Isaiah 11
Oh, we think we’re so smart. We think we’re so enlightened. We look back at what people did in other times and other places and other cultures, and we judge, judge, judge. We’ve come a long way, baby. We would never act so ignorant and unrefined. We are educated and enlightened and politically correct. We look at the world around us, and we know what’s going on. We’ve got the 411.
Psalm 138
Have you ever felt it? That moment when it seems like nothing else in the world matters except God, and at that moment, you would go anywhere and do anything—no matter the cost—if He called you to it? What happens to those moments? They come suddenly and go just as quickly, as the world and all its glittering promises come flooding back in.
Ezra 2
In the nation of Israel, it was very important to know (and be able to show) where you came from. Who was your family? Your clan? Your tribe? After 70 years of captivity in Babylon, I’m surprised that those who returned to Jerusalem following the decree of Cyrus could even trace their family history. Yet, the vast majority of those who made the journey home were able to show that they were, indeed, descendants from the tribes of Israel.
2 Chronicles 13
One of the things in Christianity that I find so curious is the "witnessing education" that goes on from time to time in churches. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? Those classes or workshops that purport to teach you about how to witness for Jesus. How to tell others about your faith. I’ve never understood the reason for these classes. Well, perhaps there’s a better way to phrase that. If, in the church, we are cultivating a real relationship with the living God, I’ve never understood the need for these classes.
