Men of faith, entrusted with the responsibility of preaching the word of God, aren't always the boorish, insensitive jerks they might appear to be. Some of them would rather not speak at all. Most of them aren't even qualified to do what they do.

Jeremiah was one such man. Though he appeared bold before men, he was broken before God.

Some people feel like God offers no greater relational depth than Kasparov has with a chess piece.
But by rejecting God on the basis that He treats people like pawns, they essentially lock themselves into a stalemate.

God would rather treat us like a spouse. If He's dealing with you like a game piece, it's only because you insist.

It's good, for healthy digestion, to allow a little time to pass in between meals.
But when the hours turn into days, and the days turn into months, a body is guaranteed to grow weak.

How long a person waits before they eat again is up to them. How long they can actually survive without eating, however, is up to God.

Every house generates garbage (including the Lord's).
And every homeowner has the right to decide how clean they want to keep it (including God).

When a person trashes their life with sin & rebellion they run the risk of being purged from the church, no matter who they are (including you).

Serving Jesus can be a discouraging activity. Ask anyone who's ever done it the way God requires, and they'd probably agree.

It's not the nature of the work, however, or the temperament of our Master that makes obedience so difficult.
Most often it's becuase of the misconceptions of the servant. 

The reality of what it means to serve God can catch a person by suprise.  
Especially for those who thought it would guarantee continual happiness & material prosperity.

Trying to recover from that kind of distorted thinking can be a very dizzying experience.

Many people insist that they trust in God, and believe it with all their heart.

The problem is, their heart is lying to them. All it takes is a little adversity to prove it.

Trust comes easy until it's put to the test.

By itself, there's nothing special about clay.
But if it yields itself to the hands of a potter, it just might become something beautiful.

I guess it all depends on whether that clay will trust the Artist to do His job.

Each passing day brings you 24 hours closer to the end of wherever the path you're on is taking you.
For some, it's eternal life...For others, it's Divine Judgment.

It's really not too hard to tell which path you're on if you pay attention to the signs.

It took 4 years to develop a vaccination for mumps. Polio was almost 20.
On average, it takes over a decade to create a vaccine, but when it came to Covid-19, they got the job done in mere months.
It's impressive how fast we can stop the spread of a lethal disease when we really want to.
(It's just a shame we aren't paying more attention to what's really killing people). 

Some people have inspiring dreams about walking with Jesus. Other people wake up and actually do it.

If the footprints you've left in the sand disappear as soon as the dream is over,
you ought to question whether you've really been following God at all. 

Each year, 6.8 million Americans courageously give their blood to help keep other people alive.
In other words, 4.5 million Americans will live to see another day becuase someone else was willing to bleed.

We don't always realize how many people are endangered by keeping our blood to ourselves. 

The last trace of a pure government disappeared in 1021 BC when Israel traded away their Theocracy for a king. But God's ok with that.

Sometimes His primary concern isn't to shield us FROM the corruption of a sinful government like we might think it is.
Sometimes His greater desire is to subject us TO it. 

Every church has its faithful individuals, and every church has its rebels.
Being part of a faith community doesn't mean you aren't still miles away from everybody else in your thinking.

Which group everyone belongs to might be hard to discern at the moment, but time will tell.

Some people think that taking candy from babies is an easy thing.
But if idols were candy, and we were the babies, I wouldn't be so sure.

It takes a lot of time and patience to pry certain things out of our hands, and If God doesn't do it, I don't know if anyone will.

The human heart gets heavy when fear, failure, and faithlessness converge.
Sometimes it gets so bad, it's hard to believe it'll ever get better. But God says it will.

Do you believe Him?

Reward is usually contingent upon risk. That's why so many Christians live such unrewarding lives.
They play it safe. They buy the things they want, and make God fend for Himself. They've got no skin in the game.

If we're going to be labelled "conservative", let it be for radical things we believe, not for the living of a timid life. 

What if you were told that the sun was going to rise in the sky tomorrow morning...
...would you accept it as true?

Some things are harder to believe than others. Among the most difficult are the promises of God.

Not everyone has the kind of integrity you'd hope for in a friend, a spouse, or a child.
A long wooden nose is a dead giveaway...but so is a broken covenant.

Some people are just unbelievable.

In some people, God's word produces anger, rebellion, and death.
In others, however, it produces the spiritual fruit of holiness, virtue, and life.
Either way, the truth of Scripture has an undeniable effect upon those who hear it.
You can always tell by the way they react. 

Facing reality can be a rather unpleasant experience. For that reason, much of the unbelieving world avoids it.
Unfortunately, so does much of the church.

If we ever want to enjoy true freedom, fleeing from reality is not an option.

It's hard to believe that somebody is surrendered to Christ if they're unwilling to surrender to anybody else.

Humility & submission are hard to hide, and God intends for us to put those virtues on display.
Not just in the way we treat Him, but in the way we submit to others.

If a child builds a castle of sand, does he have the right to kick it down? If a man makes a sandwich, does He have the right to eat it?

What about God...if He creates a planet, does He have the right to judge the nations that dwell upon it?

Who does God think He is?

It's a high honor to be specially chosen by God to serve His purposes, even if it means executing judgment on His people.

Some people find a thrill in besieging cities & taking captives.

The hard part is keeping pride from making you dizzy after you've finished the job.