2 Samuel 22 – Thinking About God’s Goodness

As I was out walking one morning, I was struck by how pleasant the morning was. It was a little cool, a little breezy, and just right. And so, I started thinking about how good I really have it. I thought about how much God has blessed me and how far He has brought me. His goodness came flooding in on me.

That’s what’s happening with David in 2 Samuel chapter 22. At a time when things are good, David thinks back on all that God has done for him. He thinks about the places to which God has brought him and he’s flooded with the realization of how good God has been to him. David is so overwhelmed by all that God has done for him that he sings and compares it to Moses’ Red Sea crossing.

When’s the last time you found yourself thinking about God’s goodness. How long has it been since you have rehearsed God’s leading, rescues, provision, and protection?

Things might not be all that good for you right now, but it’s funny how rehearsing God’s past goodness to you can change your perspective on your present situation.

Try it. I dare you!

Deuteronomy 8 – Don’t Forget!

“Alright! Alright! I heard you the first time!” These are the words I would think to myself when I was a teenager and my parents were telling me something over and over again, so I wouldn’t forget it. (It was probably safer to think these words, then to say them out loud to my parents.)

In Deuteronomy chapter 8, God, through Moses, is doing the same thing any good parent does…repeating His instructions over and over. And like any good parent, It’s not because He thinks we don’t understand. It’s because He’s stressing the importance of what He’s saying, as well as the need to remember it and apply it.

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Deuteronomy 5 – Awe and Obedience

Remember when you were a kid and the sight of fireflies, shooting stars, and rainbows would cause you to stop in awe? Remember when your parents seemed so big and powerful that the sound of their voice would quickly snap you into obedience?

As we grow up, we tend to lose our child-like sense of awe, as well as our desire and willingness to obey authority.

We can also lose our sense of awe and obedience when it comes to our relationship with God. We lose our awe of God when we become too familiar with Him or too indifferent to Him. We lose our willingness to obey God when our self-motivated desires dampen our desire for prompt and complete obedience to Him.

In Deuteronomy chapter 5, Moses reminds the children of Israel that the key to their relationship with God, as well as their success in the world, would come from maintaining their awe of Him and their obedience to Him.

Awe and obedience should still be the core of our life and relationship with God. Without them, our life will lack power, passion, and production for God. Perhaps that’s why Jesus put such an emphasis on becoming child-like…as opposed to childish. (Matt. 18:3) (1 Cor. 13:11)

Our lives need to be based in awe over God’s indescribable greatness and obedience to His perfect Word. And one will prompt the other. If we reclaim our awe of God, it will renew our obedience to Him. If we improve our obedience to God, it will increase our awe of Him.

Have you lost your awe over the greatness of God? Do you find yourself treating obedience to God more as an option than a mandate? Pick one to focus on and the other will not be far behind.

Numbers 14 – Trading “I Remember” for “I Can’t Wait to See”

I was working in the oil fields of West Texas when God called me into full time ministry. After some preparation, I moved my wife and two small children to Ft. Worth, TX and began my seminary education.

At first, it was exciting. But the new eventually wore off when the demands of graduate school kicked in. There were mountains of books to read, a constant demand for papers to write, and tedious projects to complete. All of this (along with holding down a job) increased the stress on my marriage and family. Too little time, too little money, and too many expectations began to wear on us.

I found myself thinking, “I miss the good old days.” Graduation was in sight, but this nagging thought kept getting louder. Others around us called it quits and went back home. But we stuck it out, and it turned out to be one of the best things we’ve ever done.

So I can relate to Numbers chapter 14, and the feeling of being in that difficult in-between spot. God’s people were not in slavery, but they still were not in the Promise Land. God was asking the Israelites to do something that required a lot of risk. Consequently, they longed for what was behind them, rather than what was ahead of them.

We must be willing to follow God and step into the freedom of the unknown, rather than retreat to the bondage of the comfortable. The key to is believing God is good (Psalm 100:5) and brings all His power to bear for one purpose..our good. If we believe this, we will launch into the risky unknown, knowing that no matter what happens, it will be better than the past.

Let’s trade in our “I remember” for “I can’t wait to see.”

Remember Why You’re Married

Happy couple with photo albumUnless you’re a newlywed, you know how easy it is to let the demands, stresses, and frustrations of life crowd out the things that brought you together in the first place. It’s subtle at first, but eventually these things can take a marriage to dull distance at best and disappointing finality at worst.

But there’s something you can do to hit the refresh button on your marriage. It’s not expensive counseling, and it’s not an awkward marriage retreat. It’s simple, it’s easy, it doesn’t cost anything, and it will remind you why you got married in the first place.

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