Matthew 25:14-30 There is an old familiar saying: Be careful what you wish for, you might get it. It comes from that wise fellow, Aesop, who told a story about an elderly man trying to gather up some firewood and finding that he is too frail to carry the load. In exasperation he called upon death to come and get him. To his surprise, death appeared and asked, “What can I do for you, old man?” The startled man said, “O! nothing at all; sorry to have bothered you.” We sometimes wish for things simply because we haven’t thought it through well enough. We wish to win the lottery without thinking through the various costs such good fortune might present. There are enough cautionary tales about people who did win the lottery and have nothing but bitterness and woe from the experience. If you are like me, you think, “But […]
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What the Lord Requires, Part 4: To Look Beyond Ourselves
Luke 12:13-21 I have to wonder what Kenneth Copeland does with this particular passage of scripture. If you don’t know who Kenneth Copeland is, he is a televangelist. He was interviewed recently by a journalist who wanted him to explain why he needs a Gulfstream Jet. This jet he was able to purchase recently thanks to the generous donations of his followers. He needed it, apparently, because two airplanes was not sufficient. It might seem like enough to you and me, but God wanted him to have this third one, this Gulfstream, he told his congregation and he stressed to all his followers on television and online. God wanted him to have it and God wanted them to give him money so he could have it. This reporter asked him to explain why this was so important. He told her he needs it because he simply couldn’t do the work […]
Continue readingGod’s Intervention, Part 2: X-Ray Vision
1 Kings 21:1-21 I don’t know if Elijah loved his job, but I have my doubts. Who could love a job where you have to constantly haul yourself over to the worst king in the history of Israel and confront him with bad news? He might not have loved his job, but he was good at it. He had to be the best because he was dealing with the worst. Ahab was bad enough on his own, but everything was made worse by the fact of Jezebel, his foreign bride. She worshiped strange gods – the Baals, as they are sometimes called – and had strange ideas about the powers of royalty. In other lands in those days, including Jezebel’s homeland, kings had unlimited powers. They could take whatever they wanted to take. And so, it seemed mighty peculiar to Jezebel to find Ahab sulking on his bed like a […]
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