READ: Exodus 37-39, Psalm 30, Mark 2, Romans 2 Joy in the Mourning We have the misguided concept that joy and sorrow are opposites. Joy may well come in the morning (Ps. 3:5), but it also comes in the mourning. When God takes the “u” out of mourning, it can lead to dancing (30:11). Unfortunately, […]
Region: Arab World
Abiding in Jesus: January 29
READ: Exodus 34-36, Psalm 29, Mark 1, Romans 1 Mercy and Truth Truth without mercy kills. Mercy without truth corrupts. Intimacy in relationship is impossible without large doses of both. Chuck Miller points out that with grace alone you can have friendship – but you cannot have intimacy. Only when truth and grace intertwine do […]
Abiding in Jesus: January 28
READ: Exodus 31-33, Psalm 28, Matthew 28, Acts 28 God Insurance Too much of God’s presence and too little of God’s presence both destroy us. We are familiar with the absence of God’s presence being hellish (Ps. 28:1). We understand logically that even the wicked (in this life) benefit from a muted sense of His presence […]
Abiding in Jesus: January 27
READ: Exodus 28-30, Psalm 27, Matthew 27, Acts 27 I Will One theory of leadership presents three concentric circles: the innermost labeled “Control,” then “Influence,” and the outermost “Concern.” The theory posits that we should spend 80 percent of our energy and time on what we can control. As we spend energy on what we […]
Abiding in Jesus: January 26
READ: Exodus 25-27, Psalm 26, Matthew 26, Acts 26 Ministering to Jesus We all betray Jesus (Matt. 26:31). If we all are Spartacus, we also all are Judas. Jesus lives with our continual collective betrayal — and we betray Him with our kisses and we betray Him with our loud protestations of supposed fidelity. When […]
Abiding in Jesus: January 25
READ: Exodus 22-24, Psalm 25, Matthew 25, Acts 25 Further Up and Further In My favorite C.S Lewis Narnia Chronicle is The Last Battle. In the final chapter Narnians explore Aslan’s country, finding that the further in they press, the broader and more beautiful the land. God’s concentric circles expand the closer you press to […]
Abiding in Jesus: January 24
READ: Exodus 19-21, Psalm 24, Matthew 24, Acts 24 We Fear so We Don’t Fear The paradoxes of God are His graces, for they enable our limited understandings to wrestle with His immeasurable transcendence. God’s ways are so far above our ways, theory is not sufficient for comprehension – we must experience the paradoxes of […]
Abiding in Jesus: January 23
READ: Exodus 16-18, Psalm 23, Matthew 23, Acts 23 Abiding for Others The best thing we can do in Church Planting among unreached people (or in ministry, or as a mother, or as a follower of Jesus who desires to make disciples) is to Abide in Jesus. When we “stand before God for the people” […]
Abiding in Jesus: January 22
READ: Exodus 13-15, Psalm 22, Matthew 22, Acts 22 The Comforts of Slavery Slavery has its securities. When Moses leads God’s people out of bondage, they immediately have to fend for themselves. Water is hard to come by, and at least back in Egypt – unlike the desert – there are onions. With Pharaoh’s armies […]
Abiding in Jesus: January 21
READ: Exodus 10-12, Psalm 21, Matthew 21, Acts 21 Under the Blood As a child my parents taught me to “plead the blood.” Essentially this meant to resist the forces of oppression and evil that would come against my body, soul, or mind by reminding them (and myself) that I was under the protection of Jesus. […]
