Monday, February 28, 2011

1 Kings 10:14-11:43

Sunday, February 27, 2011

1 Kings 9:1-10:13

Saturday, February 26, 2011

1 Kings 8:12-66

Friday, February 25, 2011

1 Kings 7:13-8:11

Thursday, February 24, 2011

1 Kings 6:1-7:12

Pardon Me While I Vent


Is it just me or has ‘selfishness’ run amuck?

‘Selfishness’ seems to be on display everywhere we look these days. Forget the politics and the posturing for just a moment. Remove all of the labels and the issues and just look at what is going on around us. Grown men and women are acting like 7 year olds on the playground. In essence they are saying, “it’s my ball and I’m going home because if we keep playing I’m going to lose.” I am, of course, referring to congressmen in various states that seem to prefer Illinois as a place to live rather than the places they were elected to serve in. It would be bad enough if it were just politicians that were acting like this; after all, we have grown to expect no better of them. The problem, however, is that nearly everyone else acts the same way.

‘Selfishness’ is about – Self! Our self-absorption, self-serve, self-help, self-directed, self-taught, and self-led lifestyles are destroying us. Scripture teaching us to rely on one another, to rebuke one another, to be like iron sharpening iron for one another. Scripture tells us to place the needs of other above our own. The Bible teaches self-sacrifice not self-promotion!  The world, of which our statehouses and the halls of congress serve as symbols, seems to be saying otherwise.

It would be one thing if our selfishness stayed within our own borders, but it seems to be the export of choice from our nation these days. We demand that Lybia, Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen have the people that we want them to have in power rather than the ones that they choose. After all what really matters is how much we have to pay for gas not whether or not the average child in Lybia, Egypt, Jordan, or Yemen can afford to go to school or has anything to eat today. We demand an awful lot of others. When are we going to start demanding something of ourselves. Jesus did! He said, ‘Take up your cross and follow after me.’ What about it church? Are you ready to follow after Jesus or are you going to take your ball and go to Illinois?

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

1 Kings 5

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

1 Kings 3 and 4

Monday, February 21, 2011

1 Kings 2


1 Kings 1


Saturday, February 19, 2011

Psalm 72

Friday, February 18, 2011

Psalm 70 and 71

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Psalm 69

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Psalm 68:39-35


Monday, February 14, 2011

Psalm 68:1-18


Psalm 66 and 67