His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory. —Psalm 97:4-6 Pastor Coty Pinckney comments on Psalm 97: What is the first verse in the Bible? “In … More What kind of power would be required to melt a mountain?
Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” 1 Samuel 7:12 C. H. Spurgeon comments on this passage (Morning and Evening): “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” The word “hitherto” seems like a hand pointing in the direction of … More Past, present and future Helper
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 … More Here I raise my “Ebenezer”?
So look for statements about God’s promises as we read these verses [2 Cor 1:17-22] Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been … More God’s Promises
Coty Pinckney on Mark 10:13-16, “Childlike Faith, Childlike Giving” Jesus says, “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all.” “Like a child.” What does He mean? Does He mean: (1) Children are perfect? If you believe that, I welcome you to … More Receive the kingdom like a child
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 was captured, and … More Defeated, double-minded and drawing 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. In the original trilogy, … More Prayer shows what God is like
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 name receives me, and whoever receives … More Kingdom membership: not a call to greatness, but to 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
Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. —2 Timothy 2:7 When we read and study God’s Word, the Bible, we need to employ our God-given mind to think hard AND to ask God to give us wisdom and understanding. It is not EITHER/OR, it is BOTH/AND! Here is … More Desperate to understand the Bible?
