Category Archives: Bible Stories

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May 26, 2025

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Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Fear & Doubt, Temptation & Sin

OUR ROCK AND SALVATION

What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers and depending on the strength of human armies instead of looking to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. [Isaiah 31:1 (NLT)]

Look! Don’t be deceived by appearances – men and things are not what they seem. All who are not on the rock are in the sea! [William Booth]

Built by her husband’s grandfather in the 1920s, my friend’s house was filled with much of the original furniture. Many pieces (like the restored grand piano) were valuable antiques but decades of use had taken their toll on others. Although the beautiful little mahogany side chair looked solid, a note saying “Broken—do not use” rested on it. Pretty as it was, the chair was useless and an invitation to disaster. Should the warning go unnoticed, some unknowing person could end up sprawled on the floor surrounded by splintered wood.

Some people depend on things as fragile as that broken chair—things like wealth, career, appearance, possessions, power, contacts, or fame. While at first glance, they may look solid and dependable, such things can’t be trusted and, like that chair, can shatter and collapse when most needed. Our circumstances can change in an instant and what we depended on yesterday may not be there tomorrow.

The Hebrew Scriptures are filled with stories showing the danger of putting our faith in the wrong things. Rather than relying on the truth of God’s word, Adam and Eve depended on Satan’s lies; after eating the forbidden fruit, they were evicted from Eden. Abraham and Sarah depended on their plan instead of God’s promise to give them a son. Sadly, the Middle East continues to suffer from their foolishness. Having placed faith in his own wisdom, riches, and power rather than the Lord, Solomon’s kingdom was divided after his death.

When Israel’s King Hoshea formed an alliance with Egypt instead of trusting God, he ended up imprisoned, his people in exile, and Samaria in ruins. When Judah trusted Assyria instead of God, they ended up paying tribute to them for 35 years. Slow learners, when they finally rebelled, rather than trusting in God, they appealed to Egypt for military aid. Today’s verse is Isaiah’s warning that Pharaoh was weak and undependable. In the end, it was God, not Egypt, who came to Judah’s rescue. Both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah suffered for their dependence on idols, other nations, and themselves rather than God; we will, too.

Putting our confidence in the weakness of man and the fragility of things rather than the power of God is like trusting a rickety antique chair; as attractive as it appears, it will collapse eventually and we’ll be left to pick up the shattered pieces. As for me, I’d rather depend on a God who is strong, steadfast, and indestructible than on anything or anyone else! Ours is a rock-solid God who won’t fail us, no matter how much weight we place on Him.

On whom or what do you rely? Is it reliable…as reliable as God?

When we dare to depend entirely upon God and do not doubt, the humblest and feeblest agencies will become mighty through God, to the pulling down of strongholds. [A.B. Simpson]

The best-equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior. Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory—for all its strength, it cannot save you. [Psalm 33:16-17 (NLT)]

I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. [Psalm 62:1-2 (NLT)]

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May 12, 2025

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, God's Word: The Bible, Obedience, Salvation: A New You, Temptation & Sin

DIFFERING WEIGHTS

Do not have differing weights in your bag, one heavy and one light. Do not have differing dry measures in your house, a larger and a smaller. You must have a full and honest weight, a full and honest dry measure, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. For everyone who does such things and acts unfairly is detestable to the Lord your God. [Deuteronomy 25:13-16 (CSB)]

Differing weights are detestable to the Lord, and dishonest scales are unfair. [Proverbs 20:23 (CSB)]

lady justice

In 1971, archeologists near the Temple Mount discovered a 2,700-year-old stone weight bearing two parallel lines. Although those lines indicated a weight of two gerah (a little less than a gram), it weighed 3.61 grams. Researchers believe it was used to defraud customers—something first condemned by God in Deuteronomy. Its discovery tells us that, despite Deuteronomy’s words, cheating weights and fraudulent scales were used in ancient Jerusalem. Nowadays, unless we’re butchers, greengrocers, goldsmiths, or grain merchants, we probably don’t have occasion to cheat anyone by short weighting them. Nevertheless, the Hebrew Scripture’s words about dishonest weights may not be limited to cheating someone out of a few ounces of lamb or grain.

