Ecclesiastes 12:10

      As one of our poets has said “ the waiting is the hardest part ”.     It seems we are always wanting something to be here sooner. Kids want Christmas to come sooner. Parents want the vacation to be here faster. Everyone wants this year to be over.   Yet time, as random as it seems, still advances at the same pace it always has. Yet when we want something to be here it, time seems to crawl. When we are dreading it, the clock seems to speed up.   So how do we feel about Judgment day?   I've noticed how many times Christ's return in scriptures is described in terms like “ eagerly wait ” and “ looking for ” (Romans 8:25 Ephesians 3:20, Titus 2:13). The cry is for the Lord to come and to come quickly. They can hardly wait.   It's not maybe the same attitude I see today. Christ’s return is viewed as a worry sometimes. We try to keep it off our minds for fear that it might come even faster than we are expecting. We want it to stay ...

    " Many waters cannot quench love, Nor will rivers overflow it; If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, It would be utterly despised ." Song of Solomon 8:7      Let’s say a man show up at your home, knocks on the door and says, “I saw your car in the drive, I always wanted one just like it, can I buy it from you?”, what do you do?     Well, I guess it depends on how much you like your car. If it is new or has sentimental value you might hesitate. If however, he has a briefcase full of $100 bills, it might not matter it was your first car or has great cup holders, you probably are selling.     However, if the man makes the same offer for your wife or your children it won’t matter how much cash he has, you aren’t listening. No, You are probably escorting him immediately off the premises. Some things are not for sale.     Satan is doing that. He wants our families, our spouses, our very souls....

    Omri was maybe the most powerful king of Israel’s northern kingdom. He built the capital city of Samaria. Artifacts from that period, like the Mesha Stele and the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, refer to him and his reign. If fact, the nation of Israel was known by the Assyrians as the land of Omri. In history, he is a predominant figure.     However, the Bible only gives him eight verses (1 st Kings 16:21-28). Those deal with the civil war that brought him to power, how he bought the hill that Samaria would be built on and how “ did evil in the sight of the LORD, and acted more wickedly than all who were before him” .   It‘s not that is doesn’t acknowledge his reign as significant (it tells us where to look to see those details) but rather it is unimportant to God’s purpose.   Omri might have been great historically, but to God, he is rather inconsequential.   Many people think an important life is one that garners attention culturally...

    No matter how good the meal is you will still get hungry later. No matter how much water you drink, the thirst will return. As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 6:7, “ All a man's labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied”. There is no ultimate thirst quencher. There is no permanent cure for hunger pains.   It isn’t just that way with food and drink. We chase after money, fame, power, and prestige, yet in the end, no matter how much we get, it leaves us feeling unfulfilled. Nothing fully satisfies     That’s what makes Jesus' word in John 6:35 so compelling. Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.     Here Jesus promises a meal that will stay with you. A drink that will satiate. Jesus is promising more than just the free lunch the people in the passage are seeking, he is offering them a chance at a life that will bring a satisfaction that ...

      Everyone has that place that is special to them. It might be your childhood bedroom. It could be your college dorm or that first tiny apartment you shared with your new spouse. Places that are special not because of their amenities but because of the memories that occurred there.   For the disciples, it had to be the upper room. The place they shared the last supper and first communion with their Lord. It was probably the place where they were when they heard about his appearance to others and where Jesus showed them his nail-scarred hands and the wound in his side. It could also be the same place where they cast lots to choose Matthias to part of their number. It also might be the room where the Holy Spirt came upon them with tongues of fire and went out of to preach the Gospel.   I say might and probability because the text never gives us a definite statement that was the same place all these events take place thought it a good educated guess. I wo...