Consider this

                Imagine with me for a moment that the apostle Paul has been told that several groups within the church in Corinth have been arguing about which is the most important.   Therefore, he calls them together and offers to judge their competition.   Each group will get a chance to make their case and Paul, inspired by God’s Spirit, will pick a winner.                 Happily, the first group steps up and says, “Obviously, we are the most important because we are the preachers and the teachers.   We draw huge crowds and people love to listen to us.   We are entertaining and funny and we do more good than anyone else”.                 To ...

                When Moses was told to go to Egypt and demand the release of the Israelite slaves, he was understandably hesitant.   “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” he asked (Exodus 3:11).   More specifically he said, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” (verse 13).   Moses needs God’s name!                 Names are interesting.   Your name is one of the most personal things about you, but you did not choose it.   It was given to you.   Names come with baggage, both good and bad.   When Sara and I were choosing baby names, we had a terrible time!   One...

                  Once an airplane is in the air, almost anyone can fly it.   Keeping it in the air and flying straight is not the hard part.   The danger comes at takeoff and landing.   The transitions are the tricky parts!                 Similarly, in our lives, it is not the time of calm but the times of change that test and challenge us.   It is how we act during times of transition that will determine how things turn out.                 Seven hundred years after the promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), God’s people are facing a huge transition.   They are standing at the edge of the Promised Land and they are about t...