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“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. Mark 10:51

The Lord is still asking us that question. So many times I have been guilty of vague, open-ended prayers. These are the prayers of a coward. A coward makes his prayers nice and vague so that he can claim anything as an answer. He can use that same obfuscation to excuse the lack of effectiveness in his prayer. Either way, he’s covered himself.

In the French language, the verb “to love” and the verb “to like” are the same. This is surprising in a…  ( Click for more )

When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers found him and severely wounded him. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and torture me!" But his armor-bearer wouldn't do it because he was terrified. Then Saul took his sword and fell on it. When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died. So Saul and his three sons died--his whole house died together. When all the men of Israel in the valley saw that the army had run away and that Saul and his sons…  ( Click for more )

And if anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take note of that person; don't associate with him, so that he may be ashamed. Yet don't treat him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. - 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 HCSB

Many of us have learned from our days in preschool that we are to be nice to everyone. “Don’t say mean things!” we are repeatedly warned. “Don’t you want to be his friend?”

But if being nice means empowering a wicked person to continue hurting others, then I choose to be antisocial. If friendliness comes…  ( Click for more )

These all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. - Hebrews 11:13 HCSB

Hebrews 11 is sometimes referred to as the Great Hall of Faith. This chapter lists many of the greatest heroes and heroines of the Faith. We find such illustrious names as Abel, Enoch, Noah and Abraham. The first half tells of all the victories that these saints enjoyed, but then it tells us that they did all these things without actually receiving the promise. The promise…  ( Click for more )

Then the men of the city said to Elisha, "Even though our lord can see that the city's location is good, the water is bad and the land unfruitful." He replied, "Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it." After they had brought him one, Elisha went out to the spring of water, threw salt in it, and said, "This is what the LORD says: 'I have healed this water. No longer will death or unfruitfulness result from it.'" Therefore, the water remains healthy to this very day according to the word that Elisha spoke. – 2 Kings 2:19-22 HCSB

Some men…  ( Click for more )

But Ruth replied: Do not persuade me to leave you or go back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD do this to me, and even more, if anything but death separates you and me. – Ruth 1:16-17 HCSB

Goy is a biblical term that can be literally translated “nation.” Its use as an identifier for the Gentiles stems from its first appearance in Genesis 10:5. It is used in a different manner occasionally,…  ( Click for more )

Your presumptuous heart has deceived you, you who live in clefts of the rock in your home on the heights, who say to yourself: Who can bring me down to the ground? Though you seem to soar like an eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down. This is the LORD's declaration. – Obadiah 1:3-4 HCSB

Amazingly, Obadiah foresaw the possibility of space travel, warning Edom that even soaring like an eagle and making their nest among the stars was not a God-proof strategy.

It’s odd how often this concept of escaping God comes up in history.…  ( Click for more )

This is why I have used the prophets to cut them down; I have killed them with the words of My mouth. My judgment strikes like lightning. For I desire loyalty and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. But they, like Adam, have violated the covenant; there they have betrayed Me. - Hosea 6:5-7 HCSB

From time to time, you will find people who will present you with false dichotomies. For example, they will say silly things like, “There is evil in the world. If God wants to do something about it and cannot, then He is weak and unworthy of my worship.…  ( Click for more )

(And if you…) are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light to those in darkness, an instructor of the ignorant, a teacher of the immature, having in the law the full expression of knowledge and truth-- you then, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach, "You must not steal"--do you steal? You who say, "You must not commit adultery"--do you commit adultery? You who detest idols, do you rob their temples? - Romans 2:19-22 HCSB

The calling of church elder makes some strenuous ethical demands:[1] honesty and fairness to…  ( Click for more )

When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd. - Matthew 9:36 HCSB

Religious words that were used in common speech have now lost significance. One of the favorite biblical images, the shepherd and his sheep, no longer fires the imagination of urban people.

The word “pastoral” still lingers on in professional speech, but less and less does a modern, Western shepherd illustrate the qualities that a Palestinian shepherd of the biblical era showed. Modern shepherds have some of the ancient…  ( Click for more )

After dismissing the crowds, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone. - Matthew 14:23 HCSB

There is something particularly sacred about the private times we spend with God in prayer. There should be some prayers that are so intimate, so revealing that we cannot bring ourselves to share them with anyone but God. If we feel free to share everything that we have shared with God with other people, then perhaps we may want to consider that we might not be really getting down to business with God.

