Cultivating Character

The Prophet Elijah succeeded at Mount Carmel, where God demonstrated His superiority over Baal. After that moment, Elijah may have overzealously ordered the death of all 450 of the prophets of Baal, which infuriated Queen Jezebel, who in turn vowed to take his life, so he went into hiding. “And he was afraid, and got up and ran for his life...” ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭19‬:‭3‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬ “… and he asked for himself to die, and said, “Enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”” ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭19‬:‭4‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬ His fear may have been because the act of killing Baal’s prophets doesn’t appear directed by God, and he probably wasn't sure God would protect him. God sent a messenger to comfort, feed, and prepare him for a journey to see God. “…but behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat!”” ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭19‬:‭5‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬ “But the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him, and said, “Arise, eat; because the journey is too long ...

There is a difference between asking for something and demanding it. Too many people confuse boldness in faith with rudeness and irreverence. They decree and declare, and they should be humbly asking. In Numbers 20, Moses was told by God to speak to the rock, and it will produce water; he struck it. God viewed this action as disrespect.  “But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Since you did not trust in Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, for that reason you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” - ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭20‬:‭12‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬.  Humble yourself. All you have to do is ask. ““Ask, and it will be given to you; …. For everyone who asks receives, …” - ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Recognize that not everyone shares your viewpoint. The things you hold dear may not be appreciated by others, so be cautious about whom you trust with what you value. Not everyone has the ability to appreciate things in the way they deserve. “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” - Matthew‬ ‭7:6‬ ‭NASB‬‬

A good time for self-reflection is when you notice a shortcoming in another person. You may feel the urge to criticize them, but instead turn that urge inward, analyze and be critical of yourself. You may discover that you are in a far worse situation with the same issue than they are. ““Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye!” - Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Investing in yourself is not a cliché. It is a foundational principle for anyone who desires to live a fulfilling life. There are a number of ways that you can make that investment. You can invest time in developing skills that help you provide for your physical needs. You can invest time in exercise and things that increase your health. You can invest time in acquiring knowledge or invest time in acquiring things. There is a lot that you can invest your time in, but you have a limited amount of time to invest. So how do you maximize your investment? Christ suggests that you start by investing time in your spiritual well-being and if you do that, everything else will fall into place. (See Matthew 6:33)

I had a procedure done yesterday to correct a heart arrhythmia that I have lived with for approximately 30 years. This is the third attempt at using surgery as a cure to remove this "thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!" - 2 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭7‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬. The coincidence of this being the third time is not lost on me. “Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” - 2 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬ The first attempt was made by the same cardiac electrophysiologist who completed this last procedure. He was not able to trigger the arrhythmia and aborted the procedure. The second was by a different cardiac electrophysiologist who felt very confident in the success of his procedure. Inste...

Failure in church leadership can impact the faith of others. Leadership roles come with the presumption that these leaders have figured out their own spiritual walk and can now assist others with theirs. Unfortunately, that leads others to place unmerited faith in the actions of another human being rather than God. A father once sought Jesus out to heal his son. Unfortunately for him and his son, Jesus was not available, but his disciples were. The disciples confidently, and maybe pridefully, attempted to heal the boy but were unsuccessful. This caused a bit of a commotion, but more importantly, it fueled doubt in the father so much so by the time Jesus was available the father doubted whether Jesus could heal his son. His doubt was evident when he asked Jesus to heal the boy prefacing the request with “…if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”” -Mark 9:22 NASB2020. “If you can?” Jesus said taken aback by the father’s word. “All things are possible for the one who believes...

  “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by the Law; you have fallen from grace.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭4‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬ Severed is such a strong term! It invokes, for me, the image of a decapitated person because of the context. Christ is the head of the church ( see Ephesians 1:22-23 ), so to be severed from Christ is to be headless, decapitated, dead. This text is taken from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia. The apostle spent a lot of time in his letters to the churches explaining to new Christians, particularly the non-Jewish ones, the fundamentals of the gospel. This letter was no different. Apparently, the Galatians were influenced to adopt what the apostle called a distorted view of the gospel. They felt compelled to follow the law given by God to the descendants of Israel at Mount Sinai as a part of their Christian obligation. These young Christians just wanted to do the right thing and please God. They understood that to pleas...

  As a child, it was always shocking to hear that God would kill God’s own child to save the world. It didn't make sense to me that God didn't just forgive the world‘s sin without requiring a blood sacrifice, after-all God is omnipotent and could do whatever God wants. Well God didn’t require Jesus to die, humanity did. Let me explain. The Bible book of Genesis tells the story of God entering into a covenant with Abraham. The book of Exodus mentions God entering a covenant, sealed with blood, with the descendants of Israel at Mount Sinai. The covenant with Abraham was apart of God’s consideration for entering the covenant with the descendants of Israel. A covenant sealed with blood remains binding until the death of one of the parties to the covenant. Until that occurs the parties have the right to enforce the provisions of the covenant. In order to terminate the covenant between God and the descendants of Israel either God would have to die or all of the descendants of Israel....