Portable Praise

Psalm 98:4–9

Making a joyful noise to the Lord sounds good and right, doesn’t it? It’s a no-brainer—so much so that it’s easy not to engage our brains all that actively over a praise passage. We’re inspired and uplifted when we read such words. Our gait may even be livelier and our gaze focused higher for a while afterward.

The trouble is, our days are often characterized by an operative word other than praise. Despite our best intentions, that word too easily morphs into busyness. Author Cynthia Heald reflects on this issue:

One day when I was reading Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost for His Highest, I was struck by his insight about a rather obscure and easily overlooked verse in Genesis: “[From there he (Abram) went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD.]” Chambers writes, “Bethel is the symbol of communion with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. 

The Bible Verse No Guy Enjoys Reading

J. LEE GRADY

 

3438

 

207

 

4

 

774

 

Deuteronomy 23:1 is painful—but it shows us that God wants to heal the wounds of the masculine soul.

I’d never heard a sermon on Deuteronomy 23:1 until last month, when my Puerto Rican friend Luis Roig had the courage to read the text out loud to a group of men in Florida. When he did, one guy gasped and fell on the floor. Several others laughed nervously, and we all drew our knees together and groaned.

The Holman translation says it this way: “No man whose testicles have been crushed or whose penis has been cut off may enter the Lord’s assembly.”

Ouch!

Please pardon the graphic language, but older translations just aren’t clear. The King James Version says, “He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord.” That’s putting it mildly!

Fear of What's Next

by Max Lucado

"I am going away" ( John 14:28).

Imagine their shock when they heard Jesus say those words. He spoke them on the night of the Passover celebration, Thursday evening, in the Upper Room. Christ and his friends had just enjoyed a calm dinner in the midst of a chaotic week. They had reason for optimism: Jesus' popularity was soaring. Opportunities were increasing. In three short years the crowds had lifted Christ to their shoulders . . . he was the hope of the common man.

And now this? Jesus said, "I am going away." The announcement stunned them. When Jesus explained, "You know the way to where I am going," Thomas, with no small dose of exasperation, replied, "No, we don't know, Lord. We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?" ( John 14:4-5 NLT).

Impossible is a Dirty Word!

by Barbie Breathitt

We need to remove 'impossible' and 'can’t' from our vocabulary. With God, through prayer, supplications and proper planning all things are possible! We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! Christ instructs us to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. Dynamic people make plans and follow their dreams. Imaginative thinking promotes resourceful planning, which leads to great acts and success. The Bible calls it ‘the greater works.’ We were created to do the impossible, to be spectacular, not average or mediocre. 

When God gives us an idea or a powerful dream there is a way to do it. Anything is possible! We can facilitate it if we believe. Faith and belief enables us to look past limitations into the realm of creative possibilities. Confidently putting our dreams into action helps us grow. Positive discussions, brainstorming and measures cause dreams to come alive. But, procrastination causes fear and doubt to grow. When doors of opportunity present themselves, knock on them; if they open take the first step and walk into the new. Always move forward towards the future. Once we begin to advance its easy to continue, just accelerate the momentum.

Myth: “If I’m a good Christian, then nothing bad will happen to me.”

Genesis 50:20

This isn’t what I asked for, thank you. I want my old life back.

The one where my parents were the perfect couple. Where I was the only one among my friends whose parents were still together. And seemingly still in love.

The one where I was voted most likely to succeed and everyone, right or wrong, envied my life because it seemed so perfect. And I believed it was.

I want to go back to the times when I knew You were involved in my life. The ones where I prayed and You answered. I talked to You, and You listened. The times when I knew You were alive. Loving. And on my side.

I want the life where all I had to do was show up for class, and I got good grades. Name a job opening, and I landed it squarely. Speak my needs, and my husband moved heaven and earth to meet them.

Make Advent More than "The Christmas Season"

Many of us make the four
weeks leading up to Christmas
into something it's not.

For the longest time, I thought "Advent" was just a fancy word for "the Christmas season," a holier, maybe more spiritual-sounding word for an otherwise hectic and overly-commercialized holiday stretch between Thanksgiving and Dec. 25. What I've discovered in the past few years of observing Advent is it's not just a different word; it's an entirely different approach.

Let me explain. Advent as a season is meant to make the journey toward Christmas full of meaning; it's meant to put us in touch with our deepest longings and greatest hopes; it's meant to teach us to bring all our desires together on one object: Christ. While "Christmas" as a season (properly) begins on Dec. 25 and goes 12 days (yes, there's a song about that!) until Jan. 6, Advent is all about the build-up to it. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and takes us right up to the glorious celebration of the incarnation.

God Sees You!

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 

 Luke 1:26-27

Late last year, I had the privilege of going to the Holy Land. It was my second trip, and it was so meaningful. One afternoon, we made the trip to Nazareth, a very busy, Islamic city today … but a very, very, very small Jewish community at the time of Christ, perhaps as low as 35 families. 

In fact, Nazareth was so small, forgotten, and disrespected that Nathanael even said, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). (I believe we know the answer to that one.)