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If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish. – Luke 14:29 A couple years ago, I was involved in a big construction job that involved a lot of remodeling. Consequently, there was a lot of dirt. The construction equipment tracked inordinate amounts of mud on the formerly pristine streets of this upper class neighborhood and so it was decided that we would borrow hoses from the fire department, attach them to the fire…  ( Click for more )

Your duty is to go and preach the coming of the Kingdom of God. – Luke 9:60

There is a village on the Gold Coast of West Africa, called ‘Achimota’. It lies seven miles from the infamous Christianborg castle where slaves were held for the slave ships. Across a wooded hill above the village runs a path trod by thousands of slaves headed for a life of misery. This hill was the last chance of escape before they reached the dungeons from which they would be shipped across the Atlantic. Sometimes slaves would manage to escape the chains and would be cared for by…  ( Click for more )

Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." – Numbers 20:11-12 In a lifetime of patient, faithful service, Moses lost his temper once and it cost him his chance to set foot in the Promised Land. This was his life’s goal and he missed it for losing…  ( Click for more )

Abraham came near and said, "Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?" – Genesis 18:23-25

God revealed to Abraham His plan to destroy Sodom and its surrounding area. Abraham’s shocked…  ( Click for more )

Just as the body is dead without a spirit, so also faith is dead without good deeds. – Js. 2:26

Nehemiah had a great job. He worked for the king and got to eat like one. He had an easy job and didn’t particularly suffer from any want or persecution. But he got a burden for Jerusalem. He prayed and prayed and the burden only became greater. Finally, he did something about it. It was risky. It was foolhardy. It was downright foolish. But God answered amazingly and provided.

Nehemiah was able to go to Jerusalem and start building. The book of Nehemiah is filled…  ( Click for more )

Then he said, "Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it on account of the ten." As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the LORD departed, and Abraham returned to his place. – Genesis 18:32-33 Abraham returned to his place? Why in the world did he do that? Why didn’t he grab a horse or something and get to Sodom and warn them of the coming destruction? Why didn’t he at least warn his relatives?

Instead, he haggled with the Lord, knowing…  ( Click for more )

Abraham came near and said, "Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?" – Genesis 18:23-25 Have you ever wondered why Abraham tried to argue with God? Did he actually think that one can prevail…  ( Click for more )

Then he said, "Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it on account of the ten." – Genesis 18:32 Teshuvah is generally translated “repentance.” However, English does not do the Hebrew word justice because teshuvah also carries within it the meaning “return.” Repentance implies a change of ways; a change of heart; a change of direction. But we can change from one bad direction to another bad direction. Teshuvah literally means returning to…  ( Click for more )

Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” - Genesis 18:16-17 And they “looked down toward Sodom.” So much said in so few words. What an ominous, discomfiting statement! The angel’s look is rather like the glance given by the Master to Peter immediately after his third denial. What an impact those swollen, blood shot eyes must have had on the apostle! In fact, we see the power of that single look by Peter’s…  ( Click for more )

When arguing with fools, don’t answer their foolish arguments, or you will become as foolish as they are. When arguing with fools, be sure to answer their foolish arguments, or they will become wise in their own estimation. – Proverbs 26:4-5 Have you ever had to deal with a fool? You know – bull headed, ignorant, unteachable, absolutely convinced of the rightness of their cause contrary to all evidence and good sense, easily angered, thin skinned, and self-righteous – a fool. Of course you have – we all have. The Bible has sound advice for dealing…  ( Click for more )

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you. 1 Peter 5:7 Who doesn’t have cares? Who does not live with worries and concerns about the future? One of the many downsides to being finite is that we cannot foresee the future. We don’t even have a full grasp of the present! This doesn’t change when you become a Christian. You don’t just automatically become “Super Saint” and rest entirely on God. It is something that is learned. Many people seem to think that faith is a blind leap into the dark. It is…  ( Click for more )

…Be earnest and disciplined in your prayers…Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere. 1 Peter 4:7; Ephesians 6:18 Most girls, when they fight, flail away wildly – hair falling in their eyes, eyes closed, they swing with great energy, but with little accomplishment. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some phenomenal female warriors, but most girls fight like – well, girls!

We Christians are often guilty of fighting like girls. We…  ( Click for more )

Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. – Psalm 5:3 I share a particularly close relationship with one of my nieces. She used to stay at my house almost every weekend when she was very small. I found her sleeping with my dog in the dog basket not once, but several times. Once there was a time when her parents denied her a request. She responded “I’ll just ask my uncle. He’ll get it for me.” Ah, the utter confidence of youth and love.