Just because we don’t put our thumb on the scale or cheat on our income taxes doesn’t necessarily mean we’re using honest weights. Consider the scales of justice, one of the oldest and most familiar symbols associated with law. Representing the fairness expected in our courts, they represent the weighing of evidence on its own merit. Lady Justice often is depicted carrying those scales. Her blindfold means that she is blind to a person’s wealth, power, gender, politics, nationality, religion, and race. She doesn’t have double weights and measures or double standards. But, just as justice does not always wear its blindfold in our legal system, it often doesn’t in our personal lives, as well.

How fair and unbiased are we when we deal with people? Do we prejudge them based on their race, accent, clothing, age, or position? Do we favor those who are more attractive, wealthier, more influential, better educated, or look like us? Does it tip the scales when someone can return a favor or do something for us? Do we give the benefit of the doubt to certain people and not to others? Are we as considerate and polite to those who serve us as we are to those we serve?

Do we hold ourselves to a different standard than that we hold for others? Using a different weight, do we readily overlook our poor behavior when we wouldn’t tolerate that same behavior in someone else? Do we love some neighbors more than others or more freely extend mercy and kindness to certain people? When we buy something do we expect full disclosure but say, “buyer beware,” when we sell it? Do we correct the check when it’s in the restaurant’s favor but leave well enough alone when it’s in ours? Do our ethics and morals change with the situation or the people present? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, we’ve been using differing weights and dishonest scales!

The prophets Amos and Micah pronounced judgment on Israel for their lack of social justice, theft, exploitation, corruption, violence, bribery, and unethical business practices. What would the prophets say about us?

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. [James D. Miles Allison]

My brothers and sisters, do not show favoritism as you hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For if someone comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and a poor person dressed in filthy clothes also comes in, if you look with favor on the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here in a good place,” and yet you say to the poor person, “Stand over there,” or “Sit here on the floor by my footstool,” haven’t you made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?… If, however, you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. [James 2:1-4,9 (CSB)]

God’s verdict is on the lips of a king; his mouth should not give an unfair judgment. Honest balances and scales are the Lord’s; all the weights in the bag are his concern. [Proverbs 16:10-11 (CSB)]

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May 8, 2025

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Bible Stories, God's Word: The Bible, Knowing Him, Sharing Our Faith, Wisdom & Guidance

WAS THERE RAIN BEFORE THE FLOOD?

…for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground. But mist would come up from the earth and water all the ground. Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being. [Genesis 2:5-7 (CSB)]

double rainbowEarlier this week, I compared a fictional 21st century Noah with the original ark builder. Although I was told there had been no rain on earth before the Flood, since I hadn’t read it myself, I wanted to make sure before writing it. As it turns out, there is no clear decisive answer to whether or not there was rain before Noah’s day so I didn’t mention it at all.

Those who claim it never rained before the Flood occurred cite verses from Genesis and Hebrews to support their position. Genesis 2:5-7 tells us a mist covering the land watered the ground before the advent of mankind. Since rain isn’t mentioned again until Genesis 7:4 when God tells Noah He will make it rain, they assume the mist covered the earth until that time.

On the other hand, mist watering the earth prior to Adam doesn’t necessarily mean this canopy of water continued when Adam and Eve were banished from Eden. After the fall, things on earth changed radically—pain and death were introduced, the ground was cursed, and man had to toil to have food to eat. That neither rain nor drought are mentioned doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t exist after the fall. It’s quite possible that the physical processes of water evaporation, cloud formation, and precipitation that recycle the world’s water supply today existed at the time of Noah, but we don’t know.

In Hebrews 11:7, we are told that God warned Noah “about what was not yet seen.” While that which hadn’t yet been seen could have been rain, it also could have been the phenomenon of a global catastrophe that started with a 40-day rainstorm flooding the entire earth and destroying every living thing on the earth. The event was so extraordinary that it would be one year and ten days after the rain began that Noah, his family, and the animals emerged from the ark onto dry land.

