Thoughts From The Pastor (Page 5)
Colossians 3:23-24 – You Ultimately Work For God /// Morning Fuel
I read an article in the Oregonian about a law enforcement officer that had to be disciplined for slacking off in his job. Get this, the name of the officer was Officer Doolittle! Anyways, Officer Doolittle was a K-9 handler for the West Linn police department and during the entirety of 2012-2013 he responded to ONE call! The officer was eventually forced to retire. Now contrast that with what Paul says in Colossians 3:23-24 – Whatever you do, work heartily,…
Ephesians 4:2 – How To Glorify God In Secular Work /// Morning Fuel
How do we glorify God in secular work? How does a stay-at-home mom glorify God with her life? How does an accountant? A retired person? A truck driver? To get a better idea of this, let’s look at one verse in Ephesians… In chapter 4:2, Paul tells us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling, “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.” In other words, ACTIONS. Actions are what glorify God. It’s…
Ephesians 4:1 – Glorify God In Any Job – Morning Fuel
Paul writes in Ephesians 4:1, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,” There is a lot in this verse, but notice that at the beginning of that verse, Paul starts out by saying, “I am a prisoner!” We don’t know all the details of his imprisonment, but we do know that it was some sort of house arrest. So he had a little…
Morning Fuel – Ecclesiastes 12:13 – Do You Fear God?
In some of Solomon’s last words in the book of Ecclesiastes, he writes in 12:13, “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” In the twelve chapters leading up to these last words, Solomon talked about how he had it all. He was the richest man in the country. He had the most pleasure attainable. He was the most famous person of his time. People…
Morning Fuel – Ecclesiastes 11:9 – Don’t Waste Your Life
In Ecclesiastes 11:9, Solomon writes, “Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.” Solomon starts out by saying, “Enjoy the youthful days! Let them be days of fun!” He has made this clear throughout the book of Ecclesiastes. It is OK to enjoy…
Morning Fuel – Ecclesiastes 9:7, 9 – Look Toward Eternity
In Ecclesiastes 9, Solomon spends 12 verses talking about death and how we should live in light of knowing that we will die. What’s interesting is that right in the middle of this section he spends several verses talking about enjoying life. Here is one part of that: 7 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart… 9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love…” Why does Solomon give these suggestions? One reason…
Title: Morning Fuel – Ecclesiastes 9:3 – Live With Intentionality
Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain are both credited as saying, “The Only Two Certainties In Life Are Death And Taxes.” Thousands of years prior, Solomon noticed the same thing about death. He writes, “This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all” (Ecclesiastes 9:3). So Solomon is saying in this verse (and in verses 1-2), that no matter who you are, no matter how much money you have, no matter…
Morning Fuel – John 11:25-26 – Never Dying
This is the third part of the devotional that looks at John 11:25-26, in which Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” Last time we looked at the part where Jesus said, “whoever believes in me…” This time we will finish up by looking at the last part of these verses.…
Morning Fuel – John 11:25-26 – Belief in Jesus
This is the second part of the devotional that looks at John 11:25-26, in which Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” Last time we looked at the first sentence. This time we will look at part of the next sentence. After Jesus said he was “the resurrection and the life,”…
Morning Fuel – John 11:25-26 – Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life
In John 11:25-26, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” These two verses deserve more than a three minute devotional, so I am going to give a whole nine minutes by breaking it up into three devotionals! In this passage, Jesus is talking to Martha right near the grave of her…
Morning Fuel – Ecclesiastes 7:7 – Are You Wise?
I was reading about results for the Wonderlic test, which is used to assess the intelligence of quarterbacks as they prepare to enter the NFL. Here are some of the quarterbacks that scored the HIGHEST. Ryan Fitzpatrick scored a 48/50. Blaine Gabbert a 42. Alex Smith a 40. Colin Kaepernick a 38. On the flip side, Steve Young scored a 33. John Elway a 29. Brett Favre a 22. And Dan Marino, Donovan McNabb, Jim Kelly, and Terry Bradshaw all…
Morning Fuel – Psalm 124:1 – Is God On Your Side?
In Psalm 124:1 (NLT), David asks, “What if the Lord had not been on our side?” He then continues on in the Psalm listing what would happen if God was not on his side. He talks about how he would not have been protected against his enemies. He would have been swept away and killed by the raging waters (of the enemy). Fortunately, God IS on his side, so instead of facing fear and death, he can stand there and…