It Keeps Taking

Lamentations 1:6
“And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer.”

Have you ever had a car that you keep repairing because you don't want to have to make those monthly payments on a new car? I’m the type of person that holds on to a car as long as I can because I hate having to make monthly payments on a newer car. There have been a couple of cars I have owned that I kept too long. When I started looking at the expense of the repairs I was consistently paying out, I realized these cars just kept on taking and were not saving me any money.

Read more »

Enemies of Obedience

Jeremiah 38:19
“And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.”

Zedekiah found himself in a precarious situation. The people whom he led were encouraging him to fight the King of Babylon; whereas the word of the LORD commanded him to surrender to the Babylonian king. If he surrendered and obeyed God, it would seem as if he had no loyalty to his country and countrymen. If he listened to those who advised him and the will of the people, which would seem to be much easier for the present, he would be disobeying God and chancing His judgment on his life and country.

Read more »

Ghost Town Christianity

Jeremiah 26:6
“Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.”

Throughout the years of my travels as an evangelist, I have had the privilege of going to towns that used to be thriving communities. It is not an uncommon thing for the pastor to drive me through a town and tell me the story as to how the city used to be a center of business. Sadly, while I’m being driven through the city, buildings are vacant and run down; buildings that have great stories of usefulness in history have become tales because the city is a ghost town.

How to Keep from Quitting

Jeremiah 20:9
“Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.”

Anybody who has ever done anything for the LORD has gone through a season like Jeremiah when they entertained the thought of quitting. When you look throughout the Scriptures, some of the greatest Christians thought about quitting or even quit for a short season. Elijah quit after the great victory of praying fire down from Heaven. Peter quit at Jesus’ trial. John Mark quit and went back home for a season. Jeremiah, in the verse above, quit on the LORD, but it was only for a short time.

Read more »

Running to the Wrong Place

Jeremiah 5:5
“I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.”

The verse above may be one of the most misused verses in the Scriptures. We often hear because of the verse above how the Scriptures teach that we should go to the “great men.” The problem with this statement is that the rest of the verse has been completely ignored. Certainly, this statement may sound great, but the verse above simply isn't teaching us to run to the great men.

Read more »

Disrespected and Ignored

Isaiah 53:1
“Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?”

Have you ever felt like no one ever listens to you? That must have been how our LORD felt. He says in the verse above, “Who hath believed our report?” After everything the LORD has done for us through creation, history, and our own lives, He still doesn't get the respect He deserves. It doesn't matter that He wrote a Book to give us instructions on how to live, and that Book has never failed one time. It doesn't matter that He has been there for us for time and time again when others have forsaken us. The LORD has revealed His mighty arm to us over and over again, and yet He is ignored and disrespected. The response of the Saviour to being ignored and disrespected is the response you should have when others ignore and totally disrespect you.

Read more »

Delightsome Children

Proverbs 29:17
“Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.”

Every parent would love to have a failsafe plan on training their children to turn out right. The problem is that children have their own will, and the parent cannot control it. However, a parent can instill certain training methods that will give them the best chance for their children to turn out right for the LORD. In Proverbs 29:15-18, God gives the parent five things they must do to help raise children who “give delight” unto their soul.

Read more »