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James, the author of the book of James and half-brother of Jesus, was a powerful firsthand witness of the joy and suffering of Jesus. Did you know James was martyred? He was thrown off a temple in Jerusalem by the Pharisees and didn’t instantly die. The scribes and Pharisees said he prayed, “Father, forgive them,…
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Sunday morning I went running early before church. I vividly remember running down a road with grass almost as tall as me and I put my hand out to touch it as I passed by, almost giving the weeds “high fives”. Later that day, someone said they saw me running that morning and had a…
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There is some debate about who wrote Psalm 72. The introduction says it is “of Solomon”, but the end of the chapter says “this concludes the psalms of David” (v. 20). My advice is do not get hung up on this. Perhaps David is praying it for his son Solomon who will succeed him as…
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While we may be worried about our past, unsure of our future, and troubled in our present, the Lord supersedes time as He is eternal. He is the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9, 13, 22). God is “from everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 90:2). He has no beginning and knows no end (Revelation 22:13). In Psalm…
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As I was running this morning, I noticed worms everywhere on the sidewalk. I thought, “Y’all gonna die! That’s not your path, that’s mine.” While I’ve seen this before, but today it hit me, “If we are not on the right path, we’re going to die as well.” Birds and a hot sun and bound…
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Pastors: 10% of people will love and support you no matter what. Thank God for them. They are friends and family. Less than 1% of people (probably one or two over many years) will question everything you do and never befriend you. Their spiritual gift to you is being your thorn. They probably don’t even…
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Someone once asked me, “Why do you think David continually asked the Lord to deliver him and judge his enemies?” The best answer I could come up with was, “David was reminding himself to give it over to God instead of foolishly trying to take care of it himself.” There’s nothing like trouble, tragedy, and…
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Have you ever stopped to think about all the Lord does? If you do for any length of time, it will cause you to praise His name. Psalm 68 is a psalm of David that does just that – remembrance and praise! It is good and necessary that we recall the blessings and activities of…
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Why do you want God to bless you? What does “blessed” really mean? Why do you desire His favor? What will you do with the grace He gives you? Psalm 67 is a psalm of blessing. Verse one references Numbers 6:24-26, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine…
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The rejoicing of others should cause rejoicing in you. When God moves in a great way in someone else, do you rejoice with them? Does it cause you to reflect and discover reasons to also rejoice? Does everything praiseworthy have to originate in your life or can it start with others and move you to…
stephen R Harrison 