Just as faith operates in the environment of doubt and hope operates in the environment of struggle, love operates in the environment of sacrifice. It surrenders selfishness to minister to others. This is the message of I Corinthians 13:4-7. Love is patient and kind. It does not envy or boast; it is not rude or …
The prophet Jonah ran away from obeying God; when he obeyed God, he did so with a grudge. It was only after being thrown overboard a ship, being swallowed by a great fish, and being spit up on dry ground that Jonah called Ninevah to repent. Jonah’s reason for initial disobedience was that he wanted …
While Moses is up on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments engraved by God on two stone tablets, the Israelites offered their gold up to make a golden calf to worship! When Moses saw what the Israelites had done, he threw the tablets and broke them. Then in Exodus 34, Moses brings God two new …
Hope is confidence in an optimistic expectation. But hope must be in something true and dependable. Psalm 33:17 tells us not to put our hope in a horse. Proverbs reminds us not to put our hopes in wickedness nor in people because our hope will die with them (Proverbs 11:7). The Pharisees placed their hope …
Hope is confidence in an optimistic expectation. But hope lives in the tension of struggle. Job had more reason than most to be hopeless after losing everything valuable to him including his health. Yet Job (13:15) declared, “Even though he slays me, yet I will hope in Him.” Frequently in the Psalms David asked, “Why …
Faith and obedience are interconnected. Without a certain amount of faith in God, we will not obey God. Paul writes in Romans 1:5 and 16:26 that God has called all the Gentiles (all of us) to the obedience that comes from faith. James declared that he would demonstrate his faith by what he did. Without …
I love what Mark Batterson wrote regarding faith: “Faith is not logical. But it isn’t illogical either. Faith is theological. It does not ignore reality; it just adds God into the equation.” Wow! Doesn’t that fit Noah building an ark? It was not logical. It seemed illogical from a secular perspective. Reality is not always …
The American Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, wrote that “Faith means doubt. Faith is not the suppression of doubt; it is the overcoming of doubt, and you overcome doubt by going through it.” Sometimes we get distressed by the doubts we experience, but it is in the presence of doubts that real faith is practiced. Faith …
In my Asbury Theological Seminary days, I heard a lot about the revival that started on February 3, 1970 at Asbury College. My heart longed to experience that again. I rejoice at the reports coming out of Asbury University. I am excited that God is doing a new thing at Asbury again. I am all …
Jesus reminds us in the Gospels of Matthew (7:7) and Luke (11:9) that we are to Ask, Seek, and Knock. We have all kinds of excuses for not asking God for various things, but Jesus still commands us to ask. Asking is a matter of obedience. Asking demands that we realize we are dependent upon …
Adrian Timmons 