Whatever

You know what makes me happy? My God’s not picky. Otherwise, I’d still be hitting the bong and slamming cases of Lucky Lager. He forgave me. He picked me up out of the muck and set me on solid ground. If I were Him (thankfully I’m not) I wouldn’t want people like me.

This anonymous testimony recently sent in to us reinforces this point. This guy lived for drugs. He hated people. He robbed people. He lied. He slept around. He really didn’t deserve forgiveness (think about it – none of us do).

But like I said, my God’s not picky.

Read this testimony of God’s amazing grace and unending forgiveness.

Does communion heal? What does Scripture say about it?

Find out here.

I find five easy divisions in this Psalm.

• God is our refuge (Psalm 18:1-3)
• David tells God his troubles and pleads for help (Psalm 18:4-6
• God responds to David (Psalm 18:7-19)
• How God treats the righteous (Psalm 18:20-27)
• David tells what God has done for him (Psalm 18:28-50)

This Psalm reminds me that God isn’t always peaches and cream. He love us, yes, but He can be destructive, angry, judging.

⁷Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
⁸Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
⁹He bowed the heavens and came down;
(N) thick darkness was under his feet.
¹⁰He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
¹¹He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water.
¹²Out of the brightness before him
hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
¹³The LORD also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
¹⁴And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
¹⁵Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
Psalm 18:7-15

I think I’d rather be on His good side.

On another note, I don’t fully understand how David could say that he was blameless and pure (Psalm 18:20-24), unless he wrote this Psalm before the Bathsheba incident. Maybe David just understood that God’s forgiveness surpasses any sin. Forgiven sin, like an expunged crime, vanishes – never to be remembered.

My favorite verses are 20-27. If we live righteously, we can expect God’s favor. Haughty and crooked people should have no expectation of salvation. As Christians, we should live as David describes in verses 21-23. And then, as we strive to serve God, He makes us righteous (Psalm 18:24), which is something only He can do.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
²²For all his rules were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
²³I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
²⁴So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
Psalm 18:21-24 (ESV)

The rest of this Psalm David rejoices in how he pounds his enemies into dust, and I appreciate him sharing such things, but I’m not sure that we, as Christians, should follow his example in this. If anyone disagrees with me, I’d love to hear about it.

The 400 years between the writing of Malachi and the beginning of the New Testament are often referred to as the “Silent Years.” The term could be based on Amos 8:11-12, where Amos prophesies about a famine of hearing the Word of God. But was God really silent during this time?

Check out the new article, The Silent Years, to get a little insight into this subject.

When Autumn arrives, when leaves fall and bitter cold begins to wipe out vibrant life, our thoughts can turn dark. This time of year often reminds me of my mortality. We all live, flourish . . . die. Yet Autumn also signifies celebration. Thanksgiving arrives. Christmas is just around the corner.

While Autumn can seem gloomy, real despair struck our planet in Spring . . . long ago . . . when our Savior was nailed to a tree.

Check out Tim’s latest poem . . .

Autumn Commemoration

The Bible tells us to confess sin. James 5:16 specifically says to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another. But what is the context of this verse? And are there other verses in Scripture that mandate confessing sins to one another? Should we reveal all the gory details of the sin when we confess? What is the Biblical pattern for confession of sin?

We attempt to answer that question in our article, A Biblical Approach to Confessing Sin.

Why in the world would God harden someone’s heart? Why did He harden Pharoah’s heart (you know, back when the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt)? How could a God of love possibly do such a thing? If you’ve ever wondered about that, then you’ll enjoy the insight this article provides.

Why Does a God of Love Harden Hearts?

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
Isaiah 7:21-23 (ESV)

If you have knowledge of the Word, but your life shows no evidence of it, you should be concerned.

Check out our thoughts on this topic.

Knowledge Without Action