Thoughts From The Pastor (Page 9)
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…
Morning Fuel – Ecclesiastes 5:10 – You Will Never Have Enough Money
In Ecclesiastes 5:10, Solomon says, “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.” Here’s the danger with money: There is NEVER a point when we will say, “I have enough.” You can be the richest person in the world, and still not have enough. Solomon was the richest person of his time. He had it all. He was mega-rich. Yet he says, “You can never have enough.” John D.…
Morning Fuel – Exodus 20:5 – God Is Jealous
In Exodus 20, God is giving ten commandments to the Israelites. After he gives the second commandment (don’t worship idols), he then explains WHY in verses 5. He says, “…for I the Lord your God am a jealous God…” What he is saying is that he doesn’t want us to worship other “things” because he wants the worship for himself. He is a JEALOUS God. What does it mean for God to be jealous? After all, didn’t Paul say in…
Morning Fuel – Exodus 20:4-5 – God Cannot Be Contained
In Exodus 20:4-5, God continues the Ten Commandments by giving commandment two. He says, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them…” So in commandment 1, God says that we should worship only him. That we should not put anything or anyone else to his level. No one else deserves our worship!…
Morning Fuel – Exodus 20:3 – No Other Gods
God says in Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before me.” This is the first of the 10 Ten Commandments. The word “gods” refers to exactly that: gods. Supreme beings. God is referring to not putting anyone or anything up to the level of himself. This was a major temptation for the Israelites, and later on we see it play out in Judges (among other places). Most of the time, the Israelites would not flat-out reject God and…
Morning Fuel – Exodus 20:2 – I Am The God
In Exodus 20:2, God says, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” These words are his introduction to the 10 Commandments. Notice it’s a SHORT introduction. Before he lays out the ten most important commandments for the Israelites, he simply says, “Hey, I am the Lord.” The English word that we translate into “Lord” is the Hebrew word Yahweh. Yahweh is God’s “personal” or “proper” name. Just like my…
Morning Fuel – 2 Corinthians 4:16 – Aging Bodies, Renewing Spirits
I am now in 40s and am slowly seeing the effects of aging in my life. It is harder to lose weight. Health problems are creeping in. When I get up in the morning, I am more sore than I used to be. Anyone who is older than about 20 can see this in their life as well. Our bodies just do not hold up! I don’t want to depress you today. But that is the reality. Thankfully, that is…