Imagine if we shared every moment of…  ( Click for more )

The LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to break camp. - Exodus 14:15 HCSB

Sometimes it is not prayer, but action that is needed. Prayer is an effective tool, but sweat and elbow grease must always accompany it. You’ve heard the expression that talk is cheap? Prayer can be cheap, too, if we use it as an excuse to get out of work or as a salve for our consciences when we fail to help someone.

How many times have we heard someone intone self-righteously “Father, help all the poor starving people in the world”? How many…  ( Click for more )

Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will accumulate teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. - 2 Timothy 4:2-4 HCSB

Why do you attend your church? Is it because that is where your family has always gone? Perhaps you were raised in that particular denomination. However, denominations…  ( Click for more )

He threw off his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.... "Go your way," Jesus told him. "Your faith has healed you." Immediately he could see and began to follow Him on the road. – Mark 10:50,52 HCSB

Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road when he heard the crowd coming. Upon learning that the famous healing rabbi named Jesus was nearby, he began to cry out and say "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

The crowd tried to discourage him from disturbing the busy teacher, but he ignored them and only cried out louder. Jesus,…  ( Click for more )

"Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” - Matthew 7:7-8 HCSB

Prayer is hard work, requiring endurance of mind, soul, spirit and body. It is similar to mountain climbing. I used to enjoy free climbing. That means that I took ridiculous risks climbing rocks without the benefit of any gear, knowing that as soon as I reached the peak, I would have nothing to do but climb…  ( Click for more )

Casting all your care upon Him, because He cares about you. - 1 Peter 5:7 HCSB

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 not. Faith is…  ( Click for more )

This is what the LORD of Hosts says: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are making you worthless. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the LORD's mouth. They keep on saying to those who despise Me: The LORD has said: You will have peace. To everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his heart they have said, No harm will come to you." - Jeremiah 23:16-17 HCSB

A doctor was in charge of a study for a new drug that held great promise in the treatment of a mental disease. Millions of dollars were riding on this study. People…  ( Click for more )

For now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known. Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. - 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 HCSB

There used to be a television program called "Cheers" that was centered around a group of friends who met every day in a pub. The theme song voiced a yearning that all of us have. It said this was a place where "everybody knows your name."

People have an innate longing to be known. Not only do we want…  ( Click for more )

"Your heart must not be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. - John 14:1-3 HCSB

There once was a king who lost a war and as a result was exiled to a distant country. When he arrived, he found that quite a few of his previously captured subjects had also been exiled to the same place. He went to visit one of his loyal subjects…  ( Click for more )

"Because I, Yahweh, have not changed, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed. "Since the days of your fathers, you have turned from My statutes; you have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the LORD of Hosts. But you ask: "How can we return?" - Malachi 3:6-7 HCSB

An old woman liked to pray beside the river. One morning, as she was finishing her meditation, she saw a scorpion floating helplessly along in the current on a small branch. The scorpion was pulled closer to the bank and it was caught in the roots that extended…  ( Click for more )

Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. Though one goes along weeping, carrying the bag of seed, he will surely come back with shouts of joy, carrying his sheaves. - Psalm 126:5-6 HCSB

Understanding this verse may be difficult for the modern Western mind. After all, when spring arrives, we are relieved that the long cold winter is over. We are hopeful as we begin the season. We go out with our monster machines and scatter the seed with ease. Who goes out to sow seed weeping?

In order to better understand this passage, remember where and when it was written.…  ( Click for more )

Therefore since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God's throne. - Hebrews 12:1-2 HCSB

Have you ever considered all the people who witnessed the death of the Christ? Consider with me for a moment all the different reactions. It could be very instructive…  ( Click for more )

Then He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. – Mark 16:15-16 HCSB

The word “gospel” comes from the Anglo-Saxon “godspell” and literally means "glad tidings" or "good news."

In the Old Testament, good news was proclaimed widely (1 Samuel 31:9; Psalm 96:2-3; Isaiah 40:9; 52:7) and spread rapidly (2 Samuel 18:19-31; 2 Kings 7:9; Psalm 68:11) Both the preacher and…  ( Click for more )

“…give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." - Matthew 22:21 HCSB

Years ago, in a three-month killing spree, 850,000 Rwandans were killed. To a great degree, people who claim to follow Christ were complicit in this genocide in that in that they reinforced the latent racism that many of their congregations felt. They were complicit in that both Catholic and Protestant denominational leaders had so tied themselves to the government's interests that they were unable to stand against the genocide. They were complicit…  ( Click for more )