Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Israel. His story is not so illustrious. In fact, the Bible records the following of him: "Amaziah did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight, but not wholeheartedly." (2 Chron. 25:2 NLT). Nonetheless, part of Amaziah's story weighed...
Last Saturday, in Amaziah's Mistake Part 1, we saw how relying on ourselves causes heartache and pain; but when we rely completely on God, He comes through for us. As a result of this lesson, I had resolved in my heart that I would rely on Him through my upcoming...
"Stop and smell the roses" is a great English expression meaning that we should relax and take time out of our busy schedules to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of life (https://en.wiktionary.org). I'm afraid I'm not very good at this. My life is far too busy....
It's amazing how quiet and peaceful it is at 6:00 am. It would be a busy day, as this was the day of my son's graduation from university. As usual, I had over-planned everything, beginning with a "graduation brunch", then a drive to Waterloo for the ceremony and...
"The Lord made you; He formed you in the womb and he will help you." (Isaiah 44:2) "For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand." (Isaiah 41:13) The vine was going crazy. it was growing so fast and looking for something to grab onto all the time. Thin...
Members of our church are currently going through very difficult times. Their beautiful home just--blew up! I do not know any of the details about the cause of the explosion, when it happened, etc., for I have only been following the story through the pictures on...
Did you ever want to get pumped up on God's delivering power? Try reading through the first few chapters of the book of Joshua. Chapters 1-12 tell numerous stories of deliverance, complete with uncountable miracles. Then you arrive at chapters 13-22, dedicated to the...
Last week, in "Ultimate Rest" Part 1, we saw that there IS rest in Jesus, and God uses this story of the conquest of Canaan to teach us important lessons about what it means to have this rest. But just what does it mean to "rest" in Jesus? Hebrews 4 is very clear that...
Last week, in "Ultimate Rest," Part 2, we saw that through the story of the initial conquest of Canaan, God teaches us that our ultimate rest comes only when we put our trust in Jesus Christ--for salvation, for deliverance, for strength, for freedom from worry, for...
Last week, in "Ultimate Rest," Part 3, we saw that God purposefully left some Canaanites in Israel. He didn't drive them all out in the initial conquest, and in so doing, he worked a little "test of faith" into the system. It is only when we are under temptation and...