Blessings and Bitterness: It’s All For Your Good Ep 027

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blessings and bitterness

God brought Jacob and his family to the land of Goshen. This is where the children of Israel flourished.  It’s also where they experienced hard times and eventually slavery. God was letting them know-this is not your home. This is not the place I have ordained for you.  A place that was once a blessing for you may be drying up and becoming difficult. Might it be that God is moving you on the a place where He wants you set apart for a specific purpose?

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God Has An Appointed Time and Season for You Ep 025

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God has an appointed time and season for you

Every one of us is like a fruit tree in the garden of God, and God is expecting fruit from our lives. That is why we are here. He puts us here for a purpose, since everything on earth is here for a purpose. What is the purpose God has for you and me? It is to produce fruit.

I love the metaphor of tree and a believer. You are not a reed moved about by every wind which blows, nor a creeping ivy or plant that grows along the ground. A tree is upright, and grows heavenward. This tree is planted instead of one that grows wild. A planted tree is under the care and cultivation of its owner. The metaphor reminds us that those who delight in God's Law are owned by God, cared for and pruned by Him.

Remember, as you look around God’s orchard at other trees that different fruits have different ripening requirements. Some produce we can collect on in earlier years, other fruit don't come to full term until we are older adults. The key is to stay next to the rivers of water. When one harvest comes in seed needs to be set aside for the next wave. Don't fear crop failure. Farmers optimists by nature. So too with God, and we should be also. We have God's promise – “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest... winter and summer... shall not cease."

How to Listen to The Podcast

If you’re not familiar with podcasts, imagine them as radio shows you can listen to at your convenience. You can listen on your phone or tablet while you drive, workout, or during chores--the possibilities are endless!

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Problems In Your Promised Land Ep 024

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problems in your promised land

We call Abraham the father of faith. But when you look at Genesis 12 and on, His journey really began as a disaster. Romanticize The initial launch of Abraham's journey into the Promised Land was not promising. There was fierce competition for the land (Gen. 12:6), and Abraham spent a long time trying to find a place to occupy (Gen. 12:8-9). Rocky economic conditions forced him take his family to Egypt, hundreds of miles away from the land of God's promise (Gen. 12:10). Talk about a road trip gone bad.

Many people of his stature probably would have headed back. When Abraham left his home in Haran and set out for the land of Canaan, his family was probably already quite large. We know that his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot came with him, but so did an unspecified number of people and possessions (Gen. 12:5). Soon Abraham would become very wealthy, having acquired servants and livestock as well as silver and gold (Gen. 12:16; 13:2). He received people and animals from Pharaoh during his stay in Egypt, (outside of the land of promise) and the precious metals would have been the result of commercial transactions, indicating the Lord as the ultimate one to grant blessing.

When you look at the promise, the problems are clear. God called Abram to a land that was:

1. Inhabited
2. Famine struck
3. Unable to support he and Lot
4. War torn.

After God makes the promise in Gen. 12, Abram trusts and obeys God and moves to Canaan, and he travels the length and breadth of the land, building altars and establishing the worship of God in Canaan. In doing so, Abram is stretched in so many ways—he’s acting as a priest with the establishment of altars. In Gen. 14, Abram rescues Lot from a confederation of kings in battle and then interacts with two kings after his victory. In doing so, Abram establishes himself as a royal figure himself. This is a new role for him. So Abram is a priest, establishing worship in the land, and Abram is a king, defending the land from rival rulers.

One of the big problems with the land is that Abram doesn’t own it yet. God says he will be a nation, but nations exist because of the territory they occupy and own. And so when God says that Abram will possess it, Abram understandably asks, “How will I know this?”

In Gen. 12, there was a famine in the land that forced Abram to go to Egypt. In Gen. 13, the land was too weak to support both Abram and Lot together. He goes from famine to war in the span of one chapter. And in Gen. 14, the land was the site of a major war between rival alliances. Famine, weakness, and war. This land has problems. And Abram doesn’t own anything in it.

In fact, the only land he ever truly owned was Sarah's burial plot—certainly not all the land he could see! For him to receive this promise, and for him to receive it “forever,” means that he and his descendants will live forever. The promise takes on a new dimension.

Clearly, God's promise of the land to Abraham goes far beyond physical inheritance—it is an eternal inheritance, bestowed on those who have become his spiritual descendants through receiving the faith of Abraham. But that still doesn’t negate the problems Abraham has to face as he walks this promise out.


1. The land is inhabited by the Canaanites.

The land was inhabited by the “Canaanites,” who were comprised of several different groups, one of which was “the Canaanites.” “Amorites”, “Hittites” and many others are also mentioned, but there does not seem to be much consistency in the use of the various groups. The Israelites, when they were led to the Promised Land, were commanded utterly to destroy the descendants of Canaan then possessing it. Later we will see Abraham ask his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac outside of the this promised land—away from the Canaanite people he lives among.

2. Famine struck: This drove Abraham down to Egypt. This land that will later be described as one flowing with milk and honey has resources to sustain Abraham. God called Abraham to a place that was dependent on rainfall for crops and livestock to be sustained.

