How would you like to be known as “barren Elizabeth”? It was considered almost a curse in Bible days to not have children. It was assumed there was something in a person’s life in which God was not pleased. Zechariah and Elizabeth were good, Godly people, yet they had no children and they were past the normal age of childbirth.
For a few days I want to focus on the character of Zechariah from the Christmas story. Zechariah was a priest. As a pastor and leader, I have a special heart for those in the ministry. Zechariah was a man who strived to live a Godly life. He and his wife, Elizabeth, from all Biblical indications, was a couple committed to doing the will of God in their lives.
We spend too much time in life trying to decide who and what we should be and which decision is best for us? Should I vote Democrat or Republican? Should I go to a state school or a private university? Should I be Baptist or Nazarene? Should I go to that movie or not? Do I trust that pastor (or blogger) or some other who seems to contradict?
Has 2009 been a difficult year for you? I continue to hear from people what a stressful year 2009 has been for them. I know it has been in my life.
Matt Chandler will never be the same. If you do not know Matt, he’s an amazing pastor in Texas that recently had brain surgery at 35 years old. In this video to his church before the surgery I was reminded that Matt will be changed
I have stopped being surprised when I receive criticism. In fact, I have observed that the more success an organization has and the stronger leadership exhibited, the more critics seem to rise. I try to discern which criticism is valid and which is not. (I posted about that previously HERE.) I think it is wrong to simply ignore critics. Some of it has really value, but all leaders will receive it. For that fact, we shouldn’t be surprised.
The life of a believer is not always rosy. I’m quite sorry if you are new to the faith and that surprises or disappoints you. Sometimes the outside world assumes that because we claim to know God personally that we have somehow risen above the stresses of life. That is far from the truth.
The breaking news involves Tiger Woods. You may have heard all the rumors, watched ESPN and all the other newscasts try to get “to the bottom” of the story, or even read that Tiger personally admits he disappointed his family by not being true to the values he believes.
Let me try to explain. Throughout the 16th chapter of Exodus, Moses recounts the story of the Israelites gathering manna, which were thin flakes of bread. Every morning, each person gathered the manna by a measure called an omer. For 35 verses in chapter 16, if you are inquisitive like me, you are wondering, “Moses, what is an omer? How much is that?”
So why do I share this? Well, it gives you another pie recipe you can try, but really to illustrate that, if you don’t follow the directions carefully, your recipes will fail. So it is in the Christian life, or any life for that matter. God has a plan. He has spelled it out in His Word. If we follow it, we will experience rich reward. His first command is to “love the Lord with all our heart”. Then, we are told to “love your neighbor as yourself”. The rest of the commands are in the Book. We aren’t saved by works and we don’t remain saved by works, but Jesus said “If you love Me, you will do as I command.” So our proper response to God’s love is obedience. In fact, it’s how life works best.
