Living or Dead Sacrifice

Imagine yourself entering the Tabernacle, the Tent of the Meeting, for the very first time.  Your priestly garments are brand new.  You can still smell the new sent of fresh lanolin on your cloths.  You are a part of one of the greatest stories ever told.  You witnessed the wrath of God devastate Egypt by plague; the deliverance of your nation, Israel, at the Red Sea.  You were there when Moses went up to receive the Law. You even saw the very image of God on Mount Sinai.  As the tent of the meeting is consecrated, and you enter the holiest of places for the first time, how would you approach the Mercy Seat of the Living God?

Strive for Rest

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God gave us sleep and rest.  In a world that is filled with frenetic movement our lives grow numb and our senses dulled so that we need sleep and rest.  Secular studies are showing that sleep is one of the most productive times in our life.  World is beginning to understand what the bible teaches, sleep and rest are a gift.  God gave us rest so that we could restore our faith by trusting in him.  The ultimate promise of restoration with God is the hope of entering into his rest.

We live in a society that despises rest.  Sometimes it is innocent, other times it is blatant unbelief.  God created us to be, and calls us to be, people who rest.  The way we rest, from the constant grind of life, is a direct reflection of our faith and trust in God.   

The God Over Pain

One of the most difficult topics, in any study of God, is the problem that suffering exists, in significant portion, for all people in this world.  We believe that God is loving, that he created man in his image, and yet there is real and present suffering in this world.  As we are confronted with the bible we want to laugh and toss it aside because, we say, “How could a great and loving God allow me, us, to suffer?”  Today I want to address the real suffering in this world and offer a hope that only the grace filled God of the bible can offer. 

The Three People who Pray

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Read: Matthew 6:5-14

There are three types of people who pray, in this passage.  What type of person are you?  How do you approach God when you seek him in prayer?  The three types of people are (1) the religious sinner, (2) the pagan sinner, and (3) the forgiven child. The reason I say religious and pagan sinner is to denote that neither of them are saved.  The first and second persons are sinners because they are still in their sins and have not received forgiveness from their sins. They approach God on their terms and not his.  The third person however is different.  He or she approaches God not as one demanding but as one who is grateful to be a child.