October 2017 Blog Posts (10)

The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest.

Then pull back so that he will be killed.”

2 Samuel 11:15 NLT

The letter…

How special it is for us to be alive 500 years after the Protestant Reformation began in Wittenberg! This is an excellent time to thank God for what He did during those years to revolutionize peoples’ understanding of His Word, transform their hearts, and move them from uncertainty and fear through the church to confidence and freedom through Christ.

The core outcome of the Reformation was the revolution in scriptural understanding and worship by parishioners through direct…

The king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the unfailing, unsought, unlimited mercy and kindness of God?”

2 SAMUEL 9:3 THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE

I am King of kings—nevertheless…

We once had a beautiful long-haired dachshund. Even in her later years, all I had to do was say the word, “Go” and she would jump from wherever she was sitting and run to the nearest door. Funny how I have become like that dog. I know I need to say “no” occasionally, but every time someone sends me an invitation to speak, I jump to the occasion. I’m not sure how old Jeremiah was when he wrote that God’s word, “was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones” (Jeremiah 20:9) and…

A firestorm erupted recently when I wrote a blog that was deemed critical of the counseling profession. I have lots of friends who are counselors—excellent counselors—and several seemed to think I was including them in my critique of incompetent counseling. Meanwhile, I also have countless friends who’ve been helped by skilled counselors, and they rose up to defend the counseling profession and share their gratitude for a job well done.

My blog’s main point was simply…

After dating several women who told him he had “issues,” my friend Ron finally decided to look for a good counselor.

“That’s a great move,” I encouraged him. It was all I could do to stop short of adding, “And it’s about time, Ron!”

Yet the conversation grew darker when he asked my advice on how to go about finding a counselor who could actually do him some good.

“That’s a tough one, Ron. You’re a pretty hard case,” I chuckled. “And 95% of the counselors out there are…

David became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.

2 Samuel 5:10 NLT

The kingdom is Mine forever. I am Jehovah—the One Who Will Always Be Who I Have Always Been. I am the King of hearts.

I am the Undisputed Ruler of all the kingdoms of your life. I was…

This was the beginning of a long war between those loyal to Saul and those who were loyal to David.

As time passed David became stronger and stronger, while Saul’s dynasty became weaker and weaker.

2 Samuel 3:1 NLT

As long as you breathe in your mortal body, civil war will rage between your sinful and sanctified natures. While a resident in time, you will have to deal with tension between your…

In the course of time, David inquired of the Lord. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked.

The Lord said, “Go up” David asked, “Where shall I go?” “To Hebron,” the Lord answered.

2 Samuel 2:1 NIV

Lamenting his earthly friend Jonathan’s death, David looked to his Heavenly Friend to learn what he should do next. In his sadness he conducted a search.

At times…

In the course of time, David inquired of the Lord. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked.

The Lord said, “Go up” David asked, “Where shall I go?” “To Hebron,” the Lord answered.

2 Samuel 2:1 NIV

Lamenting his earthly friend Jonathan’s death, David looked to his Heavenly Friend to learn what he should do next. In his sadness he conducted a…