Have you ever sung Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing and wondered about the second verse of the song which begins with these words: “Here I raise my Ebenezer.” Here I raise my Ebenezer;Here by Thy great help I’ve come;And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,Safely to arrive at home. So what comes to your mind when … More Ebenezer…. who? what?
We read today about God’s sovereignty over Dagon, the Philistines’ god,(1 Samuel 5) and how it kept “falling in submission” to the One, True God Almighty. And we also read in Psalm 96: For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of … More The God of the Psalms lays claim on the allegiance of every people.
I find in 1 Samuel 5 an example of God’s humor. The people of Israel were using the Ark of the Covenant like a good-luck charm, taking it to battle with them. Their enemies,the Philistines, ended up slaughtering them and capturing the Ark. They place it in their temple before their god, Dagon. … More A funny story, but no laughing matter
1 Samuel 3-5 describes a very dark period in the history of Israel. In 1 Samuel 4:10-11 we read, “So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 And the ark of God … More Double-minded, defeated…draw near!
Pastor Coty Pinckney asks: Does prayer really do anything? Does prayer get results? If you ask me to pray for you – and I don’t do it – are you worse off? Many people have one of two unbiblical views of prayer: First, the Star Wars view: Prayer is a force to be channeled. … More Does prayer really do anything?
Pastor Kim Riddlebarger, at the Riddleblog: Mark 9:35-37 And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one such child in my … More Status or service?
And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. 2 “There is none holy like the Lord; there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. As we begin our readings of 1 & 2 Samuel this month, … More Seeing God in our pain
The Bible’s purpose is not so much to show you how to live a good life. The Bible’s purpose is to show you how God’s grace breaks into your life against your will and saves you from the sin and brokenness otherwise you would never be able to overcome… religion is ‘if you obey, then … More The Bible’s Purpose
On 1 Corinthians 15, from a 1999 message “Living and Loving” by Doug Groins of Penisula Bible Church: The theme of love in the body of Christ is like an arrow that shoots all the way through our passage. It starts in verse 14: “Let all that you do be done in love.” Verse 20: … More Tough Love
John Piper, in the last sermon in a series on Ruth, “Ruth: The Best is Yet to Come” What one main thing does the author want us to take away from reading this story? Here’s what I would suggest as the main lesson: The life of the godly is not a straight line to glory, … More The Best is Yet to Come!
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 