The Need for Mercy

So the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath, and you are not permitted to carry your mat." (John 5:10)

I had a recent conversation with someone who I had shared a great sermon with about the need to love our brothers and how this carried the promise that we would not fall. But rather than hearing the great message of truth, he instead picked up and focused on a stray comment about a woman pastor on that church's staff. He said that it was a violation of the scriptural teachings of Paul.

Now, honestly, women pastors make me uncomfortable too and for the same reason. But it got me to thinking: are any churches 100% accurate in their doctrine and practices? Do we not all have many areas in which me need to improve?

The Name of God

Moses said to God, "If I go to the Israelites and tell them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' — what should I say to them?" (Exodus 3:13 NET)

It is commonly taught that this passage is where God revealed His name to men, but that is born from a misunderstanding of what Moses was asking. It was not that Moses did not know God's name. He wanted to understand what it was that God was going to do.

Worthy to Suffer

Worthy to suffer, caught in the flame,

    To walk in the footsteps of the Christ who came,

Not to condemn, but to seek for the lost

    To submit to the Father no matter the cost.

Financial Faith - The Nature of God

For part one of this series, I encourage you to read Financial Peace - The Foundation

In reviewing my introduction to this series, I realized that I have gotten ahead of myself. Before continuing on in the lessons of living the truth of Financial Faith, it is vital that we lay a deeper foundation. We need to remember fundamentally who God is and why it is that we can trust Him. Unless you have a proper view of the reality of God, you will never be able to have the implicit trust necessary to live a life of faith in His providing hand.

And so we will go back to the beginning. Who is God? The best description comes from the mouth of God Himself:

Moses said to God, "If I go to the Israelites and tell them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' — what should I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM that I AM." And he said, "You must say this to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
(Exodus 3:13-14 NET)