Following years of separation after his brother stole his birthright, Esau made his way to meet Jacob in Genesis 32. Jacob “was greatly afraid and distressed,” thinking that Esau may be coming to “attack” him (32:7-8). He made strategic preparations for the saving of his family, and he sent a “present” ahead of him to Esau, hoping to “appease him” (32:20). Note what Jacob said…

Jesus entered the city of Capernaum in Luke 7, and he was greeted by some “elders of the Jews,” who had been sent by a centurion to plead with Jesus to “come and heal his servant” (7:1-3). As they “begged” Jesus on behalf of this centurion, the elders exclaimed how “deserving” this man was (7:4). So Jesus made His way to the centurion’s house,…

You know the song and will sing this in your head, “We represent the Lollypop Guild, the Lollypop Guild, the Lollypop Guild. And in the name of the Lollypop Guild, we wish to welcome you to Munchkin Land.” Who did these Munchkins represent? You know it! You know because they told you, but you also know because they looked, sounded and acted the part of the…

A favorite verse when it comes to the subject of “giving” is Luke 6:38, where Jesus makes a promise to those who “give.” “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.” But look at the context. What kind of giving is under discussion? Verses 29-30 had also talked about “giving,” but…

We get pretty enamored with ourselves sometimes and our ideas and our wishes, to the point that we often lose sight of others and even lose sight of our true focus on our Father in heaven. As you read through the life of Jesus, it’s interesting how often He diverted the focus from Himself to the Father in heaven. “Whoever receives Me, receives not…

Do you have a “pet issue”? Probably most folks do. It’s that thing that you feel particularly strong about and will mention in conversations with certain folks quite often. For example, if you talk to some church members about the worship service, it probably won’t be long before they talk about their “pet issue”—the choice of songs, the choice of men to lead in…

The man after God’s own heart was getting ready to die. The words in the first nine verses of 1 Kings 2 were his very last, and they were directed at his son, Solomon. If you were deeply in tune with the heart of God and had one last message to give your son, what would you say? Men, pay attention! David started off by saying,…

I admire those children who are being trained by their parents to speak multiple languages. What a great way to expand their minds and give them potential opportunities in their future. But some children are not being trained in the language they desperately need for their future! In the days of Nehemiah, there were Jews who intermarried with the pagans in their land. As a…