“Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.” Psalm 25:5 David was just a youth when Samuel anointed him to be the King of Israel. Perhaps at the time, he did not understand fully what that meant. He went back to looking after his father’s sheep. No doubt he thought often of what the future might hold for him, but in the meantime, he continued to worship the Lord. Probably many of his psalms were written during this time of waiting. They express his great…
“And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.” Genesis 45:7 Joseph was just a youth when God gave him a dream. Not really knowing what it meant, he told his brothers. This made them truly angry and turned them against him. Even his father, Jacob, though he loved him greatly. thought he was being foolish. God was showing Joseph that He had a special position to fill. But it was not to happen right away. He would have years to wait before he saw the dream fulfilled. But as we read his story, we realize that it somehow gave him a determination to live a life of integrity and wait for whatever God had in store for him. He suffered at the hands of his brothers as they placed him in a pit and then sold him to the slave traders. He suffered temptation in Potiphar’s house and stood firm in his convictions, even though it caused him to be sent to prison. He waited. He won the favour of the prison warden and was an example to the other prisoners. After interpreting the dreams…
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 Wait: to allow time to go by, especially while staying in one place without doing very much, until someone comes, until something that you are expecting happens, or until you can do something. Most of us do not like waiting. We make it on time to our Medical appointment and then sit for what seems like hours before our name is called. We pop into the supermarket for a carton of milk or a loaf of bread and end up in a lineup where everyone is ahead of us is price checking or having trouble with their cards. When driving, it seems like it takes forever for the traffic lights to change. I have been watching some of the Olympic Games. The competitors have a lot of waiting time. They do their routine and then wait to see if they have qualified to enter the competition. One by one, those chosen to perform do their routine again and watch the board to see how they have…
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people” (I Peter 2:9). God’s people have always been special to Him. Exodus 19:5 speaks of them as a “peculiar treasure,” chosen and set apart by God. The word peculiar has several meanings. As a teenager I never took time to check a dictionary. In my mind peculiar meant being strange, weird, or odd. I wondered why I had to be strange to be a Christian. Had I done a little research, I would have discovered that peculiar also means “to have a character exclusively its…
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. (Psalm 90:14, ESV) Today is Valentine’s Day, a day dedicated to love in many countries around the world. In many places, it is celebrated with gifts, greeting cards decorated with hearts, red roses, heart-shaped boxes of candy, and romantic dinners. The customs vary from country to country. While for many it’s a celebration of romantic love, others use it a time to show appreciation for friends and family. The Love Message Love! Just the word may give us goosebumps. Some keep cherished love letters and cards from many years ago, reading them over and over until the pages become fragile. Yet, the greatest love letter ever sent was not a lace-and-flower-trimmed Valentine. The greatest message of all is John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (ESV) God’s love far surpasses ours. It is pure, sacrificial, and given without reservation. This is a love we do not earn it; it is given freely, bountifully. Romans 5:8 says that “God demonstrates His own love…
Love is a beautiful thing. When you are single, you may dream, “One day my prince will come,” like in the story Snow White. Then he comes into your life, and suddenly hearts seem to appear everywhere. You are in love — and he is too. Then something wonderful happens. He asks those four little words:“Will you marry me?” You say yes, and a new life begins. You enter marital bliss… and then come baby one, two, and three. That once romantic life becomes filled with bottles, diapers, and sleepless nights. Date night takes a back seat to raising your precious children. Candlelight dinners are replaced with frozen pizza or fast food. The romantic life you imagined looks very different from the reality of marriage and parenting. But just because children come does not mean romance must end. Sometimes it just needs a biblical tune-up — and this is where God steps in. God cares about every part of our lives, even the small, everyday moments. The Bible says: “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Ephesians 5:31). Marriage means you are one…