“Cursed be he who does the work of the Lord negligently and cursed be he who keeps back his sword from blood.” (Jeremiah 48:10) Jeremiah was speaking this work against Moab who was at ease.  They claimed to be mighty and strong warriors but had never been in any battle.  Doing the work of the Lord negligently here means that they were superficially and not genuinely making peace.   They were great at creating a superficial peace by overlooking issues and…..

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What is peace?   At the time of Jeremiah, people thought they had all the answers and were enjoying the good life.  They loved that the riches were flowing and life was easy.  Income was coming in as the harvest was plentiful and people were eating more than their fill.   Indulging and overabundance were common.  The church (assembly) of the time was preaching the prosperity gospel.   They were telling the people that peace was for them.  They could tip their hat…..

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Unhurried.   This is a statement that eluded me for such a long time.   Hurrying to the next activity, hurrying to do more, achieve more, and become more.   Yet in rushing from activity to activity and accomplishment to accomplishment, my spiritual life was diminishing rather than growing.  The Kingdom way is totally opposite.   The Lord says, “Be Still.”   When we stop and put everything aside, and become still before Him, we come to know Him. We grow in His likeness and…..

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“Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him.” (Hebrews 11:6) Diligent here is the word ekzeteo.  It means to seek out.   A word study notes that it emphasizes the personal intent of the seeker—they are intensely and personally desiring an outcome.  There is a motive that drives it that is tied to a treasured outcome.   What do you most…..

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. “Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant written in this book.” (2 Chronicles 34:31) The covenant that the people of God made with the God of Israel was not a contractual agreement that people had to follow to maintain its benefits.  Rather a covenant is…..

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Love will overlook offenses, forgive, let them go and move on.  Love will not remain focused on a harm done to them or a desire to do harm.  Rather, Love will remain focused on what is good, refusing to hold resentment in our hearts.   Writing last week about Joshua, he reflected this kind of love for his brothers.  He refused to take offense and pay them back for the wrongs they had done to him.  Rather, he knew he was…..

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Genesis 45:1-2, “Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, ‘Send everyone away from me!’ So none of them were with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household soon heard of it.” Can you imagine Joseph telling you the story of his life and how it was brought to this place of being able to forgive, release the…..

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“He [Isaac] went up from there to Beersheba.   The Lord appeared to him that same night and said, ‘I am the God of Abraham your father.  Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham.’  He built an altar there, called on the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there.  And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.” (Genesis 26:24) Isaac met God in Beersheba…..

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“…God tested Abraham and said to Him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”  Then He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I tell you.” (Genesis 22:1-2) Abraham was quick to respond.   Before he knew what God would ask, he answered yes from his heart in his, “Here I am.”    Abraham had waited…..

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‘Strike the ground and don’t stop!’    This was the will of the Lord  for the king of Israel as he was being attacked by his enemies.   Rather than letting it make him weak and apathetic, he was to strengthen his hands and press in all the more for the victory.    He was to take the ground by faith and not by sight.   It says that King Joash came to see Elisha before his death.   Rather than seeing just a death…..

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