Month: January 2022

God is merciful.The LORD preserves the simple Psalms 116:5-6 (NIV) The Hebrew word translated as “simple” means naive or inexperienced. The book of Proverbs was written to instruct the simple (Prov.1:4), for they can become wise (Prov. 1:22). We are all simple in some areas. By definition, we cannot be experienced in everything we do. Sometimes we have to forge ahead with our simple understanding. But Yahweh (LORD) does not pass over the simple because they are not yet wise. He does not leave us to ourselves because we are inexperienced. Instead, he is merciful. He preserves our hearts and keeps us from ruining ourselves by our simplicity. This is very helpful to remember when we have to take some risks and we have done our best to discern God’s will, but we don’t have full assurance. We do not need to have full assurance of God’s will for every Continue Reading →

When it comes to the 2nd great commandment to love others (Matt. 22:39) we have a much greater responsibility to show active love to those for whom we have some responsibility. We don’t have time to actively bless everyone in our vicinity, but following Christ means that we definitely bless those in our care. This applies to our behavior in the workplace as well as to every other dimension of our lives. Business owners or executives are sometimes tempted to skimp on wages or benefits to employees in order to keep more for themselves. A Christian business owner may even justify this in their mind by thinking that the extra income allows them to give more to ministries. But obviously, skimping on wages is a very repulsive practice even for a non-Christian. An owner’s primary responsibility to their employees is to bless them. If there are extra profits, then the Continue Reading →

Surely the righteous will never be shaken . . . Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;in the end they will look in triumph on their foes Psalms 112:6, 8 (NIV) God promises that if we are righteous then we will not be shaken. Since we are in Christ we have his righteousness, so judicially we are righteous. And God expects his children to live righteously too, which is what much of the New Testament focuses on. Thus, if we abide in Christ, then our soul, our heart, will not crumble like a collapsing wall. We will still have sorrow and tragedy, but our heart is safe in Christ. The peace, joy, and unity with God that we have in Christ cannot be taken away. There is no fear that can overtake us. So, when this age is over we will be able to survey the world and Continue Reading →