Once the waters receded, God promised that never again would floodwaters destroy all life; He confirmed His covenant with a rainbow. The timing of this post-flood rainbow is given as additional evidence that rain was a new phenomenon on earth since a rainbow requires the existence of rain. But, when God said, “I have placed my bow in the clouds,” He never said it was the first rainbow. God merely told Noah that it would serve as a reminder of His promise never to flood the earth again.

There is no way to know for sure whether there was rain prior to the flood and a case can be made for both sides of the question. Fortunately, whether or not it rained before the flood is a moot point because it doesn’t matter. Nevertheless, two valuable lessons were learned while I tried to answer that question. The first was simply to get our Bible knowledge first-hand!

The second lesson is that we should be cautious of reading more into a few Bible verses than what is there. There is a vast difference between speculation and Gospel truth and much of what occurred from the beginning of time through the 1st century AD is not mentioned in the Bible. After all, 400 years are missing between Malachi’s words and the birth of John the Baptist! Just because something isn’t stated in Scripture doesn’t necessarily mean it didn’t exist or happen! For example, Exodus mentions only two midwives by name but that doesn’t mean they were the only midwives serving several thousand Hebrew women! While we may find portions of Scripture ambiguous about peripheral issues (like rain or midwives), the Bible is quite clear about the essentials of Christian doctrine! Where Scripture is clear, we must be inflexible about the fundamentals of our faith. Let us be wary, however, of being unbending when Scripture is unclear and the issue is minor.

On the essentials, unity. On the nonessentials, liberty. In everything, charity. [Jack Hyles]

I have placed my bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. [Genesis 9:13 (CSB)]

By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.  [Hebrews 11:7 (CSB)]

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May 5, 2025

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Obedience, Trusting God

NOAH AND THE RED TAPE

It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith. [Hebrews 11:7 (NLT)]

Thousands of years ago, God told Noah to build a boat the height of a four-story house, the length of one-and-a-half football fields, and with the storage capacity of about 450 semi-trailers. Without benefit of Home Depot or power tools, he managed to do it. What would happen if God gave Noah those same instructions today?

As the rain started to fall, I suspect 21st century Noah would be sitting on his front porch with no ark or animals in sight. He would however, have a litany of excuses for God. First, his neighbors objected to boat building in their neighborhood, so he had to go before the planning commission, zoning board, and city council for rezoning. The ark’s building permit wasn’t issued until its blueprints conformed to code with sprinkler system, emergency lighting, additional bathrooms, fire escape routes, exit signs, handicap accessibility, and commercial kitchen. The Forest Service refused to allow him to log the 3-million board feet of gopherwood he needed and the EPA objected to using tar to waterproof the ark.

FEMA said Noah couldn’t start work until an environmental impact study was done on the proposed flood. Even though the man explained he wasn’t proposing a flood but was preparing for one, Noah still had to wait until the study was finished. His attorney insisted he get easements from his neighbors to cross their property while hauling the ark to the shore, the power company demanded payment to raise several power lines so the ark could pass under them, and the Army Corps of Engineers required a permit to dredge a channel once the ark got to the water. Noah’s explanation that none of those things were necessary since the water would be coming to him fell on deaf ears.

After getting into a dispute with the CDC and USDA about importing and exporting animals, PETA and the ASPCA claimed Noah was collecting wildlife against their will and that placing them in pens on a boat was cruel. Even though Noah was trying to save rather than harm them, an injunction prevented him from gathering or possessing any animals. Following a confrontation with the Coast Guard about the number of life-jackets and life-boats needed for the people and animals coming aboard, Noah was told he needed to obtain a Master Captain’s license to pilot the ark. After sitting through 56 hours of classes, acing four exams, and spending the required 720 days aboard a ship, Noah failed the required physical because of his advanced age! “Lord, I tried,” he explained, “but what you asked was impossible!”

