Born for a Purpose

Grace and Mercy | Mark 2:13-14 Mark 2:13-14 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. Who is the last person you want to see in heaven? An ISIS terrorist? The pompous boss who derailed your career? A person who hurt a family member? The ex-spouse who walked away to leave you working two jobs in order to provide for your children? If you were a Jew in Jesus' day, the last person you would want to see in heaven was a tax collector. Those two words would make your blood boil. Tax collectors were collaborators who were in cahoots with Rome. They were thieves, robbers and extortionists who lived the high life with the hard earned money of others. It is difficult for us to imagine the intense emotion of hatred that most Jews had for these traitors who had sol...

John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.   Moses, the great prophet and leader in the Old Testament, laid down the law. He was God's instrument in revealing the ceremonial, civil and moral law to the people of Israel. However, the law was "a shadow of the good things that [were] coming - not the realities themselves" (Hebrews 10:1). Jesus came to fulfill what the law had been purposed for all along - grace and truth.   The law was a reminder that we couldn't meet God's expectations. We could not obey the law outwardly with our actions. Neither could we obey the law inwardly with our thoughts and attitudes. We needed grace, so Jesus came as the greatest possible expression of God's grace. He did for us what we could never do for ourselves. He bore our sins in his body on the cross. He died so that we could live. He provides the free gift of grace.   The truth of the law called us to holy living - s...

I feel abandoned in my trial. Why does God seem so distant when I need Him most? You're troubled, so you pray. You're distressed, so you cry for God to bring you quick relief. But all you hear in reply is silence--a silence so deafening it drowns out every thought but this: God isn't listening. Is that your testimony? If so, we want to help you attain a biblical perspective by providing a few principles for you to reflect on. We trust these thoughts will bring you comfort and hope. Yours Is a Common Experience Feel left alone? Other believers have felt the same way. Peruse the writings of Oswald Chambers, Charles Spurgeon, and D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and you'll discover they knew well the agony you experience. Spurgeon wrote this autobiographical account in his comments on  Psalm 88:6 : He who now feebly expounds these words knows within himself more than he would care or dare to tell of these abysses of inward anguish. He has sailed around the Cape of Storm...

God Bless!

His Love Endures Forever | Psalm 136:1-9 Psalm 136:1-9 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever. to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.  who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever.  who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever.  who made the great lights - His love endures forever.  the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever.  the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever. Our heavenly Father is the God of gods and the Lord of lords; and...he is good. Everything he does is right. His love is unconditional. He has provided the way to himself through his Son, Jesus. We belong to him because of "his enduring loyal love." Twenty-six times in this Old Testament song, worshippers repeated, "His love endu...

God Stooped Down | Psalm 138:6-8 Psalm 138:6-8 Though the LORD is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar.Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save me. The LORD will vindicate me; your love, LORD, endures forever-do not abandon the works of your hands.   God stooped down. Although he is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly. God stooped down. Though lofty, he still sees me right where I am. God stooped down. He is there in my challenges. God stooped down. He saved my life. God stooped down. He protects me from my enemies. God stooped down. He defends me. God stooped down. His love never quits on me. God stooped down. He will never abandon me. God stooped down to breathe life into Adam. God stooped down to breathe eternal life into my dead soul through Jesus.  The amazing truth of Scripture: God stooped down. ...

A Hallelujah Life | Psalm 135:1-7 Today's Passage: Psalm 135:1-7 Key Verses: Psalm 135:1-3 Praise the L ORD . Praise the name of the L ORD ; praise him, you servants of the L ORD , you who minister in the house of the L ORD , in the courts of the house of our God. Praise the L ORD , for the Lo RD  is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant. Anyone want to take a wild guess at what the psalmist is driving at in these verses? I am pretty sure the point is: Praise the Lord! The English phrase "Praise the Lord" comes from one powerful Hebrew word "Hallelujah." According to this psalm (and many passages like it), followers of the Lord are to live a "Hallelujah" life. Praise is the act of expressing approval, admiration and adoration. It includes belting out songs from the tops of our lungs and the bottoms of our hearts, but it doesn't stop there. Praise must be expressed with all of our being. Some questions to consider: Ar...