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Happy Thanksgiving from Madea
I can’t resist posting this again this year.
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The danger of presuming on God
In Luke 17 there is the story of the ten lepers healed by Jesus. Only one came back to give thanks. 11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on…
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We have the choice to give thanks
My reading this week took me through the tiny book of Habakkuk. The hand of the Lord he would see would be a hand of judgment as God had to deal with his people. He had the assurance that God would deal with Israel’s enemies as well, but the heartbreak for Habakkuk was knowing God had to deal harshly with…
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The City Bus and the Church
The chapel message I preached at North Central University.
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Justice
Scot McKnight is going through Tim Keller’s new book, City Church, over at Jesus Creed. McKnight offers a critique on Keller’s use of “justice” that I find interesting. When it comes to church and culture, I have had my thinking changed over the years. When I was growing up, it was the thick of the pro-life movement. I lived in Kansas at…
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Waiting… and waiting…
In the words of Shawn Spencer, my favorite TV detective (currently): “Wait for iiiiiitttttt.” But waiting is such an awful thought! We complain and we want an answer… NOW. We ask something from God and we want it… NOW. Habakkuk was an impatient prophet. God did answer, just not in a way Habakkuk liked. 2 Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and…
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I Can’t Find God
There are those times when God just doesn’t seem to be there. It’s really as if the darkness does hide him. These words from Job are powerful: 8 Look, I go east; he’s not there, west, and don’t discover him; 9 north in his activity, and I don’t grasp him; he turns south, and I don’t see. 10 Surely he knows my way;…
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Complaining to God
We don’t often look into the “minor prophets.” It’s “flyover country” for us. They are too far removed. They are too “mean.” We have all kinds of excuses. Habakkuk gives us some insight into prophetic complaining. He has a case against God and he is willing to voice it. 2 How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not…
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The World in Upheaval at a Time of Thanksgiving
It is a world at boiling point… again. The Middle East is erupting. The job market is threatening to teeter once again with huge layoffs and company closings. The U.S. faces the “fiscal cliff.” There is no better time to pause… take a breath… and give thanks. We give thanks for the One who holds the world in his hands.…
