Pastor’s Blog (Page 46)

Junctions. Life is full of them. Like the one on this sign, they can be really complex. Sometimes, the road choices seem simple enough… but they turn out to have really far-reaching implications. Our man Jehoshaphat left us the best example for navigating life’s road choices. Here it is in his own words: “Please inquire first for the word of the Lord.”1 When Jehoshaphat…

For these last two Sundays of July we’re exploring the life of Jehoshaphat as part of our Consecrated Lives series. He’s an exemplary man—a true champion! So, naturally, we wonder, Who helped shape him? Undoubtedly, his father Asa. Take a look at him.1 For 35 years Asa reigned—with rest on every side—seeking the Lord and courageously leading the people to follow God. “He…

“How will you cover your final expenses?” asked the life insurance salesman. “Final expenses” is our culture’s euphemism for the cost of having your body embalmed, placed in a casket, and viewed by friends and family. “Final expenses” also include the cost of either cremating your body, or placing your body and your casket in a…

Nine unusual words caught my attention about King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 17:6. Jehoshaphat took great pride in the ways of the Lord. The Hebrew text reads, “his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord.” My eyes lit on that phrase and suddenly it seemed as if God were saying, “Yes, I sovereignly placed that phrase in the Scriptures millennia ago…

2 Chronicles 20. Jehoshaphat receives crushing news of an impending attack by a great multitude. He’s afraid. He responds by turning his attention to seek the Lord. He proclaims a fast. He leads in humble, dependent waiting before God: “All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their infants, their wives and their children” (v. 13). THEN… after…

There are two kinds of NO REGRETS living. A young, 25-year-old missionary hopeful named William Borden lay dying in Egypt. Many said he had “thrown away his life,” having left the family business and his inherited millions to take the Gospel to the Muslim Kansu people of China. But he never made it to China. Just three months after his departure, while…