I am sure that most of you heard the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego in Sunday School when you were young. I thought of this story recently when my wife and I went to see the movie Fireproof. There is the obvious connection with the title. But, there is a more subtle connection as well. In the Bible story, these men were instructed to bow to an idol created by the king. The men would not bow. As a result, they were threatened with the fiery furnace. Their reaction showed the depth of their faith. "If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” The key line in their answer is, "But if not...we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship..." Their answer was not contingent on God's reaction. They were not going to ...
A few months back, I wrote a blog about a quote that I had read. See the details here , but the quote was "The young man who rings the bell at the brothel is unconsciously looking for God." Here is why... God is a God of beauty! He is continually wooing us to Himself with the beauty that is all around us. I have written about how this recognition of beauty and its impact is unique to mankind. I am sure that all of you have experienced this when you have gazed at the mountains, the ocean, a star-filled sky, the clouds of a gathering thunderstorm, etc. This feeling is the wooing that I spoke of above. Men, you know that the beauty of a woman has a similar, yet more intense, impact. That is because Woman is God's crowning achievement. This is what Solomon was saying in the Song of Solomon. Woman is beauty personified. Her beauty and all of God's creation are intended to stir a longing in our hearts. A longing for our creator. But, that intention and plan took a...
At first glance, this declaration may seem grandeous and presumptuous. But, I don't think it is. David's life, out of all the men in the Bible, is laid bare to us in a way that is unique. We see David's entire life from boyhood to warrior to king to sage. We see him as a confident young man. We see him forgotten and left out. We see him rise in standing with men and then we see him fall. We see him suffer profound loss of friendship and relationship. We see him run and we see him fight. We see him as a warrior. We see him as a leader of men. We see him as a King. We see him struggle and fall to sexual sin and adultery. We see him murder. We see him remorseful and utterly undone. We see him fall to pride. We see him longing for God. We see him betrayed. We see him struggle with family issues, some for which he is responsible. We see him suffer the loss of a beloved son. We see him declared a "man...
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