Fortunately, the deluge happened long before man’s invention of red tape and bureaucracy. If the real Noah had allowed circumstances to deter him from God’s task, mankind’s story would have ended in the sixth chapter of Genesis. Then again, it probably wasn’t a whole lot easier for the real Noah than my modern one. Obtaining the wood, building a ship that size, explaining the project to his family, dealing with skeptical neighbors, supplying the ark, assembling and loading the animals—all posed tremendous challenges. Noah, however, was a “righteous” man and, as “the only blameless person living on earth at the time…he walked in close fellowship with God.” Even in the 21st century, a man like that wouldn’t let any amount of red tape keep him from doing God’s will!

What my modern Noah didn’t understand is that we are to fear God above all others—even indignant neighbors, government bureaucracy, and angry protesters. There is an urgency in our obedience to God that has been lost in today’s world of red tape, paper work, and excuses. Even though the concept of a cataclysmic global flood and building a boat on dry land probably made little sense to him, Noah obediently did everything that God commanded him to do when God told him to do it. God expects us to do the same—even when the task seems impossible and the challenges insurmountable.

When God assigns a task, He doesn’t abandon us. He equips, enables, provides, and qualifies us. He can be trusted to give us the resources, skills, and direction necessary to do His work. Let us remember that the Jordan River didn’t stop flowing for the Israelites until the priests’ feet had touched the water and the widow’s flour and oil didn’t multiply until she used the last of hers to feed Elijah! If we are doing God’s will, He will hold back the water when we bravely walk into it, provide the ingredients we need when the cupboard is bare, and give us a giant pair of scissors to cut through red tape when we get tangled in it. Before that happens, however, we must trust Him enough to take the first step.

Each of us may be sure that if God sends us on stony paths, He will provide us with strong shoes, and He will not send us out on any journey for which He does not equip us well. [Alexander MacLaren]

May he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen. [Hebrews 13:21(NLT)]

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April 28, 2025

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Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Prayer, Thanks & Praise

ORGANIZING PRAYERS

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. [1 Timothy 2:1 (NLT)]

While there are no hard and fast rules about prayer except to believe in it and do it, some people use acronyms to help organize their prayers. The PRAY method stands for Praise, Repent, Ask, and Yield while the ACTS method formats prayer into Admiration (praise), Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication (asking God for what is needed). A TACOS prayer structure is Thanks, Adoration (or Applause), Confession, Others, and Self. Rather than an acronym, I was taught “The Hand of Prayer” as a girl. Beginning with the thumb, the order was Praise, Thanksgiving, Confession, Intercession (prayer for others), and Petition (prayer for oneself).

Regardless of how we do it, we should remember that only after we’ve put God first in our prayers, are we to pray for others and ourselves. I, for one, admit that I often speed through praise and thanks along with confession and repentance to get right to the asking. Worse, I find that my personal petitions frequently preempt and outweigh my intercessory prayers.

There is nothing wrong with praying for ourselves. In the Lord’s Prayer, we were taught to ask for our daily needs, forgiveness of sins, and deliverance from temptation. The Psalms are filled with pleas for God to intervene in the psalmists’ lives. Hannah, Jabez, David, Paul and even Jesus prayed for themselves. Praying for ourselves brings us into an intimate relationship with God and invites His blessings into our lives. The problem arises when we come to God just for those blessings without acknowledging Him or praying for others. Remembering our “God blesses” for others didn’t end with adulthood!

Before he became Pope Francis, Cardinal Bergoglio is said to have created the “Five Finger” prayer approach to help little ones remember their many “God blesses.” His method helps us remember to offer our prayers for others, as well. Because it’s nearest to the body when hands are folded in prayer, the thumb reminds us to pray for the people who are nearest and dearest—our family and friends. The index or pointing finger is a reminder to pray for those people (e.g. teachers, counselors, doctors, and pastors) who point us in the right direction. As the strongest and tallest, the middle finger is a prompt to pray for those in power and authority (even the ones with whom we disagree). Because it is the weakest digit with the least amount of dexterity, the fourth (or ring) finger reminds us to pray for the weak and powerless (e.g. the homeless, vulnerable, impoverished, and suffering). It is only when we get to the pinky that we pray for ourselves and our own needs. That little finger is a vivid reminder of how small we are in relation to God and how small our needs are in relation to the needs of others.

