In a previous universe, I served on a jury for a child molestation case in the Midwest. The accused was a schoolteacher. It was an emotionally demanding thing to sit and listen carefully to the testimony of adult children, experts, and friends of the accused. When we (the jury) wandered off into our room to sit and talk about what we had heard, what we thought, and render a decision, it was amazing to me how many different views of the truth existed within this body of twelve people. In the end we the jury became deadlocked. One person on the jury would not budge off their view that the accused was innocent, the other 11 (including me) felt the accused was guilty. After 2 weeks of deliberation, we told the judge we could not come to an agreement, and that ended my involvement. Continue reading “Choose The Right Path”
Tag: Exodus
Angelic Comfort
It was my observation when collecting intel on Angelic Operations that a singular impact of their effort appears often – comfort. God reigns in heaven surrounded by a heavenly host of angels. In 1 Kings we read – I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, with all the host of heaven standing beside him to the right and to the left of him (1 Kings 22:19). Angels are always looking after us. Moses says — Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared (Exodus 23:20). They clear the path for our progress so we can serve God unfettered by troubles.
Angels are messengers of God; they reinforce his active presence in our world, they add credence to God’s justice, love, comfort, and protection. God’s love is revealed as angels announce the ministry of grace conducted by Jesus. Angels announced the birth of Ishmael (see Genesis 16:11) and Samson (see Judges 13:3-5). Angels announced the birth of John the Baptist (see Luke 1:19), the birth of Jesus (see Luke 1:26), and Jesus’ resurrection (see Matthew 28:5). David says — The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and rescues them (Psalms 34:7). This is comfort. Continue reading “Angelic Comfort”
Your World View Matters
It has been my observation — At some point in our spiritual life, we all develop a world view. Simply stated, our world view is the perspective that defines how we observe and understand things around us. (implied in Exodus 9:16). Our world view sets the assumptions and perceptions we use to evaluate, understand ourselves, and assess our experiences. Our worldview is the blended composite of our church view, social view, family view, friendship choices, historical view, cultural view, personal view, job view, and our personality characteristics (implied in Jeremiah 29:11).
Our worldview influences everything we say and do (Proverbs 19:21). At its core, there are two basic paths for a world view — theistic or nontheistic. For those who know Jesus, the theistic worldview comes from scripture. The Bible presents a clear definition of the one true living God and sets out a powerful set of life principles used by Jesus to shape our life. The nontheistic worldview comes from all things secular. Often it becomes a life that gradually declines to quiet despair. Continue reading “Your World View Matters”
Walking With God
It has been my observation while reading Ephesians and Micah, the notion of walking with God is a common theme in scripture. Micah asks the question – What does the Lord need from you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8 paraphrased). I noted three key points to his definition. I think we should take a deeper look at Justice, Kindness, and Humility.
Continue reading “Walking With God”
Shalom Talk 