for questioning him and his sovereignty. He listens. He’s patient. Asking Questions Is […]
Remove Worldly Distractions to Make More Space for God We live in a world of clutter. We’re surrounded by things that constantly demand our attention, if only for a fraction of a second. Some of it is our own doing, such as our technology with its 24/7 beeps and incessant call for our attention. Other […]
God Won’t Strike Us Dead If We Question Him Many people in the Bible question God. These aren’t fringe malcontents. They’re some of our favorite Bible characters and, I suspect, some of God’s favorite people too. They include Job, Abraham, Moses, David, Mary, and even Jesus. I can’t recall a single verse where God strikes […]