3. Unable to support He and Lot (though no problem for the natives): The land caused a separation between family members. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

4. War: Soon after Lot got settled in Sodom, a war broke out between the kingdoms of Sodom and Gomorrah and some of the other local kingdoms. The Sodomites were defeated and Lot was taken prisoner. Abraham mustered 318 of his men and together they overcame the four kings, pursued them northward, and freed Lot along with the five kings and all their possessions.

Even is all this, Abraham did not forsake God or walk away from His promise—which mainly looked like a problem from the get-go.

God’s blessing often operates opposite to how we would expect. It is given to the most unlikely recipients and it advances though human opposition is strong. You will have to do the same with presented with a promised land from God. You will have to drive out. Your promise may not look like it belongs to you. Maybe it’s too big. Maybe it’s too far. But you will have to go in and establish worship where there is no worship established.

When it looks like God’s place of promise won’t sustain you, you have to trust that God always provides—no matter what it looks like. Perhaps your place of promise will cause a separation. You will have to leave a comfortable place—a place you’d put down roots, formed a community. Take authority over that which is fighting against us.
God has a Promised Land for you today. I am confident that there is something He wants to do in your business, your home, your marriage…something special that He wants to do FOR YOU. But first you must focus on the sovereign, perfect will of God the Father. God’s promise doesn’t always look or feel peaceful or even look promising for the matter. But we don’t walk by sight—we walk by faith, trusting that God always makes things work out for our good.

How to Listen to The Podcast

If you’re not familiar with podcasts, imagine them as radio shows you can listen to at your convenience. You can listen on your phone or tablet while you drive, workout, or during chores--the possibilities are endless!

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When Your Worship and God’s Willingness Meet Ep 023

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Worship and Willingness.png

As soon as Jesus came down from delivering the Sermon on the Mount, He encounteedr a leper. In the Sermon on the Mount (chs. 5–7), Jesus teaches about the kingdom of heaven; now He begins to demonstrate it through powerful deeds.

In the Old Testament, God was not to be touched or handled—think of the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant, which represented His presence. Leviticus was all about being clean to even be in His presence. But in he New Testament. Jesus goes out into the world touching all manner of uncleanness and cleansing it and healing it.

Easton’s Bible dictionary says: Leprosy was “the outward and visible sign of the innermost spiritual corruption; a meet emblem in its small beginnings, its gradual spread, its internal disfigurement, its dissolution little by little of the whole body, of that which corrupts, degrades, and defiles man’s inner nature, and renders him unmeet to enter the presence of a pure and holy God”

With one act, Jesus broke the law (and fulfilled it).

Like the leper, we are polluted by sin, but the presence and work of Jesus cleanses all that. We don’t have to bring ourselves clean to Him, He does that for us. The miracle happened when that leper stepped out in faith and knelt in worship before Jesus. His act of worship ignited Jesus’ willingness to take away His unclean state.

Mentioned on the Show:

Matthew 8:1-4

Leviticus 13:45-46

Malachi 3:2-3

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How to Listen to The Podcast

If you’re not familiar with podcasts, imagine them as radio shows you can listen to at your convenience. You can listen on your phone or tablet while you drive, workout, or during chores--the possibilities are endless!

1. Listen here on the blog. Click the little play button at the top of this post and enjoy.

2. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play.  Please click subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. Also, I'd love it you'd leave a rating on iTunes and/or Stitcher.  Your review helps other listeners find the podcast.

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Why You’ll Never Succeed at Holiness…On Your Own Ep 022

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Holiness.png

While reading through the book of Leviticus, what struck me is that the Israelites had to always be aware of their state of purity or impurity. Anything could turn their otherwise clean state into an unclean one, like touching a dead animal, giving birth, or something as simple as a skin rash. It was always Israel’s responsibility to ensure that they returned back to a state where they could approach God.

In Leviticus 10:10-11, God says to Aaron, “You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, and you are to teach the people of Israel the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”

It was the priest’s duty to teach the people what was considered holy and what wasn’t. Today, it seems this is a lost art. Political correctness has trampled over any talk of holy living. And the “I’m going to do me” mantra rules even in churches today.

Leviticus 10:10: “And that you may make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean,”

God is holy, and nothing that comes short of that holiness is to be permitted into His presence. Nothing ritually unclean must enter the Sanctuary and its precincts, for it will defile it. So it was the responsibility of the priests to make the distinction and see that it was observed.

Today, we are to be responsible for making sure that we are in a state of holiness as we appear before God.

Mentioned on the Show:

Leviticus 10:10-11

qadash- Hebrew word for kindness

Leviticus Commentary by Jay Sklar

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How to Listen to The Podcast

If you’re not familiar with podcasts, imagine them as radio shows you can listen to at your convenience. You can listen on your phone or tablet while you drive, workout, or during chores--the possibilities are endless!

1. Listen here on the blog. Click the little play button at the top of this post and enjoy.

2. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play.  Please click subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. Also, I'd love it you'd leave a rating on iTunes and/or Stitcher.  Your review helps other listeners find the podcast.

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Circumstances Don't Define Your Identity Ep 021

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Identity in Christ.png

It’s easy to let circumstances dictate your identity and direction.

