Romans 8:28 - God's Fingerprints

Romans 8:28

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Certain truths can astound me even when I intellectually understand them. Things like gravity — the invisible force that anchors us to the Earth and directs planetary motion. Or flight — where enormous metal planes defy gravity with nothing but air. And magnetism, too, with its invisible forces pulling and pushing objects, all seem a bit like magic, but are real facts of life.

Among these everyday marvels, one that truly intrigues me is the fingerprint. Each person's fingerprints are unique, not even identical twins share the same patterns. The idea that no two individuals, past or future, will ever have the same fingerprints is astonishing. Though they are formed in our 10th week in the womb, our fingerprints serve as a personal identifier for the rest of our lives – and beyond. This remarkable detail in our design underscores the handiwork of our Creator.

Colossians 3:9-10 - Who Are You?

Colossians 3:9-10

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

When you interact with other people, who are you? How would you describe yourself?

Are you the Person of Mystery? The person who never lets anyone see the "real you," instead creating a façade that only shows others what you want them to see – not your true self inside?

Are you the Chameleon? Are you like the color-changing lizard that matches its surroundings, adapting to people, shifting your personality based on who you are with at the moment?

Are you the "What You See Is What You Get" person? Do you say, "I am who I am and I won’t change," and equate honesty with being coarse and abrasive, refusing to adjust your behavior to avoid “hypocrisy”?

Hebrews 11:1 - Faith and Doubt

 Hebrews 11:1

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

Faith and doubt—two forces we often struggle with—seem like polar opposites, but have you ever thought of them as companions? The tension between faith and doubt is a natural part of our Christian walk.

Faith, by its nature, requires a leap into the unknown. 

Faith asks us to believe in something we can't tangibly prove or understand, which often leaves us teetering on the edge of doubt.

1 John 4:8 - Why Does God Love Us?

1 John 4:8

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."

When you think about mankind, and think about how we are basically selfish, uncooperative, and disrespectful, you have to ask yourself the question, “Why does God love man?” This age-old question can be answered in several ways, but ultimately, it boils down to the nature of God Himself.

God’s love for mankind is a reflection of His own nature. The Apostle John told us in 1 John 4:8 that God is love. Everything He does is motivated by love. Think about that. It isn't because we have earned His love, or that we deserve His love. He loves us because He is love.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 - God's Memory

Jeremiah 31:31-34

31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.

33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 

34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Isn't human memory fascinating? It's so crucial to our lives that without it, we couldn't even manage simple tasks like walking or swallowing. Yet, our memories have a funny way of working. Have you noticed how we're more likely to remember the bad stuff and forget the good? We often dwell on our failures and flaws, while our successes and talents slip our minds.

Let me ask you something. When you think of David from the Old Testament, what's the first thing that pops into your mind? Is it the scandal with Bathsheba? Or do you think of David as "the man whose heart belonged to God"?

1 Peter 5:8 - Are You Watching For Snakes?

1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

When I was 14 years old, my cousin, my uncle and I were fishing along the bank of a remote river in California. I was walking a bit up ahead of the others, and was having a great time hopping from rock to rock.

To the side of the trail, I saw a bundle of twigs on top of some rocks. It seemed out of place somehow, so I stopped to look. And – I almost didn’t see what it was! I had almost stepped on a baby snake sunning itself on a rock. It wasn’t moving, just laying there all twisted up.

Mark 8:34 - Are You a Disciple?

Mark 8:34 (Also Matthew 16:24-27 and Luke 9:23)

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Give it some thought, then answer these two questions: 

1 Corinthians 15:33 - The Law of Entropy

1 Corinthians 15:33

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Have you ever thrown a rock into a pond? There are ripples for quite a while after the rock splashes. But - eventually the pond’s surface will become still again.

The second Law of Thermal Dynamics is at work here. It states that things will move toward equilibrium. This is something called entropy — an equal state of balance.

Place a cube of ice in a pot of boiling water and see what happens . . . the ice cube and the pot of water  will both change until they finally reach the temperature of the environment they are in. In fact, everything is moving toward the same temperature of the surrounding environment.

John 3:16-17 - A Loophole or Lifeline?

John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

If you have ever been out on the ocean, maybe you have thought about how vulnerable you are out there. All that water — and no land in sight!

“Man overboard!” is not a cry to be taken lightly. A man left on his own, swimming in the middle of the ocean has absolutely no chance to survive. If he doesn’t exhaust himself from treading water, there are a host of other reasons he will not survive — from hypothermia to becoming dinner for a large sea creature.

John 2:16 - Do You Worship in a Market Place?

John 2:16
To those who sold doves, he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

Can you imagine the sounds and smells that were in the temple that day? When you gather a bunch of people in a tight space and bring in livestock and other commodity trading, you have the makings of a bazaar or farmer’s market.

The temple was a glorious place — a place where the very surroundings gave evidence of God’s majesty. In fact, even though they shouldn't have, many Jews of that day swore by the gold of the temple!

But, as it was, a visitor to the temple was met with a cacophony of noise, smells and — mixed messages! Was the house of God a place of worship, or a place of business?

Jesus’ actions showed the right answer!

Today, we have no temple, but we do need to be cautious about how we conduct ourselves. One of the most frequent complaints I hear about “organized religion” is that “they always want my money!”

If you tune into the “television evangelists,” it is truly only minutes into the programs before there is some kind of appeal for funds. Some appeals seem reasonable, and some border on the ridiculous — but all muddy up any message being delivered. It is difficult to refute the charge against “organized religion!”

The spreading of the gospel has some financial costs. Who should bear those costs?

Some have turned to raising the funds from those they reach out to — leading to the practice of “creative marketing” — the more people reached out to, the more potential income. In the short term this is great for the fund raisers, but in the long term this is devastating to those who fall victim to the charlatans — causing many to doubt God and distrust any who claim to follow Him.

Paul understood the problem. Causing those “taught” to bear the burdens of the “teacher” can become a distraction, or a blockade in the spreading of the Gospel. Even though Paul had the right to “earn a living” from teaching the Gospel, he had strong feelings about exercising that right.

1 Corinthians 9:18:  What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.

2 Corinthians 2:17:  Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

2 Corinthians 6:3:  We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.

In gathering funds for the spreading of the gospel, let us not turn the church into a market place — selling trinkets, books and “religious” items to a “captured” audience, making the church look like a “money hungry” machine. We have no biblical support for holding such raffles, car washes or bake sales — or even asking those outside the church for support.

The burden of spreading the gospel should and does lie squarely on the shoulders of the church. The early church — the church we read of in the New Testament — the church Jesus died for — gathered its support from among itself. Here is what the apostle Paul told the churches in Galatia to do . . .

1 Corinthians 16:2:  On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come, no collections will have to be made.

To gather funds any other way is to do so beyond Scriptural example, precedent, directive or command — and that is always a dangerous way to conduct ourselves.