It is both a responsibility and a privilege to lift others’ needs to God in prayer. Abraham interceded for the people of Sodom, Job for his friends, Moses for the Israelites, the early church for the imprisoned Peter, Daniel for his captive nation, Paul for the readers of his letters, and Jesus for His disciples. John Calvin said, “To make intercession for men is the most powerful and practical way in which we can express our love for them.” When we pray with our five fingers, we have four fingers reminding us to do just that!

We are never more like Christ than in prayers of intercession. [Austin Phelps]

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. [Ephesians 6:18 (NLT)]

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. [Galatians 6:2 (NLT)]

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April 24, 2025

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Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Forgiveness, Holidays & Holy Days, Knowing Him, Thanks & Praise

PROOF

Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” But some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts: “Why does he speak like this? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” [Mark 2:5-7 (CSB)]

white campionBy forgiving people’s sins, Jesus was placing Himself in the role of God because only God can forgive sins. Had Jesus not been God, it would have been blasphemy. When He raised the dead, multiplied food, stilled storms, and healed incurable diseases, Jesus was doing other things that only God could do. His incredible claim that He could bring Himself back from the dead, something only God could do, was another way Jesus claimed His divinity. The undeniable proof of His claim came Easter morning when Jesus demonstrated power over both life and death. The tomb was empty and people saw the risen Christ—they heard Him speak, watched Him eat, saw His wounds, and touched Him. The forty days the resurrected Jesus remained on earth, however, is about more than proof of his claim to be God; it’s about proof of our relationship to God.

Let’s return to the disciples in that locked room Easter morning. The man they thought was going to redeem Israel was dead and His body was missing. Were they any less confused, disappointed, frightened, or troubled by those events than the two Christ followers returning to Emmaus that day? Not only were the disciples perplexed, they probably were guilt-ridden, as well. Peter, John, and James had failed to stay awake and pray with Jesus in Gethsemane and Mark tells us they all deserted Him that night. After promising he’d never deny Jesus, Peter did just that three times! Jesus’ closest companions were nowhere to be found the following day when the crowd shouted “Crucify Him!” and it was a stranger who carried His cross. The only disciple at the crucifixion was John. Rather than any of the disciples, it was Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who boldly risked their positions in the high council to see that Jesus got a proper burial.

When Jesus appeared to His disciples on Easter, thinking Him a ghost, they were startled and frightened. Once they knew it was the Lord, I’m not so sure they stopped being afraid of Him. But, instead of a reprimand for their doubt, Jesus simply showed them His hands and feet. Rather than shaming them for their cowardice, He spoke of forgiveness. While they may have anticipated a rebuke for their incomprehension and confusion, Jesus patiently explained the Scriptures’ prophecies and how He fulfilled them. When He appeared to Thomas, rather than scolding the doubter, Jesus told him to believe and offered proof. When Jesus appeared to the seven beside the Sea of Galilee, He didn’t admonish them for returning to their livelihood. Instead, He provided them with an enormous catch and made breakfast! Rather than confront Peter about his betrayal, Jesus restored their relationship and spoke to him of love. We know the Lord also spent time with his family but, rather than exacting retribution from the ones who thought him a religious fanatic, He forgave them; His half-brothers (two of which wrote epistles) joined His followers. Moreover, when Jesus finally ascended into Heaven, He didn’t leave His followers alone; He gave them His Holy Spirit!

The Resurrection tells us that Jesus defeated sin, Satan, and death and proves that He was God. The forty days the resurrected Christ spent on earth, however, tells us that the God who lived as a man for over thirty years was like the man who died and rose as God. It demonstrates that He was as gentle, patient, loving, and forgiving after the resurrection as He was before. He calmed the disciples’ fears, answered their questions, eased their doubts, knew their concerns, forgave their failures, and loved each one of them. A God of relationship, Jesus continues to know, see, hear, love, and forgive us today.

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us—what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. [1 John 1:1-3 (CSB)]

And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son as the world’s Savior. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God. And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. [1 John 4:14-16]

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