Like Mephibosheth we are all sinners have been wounded, crippled, because of the fall of Adam and Eve in Garden of Eden. Like Mephibosheth, you are crippled—it may be a crippled heart, while he had crippled legs. Maybe your lameness comes in the form of a sin that trips you up, worry, anxiety, a failed relationship, trouble with finances, sexual abuse, domestic violence, and the list goes on. It’s easy to flee when you fear punishment just like Mephibosheth fled to LoDebar with his nurses help in fear of death. Like Mephibosheth, you may fear returning to where you belong--the palace where King Jesus lives. The place where you approached the throne freely because you grandfather sat there.

Mephibosheth was off in LoDebar—in hiding—in fear of being murdered following the battles that took his father’s life and led to his grandfather’s taking his own life. LoDebar means “no pasture,” “no word,” “no communication.” Mephibosheth sought refuge in a barren land.

So too, it is with us. We try to hide from God—to our own LoDebars where the pasture is non-existent and we are not fed. Where we are not daily in the Word of God. Where we don’t pray and seek communion with Christ.

But God calls us out to reconfirm our identity and highlight our royal status.

Mentioned on the Show:

2 Samuel 9:1-13

chased- Hebrew word for kindness

Who You Say I Am by Hillsong

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How to Listen to The Podcast

If you’re not familiar with podcasts, imagine them as radio shows you can listen to at your convenience. You can listen on your phone or tablet while you drive, workout, or during chores--the possibilities are endless!

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2. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play.  Please click subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. Also, I'd love it you'd leave a rating on iTunes and/or Stitcher.  Your review helps other listeners find the podcast.

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Is Your God Too Safe? Ep 020

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Is Your God Too Safe

Christian’s today have built their version of God—one who is too safe. He is a loving God, but He’s also predictable. And He looks nothing like the God of the Bible–who is totally unpredictable. Many of us may not voice this, but we dislike God as He really is, and we end us steering clear of Him or running from Him like Adam and Jonah, which causes us to wind up in a place that author Mark Buchanan (author of Your God Is Too Safe) calls “borderland,” a strange and safe place that promises nothing and delivers nothing.

The book Your God Is Too Safe urges believers to escape this borderland and live with God in “the holy wild.” This reminds me of God’s people in the Old Testament when He delivered them into the Promised Land.

God promised the a land flowing with milk and honey to the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness for decades. And just as they were on the cusp of crossing over into it, a group rose up and asked to stay in nearby cities east of the Jordan because the land was beneficial for their flocks.

Instead of moving into their new Promised Land, they opted for ease and peace in the border land. What they saw was enough for them rather than the unknown goodness that God had assured.

Sound familiar?

God says step out of that comfort zone.

But you say: stay where it’s nice and safe.

God says: venture on in faith.

But you say: this looks good to me...think I'll camp out right here.

Numbers 32:5., “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.”

Members of the tribe of Reuben and Gad approached Moses to ask to stay put. Do not take us across the Jordan they demanded. They preferred prized pasture land over the Promised Land. In what ways have you put yourself where God should be—and determined what your boundaries are for what He’s given you?

Mentioned on the Show:

Numbers 32:5

Your God Is Too Safe by Mark Buchanan

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If you’re not familiar with podcasts, imagine them as radio shows you can listen to at your convenience. You can listen on your phone or tablet while you drive, workout, or during chores--the possibilities are endless!

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Moved With Compassion: Jesus Cares for You Ep19

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compassion Jesus cares.jpg

“He was moved with compassion." This is said of Christ Jesus several times in the New Testament. It is expressive of the deepest emotion; a yearning of the innermost nature with pity. Theologian Benjamin Warfield’s book is called “The Person and Work of Christ” There is a chapter in that book entitled, “The Emotional Life of Our Lord.” He tried to synthesize the biblical passages that spoke of the emotions of our Lord Jesus. He stated, “His whole life was a mission of mercy...His entire ministry is summed up as going around the land and ‘doing good.’” The world that best summarizes Jesus our Lord is no doubt the word “compassion.” It is the emotion most frequently attributed to Him. Do you ever think of God as having feelings for you? If not, why not? If so, which feelings do you tend to attribute to God? Do you believe that God is “filled with love and compassion” for you? If you really believed this, how might it impact your relationship with God? How might it impact your relationships with others? The scriptures give us example of how God feels love and compassion for each and every one of you.

Mentioned on the Show:

Luke 7:11-17

Greek word for compaasion: splagchnizomai

The Person and Work of Christ by Benjamin Warfield

2 Kings 4:8-37

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How to Listen to The Podcast

If you’re not familiar with podcasts, imagine them as radio shows you can listen to at your convenience. You can listen on your phone or tablet while you drive, workout, or during chores--the possibilities are endless!

1. Listen here on the blog. Click the little play button at the top of this post and enjoy.

2. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play.  Please click subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. Also, I'd love it you'd leave a rating on iTunes and/or Stitcher.  Your review helps other listeners find the podcast.

3. Share today’s episode. Email or text the link to a friend or share on social media: click the share button below.