Losing the Invitation

Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy. So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' But he had nothing to say. Then the king said to his attendants, 'Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!' For many are called, but few are chosen." (Mat 22:8-14)

A Bible Reading Lifestyle

It is absolutely vital to read the Bible for ourselves, to know what it actually says rather than what someone tells us that it says. The reality is that most Christians today in America have not read the entire Bible. Not only is it important to read the whole of scripture; I believe it is important to continue to read through the Bible year after year. It was for this purpose that I created my own Bible reading plan.

A Prayer

Lord, please be with our President. Give him wisdom and courage to do what is right, to defend the helpless and protect the vulnerable. Help me, Lord, to remember that he too is a man who needs you as desperately as I do; that he is the head of a household, a father and a husband. Teach me, Lord, how to show him the respect and honor due him in the authority you have granted him. Teach me, Lord, to honor and obey my government even as Peter respected and obeyed Nero and Rome. May I be thankful that on this day, I still can worship you in freedom without fear of death or persecution. May I use every opportunity available to me to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Show us all mercy, Lord, that we may lead peaceful lives; reveal yourself to our nation's leaders that they may know the way in which they should walk. Amen.

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.

Heeding the Voice of God

He did not take seriously the words of Necho which he had received from God. (2 Chronicles 35:22)

I was really struck by this passage of scripture this morning. Josiah was a remarkable king. He was a man who followed hard after God and desired righteousness. When he heard the Law of God, he was cut to the heart and followed God's law to the very letter.

No king before or after repented before the LORD as he did, with his whole heart, soul, and being in accordance with the whole law of Moses. (2 Kings 23:25)

And yet in the end, he died ingloriously in a battle that he should not have fought. While he obeyed the Law of God, he did not heed God's voice.

Gripped By Eternity

It is a beautiful spring day with beautiful clear skies, a light breeze, and just a hint of the cool of night still lingering in the morning air. You hear a knock at the door and go to answer it. You find a nicely dressed young man with a warm smile who speaks with utmost calm: "Hi, my name is Jason Jones. Do you have time to talk?"

You've never met the young man, but he seems pleasant enough. You invite him inside, offer him refreshments, and settle into a nice conversation about current events and the weather. He slowly warms up to his intended topic and calmly and casually says: "There is a tsunami coming to our city this morning. It is already on its way. A group of us are forming a group to talk about it and what we should do."

You stare at the young man in disbelief as he quietly sips his coffee, the warm smile still present on his features. There is no fear and no urgency in his voice.

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)