Filtered Thoughts

Promise and war. Prophesy and political upheaval. Security and trauma. Belonging and isolation. Abundance and abandonment. Palace intrigue and mundane monotony. Brokenness and healing. Truth and lies. God and sin. There is so much in the story I'd like to travel through with you today. Over recent years I've come to learn the importance of healing in community. The moments alone with the Lord are essential. There are places in each of us only God can restore, redeem, change, and make new. However, God indwells His image bearers. God uses people. God sends people. God speaks through people. God loves through people. God expresses Himself through people. If the Trinity maintains a relational community, so must we. David and Jonathan have long been the poster boys of friendship in scripture. When Jonathan realized that the Lord had forsaken his father, Saul, and that David was to be the next King, he entered an oath with David. Jonathan would send word to ...

I had never given much thought to today's topic, but when the Lord pressed me to study flattery, I was really amazed by the nuggets He revealed. To begin, we need to establish some definitions... Gossip : something that is true, but negatively said about a person when they are absent that would or could damage their reputation or tear them down. Slander : something that is not true and negatively said about a person when they are present or absent that would or could damage their reputation or tear them down. Encouragement : something that is true and positively said to a person when they are present that is meant for their own advantage. Praise : something that is true and positively said about a person when they are present or absent that would or could build their reputation and builds them up for their own advantage. Flattery : something that is true or untrue, but positively said about a person when they are present or absent meant to gain a personal advantage. It i...

Some falsely think that the Old Testament is no longer relevant and that it serves no purpose for today, other than relating history. When I read the story I'd like to share with you today, I see so many things that are applicable to us. Our text is 1 Kings chapter 13... A Man of God Confronts Jeroboam 13  And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. 2  And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’” 3  And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’” 4  And when the king heard the saying of the ma...

Contentment is not a quality that comes naturally, but a discipline to be acquired gradually. – Charles Spurgeon   I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. - Philippians 4:11-13 In the school of contentment, I'm probably in kindergarten, but these are some thoughts and recent revelations I've had on the topic... We can see from Paul's words that contentment is something that must be learned. It is an instruction we receive from God. We have to be taught and we can only learn contentment IN the trial, not after the battle. It cannot be learned after the trial is over. The word 'learned' here is the Greek word manthanó , meaning to gain knowledge from experience and often with the implication of ref...