Bad Boys, Long Hair and Commode Seals | 1 Sam. 17:1-50a
Behind that hair and beard and helmet and motorcycle, there was a quiet shy person who hoped no one would talk to him. He just wanted to be left alone.
Behind that hair and beard and helmet and motorcycle, there was a quiet shy person who hoped no one would talk to him. He just wanted to be left alone.
God wants us to feel good about ourselves. I don’t mean that there are never times for sorrow and/or repentance. However, we are to live from joy to joy and strength to strength due to the resources He has poured into our lives. Though everyone may defy the power of God in our lives, what matters is what we – as individuals – believe.
Why was Joab found desperately holding on to the “horns” of the altar? Is there anything you are holding onto in hopes of finding security such as money, pride, happiness, or even other people? While these are mostly good things, nothing can save us apart from trusting in the sufficiency of Christ and His willingness to die in our place. Are you willing to let go of the “horns of the altar” to take hold of Christ?
Forgiveness is free. Forgiveness comes to us totally and completely. There is no such thing as partial or gradual forgiveness. It doesn’t come by inches. You’ve either got it or you don’t. Get this. You can have it today – 100 percent, and start again.
God will give as much grace as we need to work through the mess we’ve created, as much mercy as we need to experience full and complete forgiveness, as much power as we need to turn our lives around. God will give us as much peace as we need to overcome our fears and as much acceptance as we need to be free from guilt.
Does fear, trepidation, and anxiousness ever overwhelm your daily life? Do you have any interest in overcoming that fear, trepidation and anxiousness? The writer of Psalm 121 shows us how to live in the delightful reality of a moment-by-moment grace-filled life.
Perpetual feelings of guilt aren’t part of God’s plan – not for any of us. The Countryside Baptist family, along with its pastor and staff, do not exist in order to burden anyone with guilt. We’re here to help unload that guilt and overcome it. God’s purpose is not to rub guilt in our faces – He wants to rub it out altogether.
One man said he once thought that biblical passages about persecution applied to people who lived in other countries like, Russia, North Korea, China or Pakistan, etc.– but not here, not in the United States of America! Welcome to the new America.
These verses comprise what may be the most controversial passage in the Bible. This interpretive dilemma is answered in several different ways. There is the insecure group interpretation. There is the secure group interpretation. There is the mixed group interpretation. Which is correct? Are any correct? Get ready for a theological collision of epic proportions.
If each of us can make a lasting difference in the lives of 10-20 people in our lifetimes, that difference will be felt for generations to come. Our mission is defined by what we do for others and how we influence their lives. That truth stands at the heart of Matthew 10.