Living Below 212* Fahrenheit | 2 Pet. 1:3-11

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Self-control is a quality found in the character of God. At least nine times the Bible tells us that God is slow to anger, i.e., God controls His emotions; God restrains His agitations; God never acts rashly. The person who breaks out of the egg and soars on the winds of the Spirit has learned to manage well his/her mind, emotions and passions. Here’s the question of the day: How can a person reel in the emotions and passions? How can a person manage explosive agitations? How can a person live below 212* Fahrenheit?

Get on My Tail & Stay on It | Genesis 21:14

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Sarah’s adamant posture may be seen as the rock. God telling Abraham to let Hagar and Ismael go is to be seen as the hard place. Abraham would have to go against Sarah or go against God. What decision did Abraham make? As we find ourselves between similar rocks and hard places, we are faced with the same dilemma faced by Abraham. Will we go with God or against God? Is there any room for middle ground or negotiation? Can we be content to be a distant speck in the rearview mirror?

Overcoming Worry | 2 Peter 1:3-11

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Not only are worry and anxiety symptoms of assuming somebody else’s responsibilities, they are also evidence of a deep problem. What problem? Not knowing God. You may think that the propensity to worry is connected to DNA inherited from previous generations. However, worry is actually the result of not knowing God well enough. Anxieties and insecurities about life come under control when we possess an adequate understanding of who God is and how God cares for us. Don’t miss this opportunity to wipe worry from your life. Learn how now.

Celebration Station & Shootout at OK Corral | Genesis 21:1-14

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God has given us a treasure house of promises, and on each of those promises is a name. What name? Your name and mine, and precisely when the time is right He brings those promises to fruition. Consequently, life is often a celebration for the believer, but once in a while life for the believer can seem more like a shootout at the OK Corral. It happened to Abraham and it can happen to us.

Champ or Chump? | Genesis 20:1-18

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In Genesis 17 and 18, we saw Abraham as a champion of the Lord. He had risen to a spiritual height from which it seemed he would never descend. Yet, in Genesis 20, our high-flying champion comes crashing to the ground. We will see in these 18 verses that the power of evil still lurks within the heart of even the most consecrated men and women of God. We are ever to remain aware of the possibility to fall short of the mark set for us in Jesus Christ. If we follow Abraham to the altitudes of loftiness, be careful to avoid following him to the depths of despair

Fading at the Finish | Genesis 19:30-38

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If I say, God is good, you would likely respond with the words, all the time. And then if the chant is reversed and I say, All the time, you would likely respond with the words, God is good. Here at Countryside we sing uplifting songs like: God is good all the time. He put a song of praise in this heart of mine. God is good all the time. Through the darkest night, His light will shine. God is good; God is good all the time. Most likely, there is not a person reading this blurb who would disagree with those lyrics as penned by Don Moen. Yet, is that the whole story? Lot and his family may have had a different view. Perhaps, you do as well.

You’ve Got to Be Joking! | Genesis 19:15-29

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Do you believe in catastrophic judgment on cities and/or nations? No, really? Have you ever believed that utter destruction is imminent? My guess is that the society in which we reside does not. Neither did the society in which Lot resided. Check out verse 14 in Genesis 19: Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law . . . and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the LORD is destroying the city.” But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be joking. Would you have quickly lined-up behind Lot, or would you have joined his sons-in-law in a raucous belly-laugh? Here’s the reality: This is no joke!

Move Over Pompeii | Genesis 19:1-14

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Could anything be of such importance to a father that he would actually surrender his daughters to men bent on sexual violence? I just can’t get my head wrapped around Lot’s course of action. Can you? How can Lot’s life philosophy be defended? It can’t, can it? And even if could be defended, what can it possibly mean for twenty-first century man? Maybe, we should simply apologize for the inclusion of this text in the Old Testament canon and move on as quickly as possible

Praying for Joe | Genesis 19:27-29

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There may be times when we simply do not know what to pray, times when words simply will not come. Yet, praying specifically is always a more effective way to pray. General praying receives general responses and makes for less energetic conversations with God. That may be one reason for dull prayer lives. Abraham had the audacity to ask God for the incredible, and he actually believed that his praying would make a difference. What about you? Do you pray for the incredible and believe that your praying actually makes a difference?

Good News/Bad News | Genesis 18:22-33

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There may be times when we simply do not know what to pray, times when words simply will not come. Yet, praying specifically is always a more effective way to pray. General praying receives general responses and makes for less energetic conversations with God. That may be one reason for dull prayer lives. Abraham had the audacity to ask God for the incredible, and he actually believed that his praying would make a difference. What about you? Do you pray for the incredible and believe that your praying actually makes a difference?