How to love and serve God well
October 2, 20262 Kings 23:1-27 One of the deeply searching questions of the Bible is uttered in the Book of Job when the satan sarcastically inquires if Job serves God for nothing (Job 1:9).[1] Given that Job is blessed with a good life, why should he not worship God when he gets so much out of it? The insinuation is that he only serves the Lord for the benefits of the relationship. Take them away and he will curse God (Job 1:11)! Everyone, of course, desires relationships where they are loved unselfishly for who they are rather than used for advantages. Traditional…
The difference God’s Word can make
2 Kings 22:1-20 Immigrants in a new country tend to make efforts to preserve their culture and pass on their language and customs to the next generation. Children of such immigrants, however, often want to leave behind their cultural past…
How to avoid repeating our mistakes
2 Kings 21:1-26 Most of us can think of situations where life seems to have repeated itself. Maybe it was a conflict we escaped with someone only to see ourselves in a similar situation with another person. Perhaps it was…
The difference our choices make
2 Kings 20:12-21 When I was a child and we watched movies as a family, sometimes Dad would reassure us, children, when we were worried about how the story would end. I wondered at the time how he could know…
Life out of death: The God who is for us
2 Kings 20:1-11 All of us have regrets in life when what we had hoped for did not happen. Some grieve over not having found a life-partner, others struggle with childlessness or single parenting, yet others long for a career…
The secret of the trusting weak against the strong
2 Kings 19:20-37 Last week, we saw Hezekiah’s growing trust of God as he took steps, albeit tentative, towards Him. Today, we hear God’s answer, His perspective, and learn about His character. This immediately raises the question for us: what…
How to grow trust in God after failing
2 Kings 19:1-19 On 21 December 1989, a fierce storm hit the northern coastline of Brittany, France. The waves crashing into La Jument lighthouse were 30 metres high (about 100 feet). The next morning, a photographer hired a helicopter to…
Clever tactics of discouragement and how to resist them
2 Kings 18:17-37 In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis imaginatively describes the tactics of Satan to discourage and lead Christians astray. His fictional character, Screwtape, is an experienced senior demon, who instructs his nephew in the art of temptation. The…
The challenge of faith and how we respond
2 Kings 18:1-16 According to Greek myth, Achilles’ mother dipped his baby son in the water of the Styx, the river that runs through the underworld, to make him invulnerable. His only exposed area was on his heel where his…
The nature of repentance and the way to healing
Hos 14:1-9 In the Harry Potter series, the arch-evil Voldemort splits his soul into multiple pieces through murdering others. Keeping these fragments hidden in various receptacles, he hopes to ensure his immortality. At one point the question arises whether such…
Holding onto life or death and why it matters
Hos 13:1-16 While grocery shopping the other day, I saw a woman ahead of me at the checkout buying traditional cigarettes. There was some delay in locating her favourite brand and as I watched the scene, I was startled at…