There is some comfort in knowing that our Creator expects us to fail. It’s part of the lengthy training process He has over seen for millennia to prepare a redeemed people for His eternal purposes.
Exodus 4:22; Leviticus 25:1-27:34; John 10:29; Galatians 3;26-29; 1 Peter 2:9
Click here to listen to the podcast: One More River to Cross
Music: “One More River to Cross,” The Hinsons, The Lighthouse, Calvary Records 1971.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Maybe it’s because they are far better able to handle adversity than those whose connection to the Creator is tenuous. Maybe the righteous suffer not only because they can endure trials, but because their Redeemer wants to refine them for something eternal.
Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Matthew 25:14-30; Hebrews 12:4-11
Click here to listen to the podcast: A Man of Righteous Sorrow
Music: “I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow,” Carter Stanley, performed by The Soggy Bottom Boys, O Brother Where Art Thou, Sony BMG, 2000″.
Our finite human nature often has difficulty appreciating the past and the future while simultaneously living in the present. Old and new tend to clash, with one or the other taking primacy of place. Which we choose depends on our age and point of view. But we serve an Eternal God Who exists outside of time. Is there some way, as His disciples, that we can reconcile old and new in our daily lives?
Isaiah 65:17-19; Matthew 13:52; Luke 5:36-39; Revelation 21:1-4
Click here to listen to the podcast: The Disappearing Railroad Blues
Music: “The City of New Orleans,” Steve Goodman, performed by Arlo Guthrie, Hobo’s Lullaby, Reprise Records, 1972. The full song can be heard at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF1lqEQFVUo.
We want the Lord to move and make things right, but often we ourselves are the reason He is holding back. Maybe instead of hoping He will fix the old things, we should ask how we can help Him usher in something new and better.
Leviticus 12:1-15:33; Numbers 12:1-15; 2 Chronicles 26:1-23; Isaiah 6:1-13; Luke 7:18-23; 2 Timothy 3:1-17
Click here to listen to the podcast: Take the Old King Off Life Support
Music: “I See The Lord,” Paul Baloche, performed by Promise Keepers, Turn the Tide 2001, Maranatha, 2002.
It’s easy to be optimistic in the good times, or even in the moderately bad times, but what about when the world as we know it is coming to an end?
Judges 7:19-22, 8:10; Job 1:21, 13:14-16; John 6:66-69
Click here to listen to the podcast: Heroic, Hopeful, or Wishful Thinking?
Music: “Ben Hur,” Marc Reift, Philharmonic Wind Orchestra & Marc Reift Orchestra, 87 Greatest Hits for Concert Band, Marcophone, 2014.
