Lilies of the Field

Where do marriages that begin so beautifully go so wrong? Sometimes two people who barely know each other get married only to find out they have nothing in common because their bond was merely based upon physical attraction. Sometimes it is trials that reveal a weak foundation. There are other times when one partner walks away in unfaithfulness in search of that elusive love that will satisfy. When that happens, it seems to suggest that the faithful partner could not satisfy, for whatever reason. What happens if that faithful partner is God, the perfect husband? It is absurd and illogical to think about someone walking away from that kind of love, right? Yet, that is what Israel did. Those quick to judge Israel, however, need to do a deeper search of their own hearts. Why? Because Israel represents the depravity found in all our hearts. We are all prone to wander, prone to leave the God we love. If we do not believe that, we are in real danger of walking away, too.   Here in...

Many believers who profess to follow Christ shy away from studying the Old Testament prophets as much as the people shied away from the actual prophet in his day. Why? Even inside churches that profess to be beacons of light to a lost and dying world, their light is intended only to be one of hope without any mention of judgment. Many hold to a wrong view of the “God of the Old Testament”. When they think of the Old Testament prophets, they think of hail, fire, brimstone, and judgment from a harsh and even unloving God. In contrast, their “God of the New Testament” is only a God of love who would never judge them for their sin; He is the God of the Law while the God of the New Testament is the God of grace. Nothing could be further from the truth. God never changes.   Like many women, I am intent on every detail of a good love story. I am not talking about vulgar, sensualities passed off as ‘love’ today. I am not talking about cheap imitations. Modern definitions of love focu...

  It is hard to miss the videos on social media today—videos that are disheartening and sickening. To watch cowardly, emotionally unstable, fragile little boys and girls justifying their malicious tantrums because they have supposedly been offended by everything in life is an abomination to God. Carrying cans of spray paint and sledgehammers as their weapons of choice and pulling down statues of men who were courageous in their own day, they foolishly believe they are invincible, taking their lives back from whom? God? They reveal their immaturity and rebellious hearts by their child-like tirades. I have known few children in my life who have ever behaved this badly.   Tantrum according to Wikipedia says: Tantrum, temper tantrum, or hissy fit is an emotional outburst, usually associated with those in emotional distress, that is typically characterized by stubbornness, crying, screaming, violence, defiance, angry ranting, a resistance to attempts at pacification, and, in ...

Jesus said in John 15:16: You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit. Because God chose you in Christ, you have a calling. There is a general call to all to believe. But the believer’s call is effectual. The effectual call results in salvation. Every believer has been set apart by God for God’s purposes. What circle of influence has God called you into ministry? God has work for you to do, and it is one of the main reasons you are left here after He saved you.   Jeremiah was told that he was to go wherever God sent him, to speak all that He commanded him to speak, and not to be afraid because He was with him. We look at a calling like Jeremiah’s and we tend to pull away from seeking how that same calling might apply to us. The majority of those who profess to follow Christ in this world, even those sitting in pews week after week, have an unspoken belief that we will leave the going and the speaking to others. Why? We have mo...

  When we think of extraordinary courage and strength of conviction to stand for truth, some biblical characters may quickly come to mind. Certainly, Joseph, David, Jeremiah, Daniel, Mary, and Esther, would fall under this category, to name a few. What has always been convicting to me was one factor they all had in common. Their stories all revolve around a time in their lives when they were very young. For example, Joseph was under 20 years old when he was sold into slavery by his brothers. David stood up to Goliath at 22, Jeremiah was approximately 17-20 years old when God called him, Daniel was 17 or 18 when he was taken into captivity by the Babylonians, Queen Esther (of Jewish descent) of Persia was 14 when she went before King Xerxes on behalf of her people to rescue them from a murderous plot to annihilate them. Mary was 15-16 when Jesus was born. (All ages are approximate.) In more modern times, Charles Spurgeon preached his first sermon at the age of 15-16. A favorit...