Focus on Eternity

     Sometimes we grow anxious to see evidence that God is working in our lives.  About twelve days ago, a verse found in the eighth chapter of 2 Corinthians came back for a visit this morning to move into my heart.  In his book, The Divine Mentor by Wayne Cordeiro, we are given a hint that there are two ways that we approach God through Scriptures:  (1) we either read it, or (2) we enter it.  Depending on what we do, we may experience one of three things: (1) we may find information, (2) we may become inspired, or (3) an incarnation occurs.  (The Divine Mentor, chapter 8, Fresh Bread).      When we read Scripture with the desire to gain knowledge, we are seeking information.  Gaining knowledge or capturing information from God’s Word can be handy if we are planning on competing on a game show and need to answer questions under the category of Bible Trivia.  With this method of reading the Bible, we are treating God’s Word as just another history book.  Tell me the story.  Where

     We have long enjoyed the show American Idol, seeing the amazing musical talent of so many young people.   This year is no exception, but this year’s show is different.   We have all heard hard-luck stories in past seasons where contestants have overcome behemoths of their own, but this year’s show seems to wave tribulation like a banner.   Maybe it is the new element in the show’s revival that producers want to highlight the story behind the performer.  Even among the artists that I love are human-interest stories that speak of overcoming (Laura Story, Matthew West, Hillary Scott, and Jason Weaver).   This year there was a young lady who was diagnosed with hydrocephalus resulting from a brain tumor who lost her eyesight.   Another young man was battling addictions and credited the pursuit of music with his sobriety.   Yet another contestant was significantly overweight and lost his self-confidence until shedding 170 pounds and returned to pursue his music.   All these contestant

         This morning I found myself in the 9 th chapter of 2 Corinthians and from the subtitle, “The Cheerful Giver” found in the English Standard Version, I thought I would receive instructions on how to evaluate my heart as the measure of whether my generosity would be pleasing to God.  However, I was met with an entirely different lesson than I had anticipated.  What I found within the span of the twenty-two verses was a lesson on reputation.  If you recall, several weeks ago I wrote an article entitled “How Important is Your Reputation?”  In that piece, I focused on how the apostle Paul gave his reputation over to the Son of God rather than worry about it himself.  Today’s lesson focuses on when we rest our reputation on the promises made by others.        Paul is discussing the matter of generosity with the church in Corinth, and apparently, they had made promises that Paul was counting on.  In chapter 8 of the same book, Paul said, “your abundance at the present time sh

          April 10, 2005      Little did I know the great blessing the Holy Spirit had in store for me as I read Scriptures this morning (April 10, 2019). I am finding evidence that the Holy Spirit is helping me to grow in understanding as I desire to share His wisdom with others.  This morning I received a gift from Scriptures when I read, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?”  (Isaiah 49:15 ESV) This morning wasn’t the first day I’ve set my eyes on this passage, but the third day.  This verse laid hidden among the rest until it’s time arrived for me to drink it in (a resurrection of sorts).  I found myself in Isaiah after studying a passage in 2 Corinthians 6 where the apostle Paul was making his appeal to the unbelieving Jews in Corinth that it was a favorable time for them to come to salvation.      I, reminded of Paul’s journey trained at the feet of the great Jewish Rabbi, Gamaliel, who was the first-c

          When was the last time that you tried something new?  In the past few weeks, we’ve had several opportunities to do just that.  Our oldest daughter just completed her preliminary course in driver’s education and was ready to operate our vehicle under a learner’s permit.  This experience for her started by sitting at the Secretary of States office for nearly two hours.  What teenager do you know that has the patience for that?  We arrived about twenty minutes after the doors opened, not heeding the advice of the wiser adult who recommended an earlier arrival, we walked through the door and immediately drew the number 62, which meant we were lined up behind approximately 50 equally-impatient people waiting for their turn at the front desk.  Those two hours honestly prepared my heart to turn over the keys to the Mommy Van that my fifteen-year-old would use to drive us to lunch.  Riding as a passenger next to my daughter, now that was something new.      While on Spri