I am often guilty of going through the motions…  ( Click for more )

Once when Jesus had been out praying, one of his disciples came to him as he finished and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1 “Teach us to pray.” This disciple had a flash of insight. He realized that there were hidden depths, unrealized complexities to prayer that were eluding him. When audiences who are not familiar with the art of grappling watch two master wrestlers, they often think not much is happening. Because they have not tried wrestling themselves, they don’t see the nuances. They don’t notice…  ( Click for more )

Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. – Philippians 4:13 (The Message) There once was an old man who wore overalls and a straw hat. He smiled a lot and his smile matched his hat – old, crinkly and well worn. He never yelled at kids who played in his yard. His house sat on ten acres, and his life-goal was to make it a forest. He had some interesting theories concerning trees. He came from the “No pain, no gain” school of horticulture. He never watered his new trees. He said that watering trees…  ( Click for more )

The nations will see your righteousness. Kings will be blinded by your glory. And the Lord will give you a new name. – Is. 62:2 A great general was surrounded one time. He was in his tent discussing strategy with his subordinates when an aide came running in. “General, the enemy has surrounded us with eight regiments! We are outnumbered 20 to one!”

Everyone turned to the great man as he gazed calmly at the panicked aide. “Well that’s outstanding!” he replied “We’ve got them right where we want them. We can shoot anywhere and hit…  ( Click for more )

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results. - James 5:16

No man is an island unto himself. We are more like an archipelago – a chain of islands with interrelated ecologies. Everything you do affects others around you. Why not use this “ripple effect” to benefit those around you? Do not consider yourself separate. Do not pray only for yourself. Notice that in Christ’s example of prayer, He began by praying for the advancement of the Kingdom.…  ( Click for more )

…Because of your faith, it will happen. Matthew 9:29 I read a story about a church that was located in an area beset by drought. At last, they decided to pray about the matter. Isn’t it funny how we don’t start out praying? We always wait until the situation seems hopeless then yell out, “God! Help!” Anyway, only one person showed up to the prayer meeting with an umbrella. They were all there ostensibly to ask God for rain, but only one among the congregation actually believed God would answer. When you pray, do you carry an “umbrella”…  ( Click for more )

I once thought all these (self-righteous works) were so very important, but now I consider them worthless (KJV reads dung) because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ. - Philippians 3:7-8 Generally, dung beetles don’t get a lot of respect. They usually don’t get noticed by anyone not playing around in a cow pad. However, in tropical climes they can be extremely numerous and busy workers.…  ( Click for more )

The prayer of the upright is His delight. – Proverbs 15:8 What if your loved ones only communicated with you in prescribed, rote, memorized fashion? What if they never deviated from certain written phrases? No matter how eloquent the phrases, wouldn’t you be disappointed? If my children only addressed me when they wanted something and did it in a very formal, ritualized fashion (in old English) it would drive me crazy! “Our Father, who art in the living room, how handsome thou art today,” they might say. “Thy fatherhood be established, thy will be…  ( Click for more )

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for those who love Him. - 1 Corinthians 2:9 There once was a princess who married a very wealthy commoner. He loved his wife and wanted to please her. So he bought her a huge mansion filled with the most expensive furniture money could buy. He purchased an exquisite wardrobe with each dress having been hand-made by the most famous designers. There were servants for every imaginable need.

However, while she smiled when he presented her with yet another gift, she never…  ( Click for more )

I will honor only those who honor me, and I will despise those who despise me. I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. – 1 Samuel 2:30b-31a Eli was a good man with bad sons, a frequent phenomenon in the Bible. Eli’s two sons were supposed to assist him at the temple, but they began to take for themselves meat that was supposed to be sacrificed to God. As if that was not enough, they took the meat by force and they also slept with women who came to worship at the temple! Eli tried halfheartedly to rebuke them but was too weak…  ( Click for more )

The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” – Genesis 3:12-13

A lot has been said about the first sin. Philosophers often wonder about it, though the average person doesn’t usually give it much thought. But the second sin may, in fact, be more important because we’ll never recover from the first sin as long as we’re guilty of the second. No matter…  ( Click for more )

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. – Genesis 3:6 Adam and Eve were living in an absolutely perfect setting called Eden. They had everything their hearts desired. The only thing forbidden was the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

One day a spectacular visitor, the serpent, struck up a conversation with Eve. The serpent raised in Eve’s mind a question…  ( Click for more )