7.8 The Inside Man

One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to [...]

6.5 Shiny Things

A few years back, I read my kids one of my favorite children’s stories, Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Wonderful story. One of the ones that can make Dad cry. I bring it up here because it has a terrific metaphor for sin and its consequences.

The book is about a boy and [...]

6.2 Our Self-Image Prison

In the last chapter, I talked about how our self-image acts as a thermostat to regulate our behavior. Now I would like to share how our false self-image can become a prison for us.

I’m currently watching old episodes of the original “Battlestar Galactica” T.V. series with my oldest son. Last night’s episode (“The Long Patrol”) [...]

5.15 Warrior – Wallbuilder

From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, [...]

3:11 Satan’s Bluff

Satan will threaten you when you start the hard work of rebuilding your walls, and he wants you to think that he is the one with the power.  Recognize this for the bluff that it is.  Satan has no power over you that God doesn’t allow.  In other words, the only way that Satan can [...]

3:10 The Enemy’s First Attack

But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”
 
I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as [...]

3:5 Building Your Walls Is A Threat to The Enemy

Satan is a dangerous enemy, not to be taken lightly, but we have methods for waging battle.  Verse 10 tells us that “…they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.”  You bet they were!  Without city walls, the Jews were no threat to Sanballat and his cronies.  [...]

3:4 Satan’s Motives & Methods

Satan is a formidable adversary (“adversary” is the literal meaning of the name Satan), and he has motive.  Satan hates God.  He hates God, but he can’t harm God.  So, he hurts God by hurting us.  Wound the Creator through His creation.
 
Another reason Satan hates us is because we are made in the image of [...]