Recently I have had a story from 2 Chronicles 26:15-27:2 stuck in my mind. Chapter 26 has been talking about the success of King Uzziah and this portion begins by saying, “for he was marvelously helped until he was strong” (v. 15). Did you catch that? He was marvelously helped (by God) until he was strong. Then the story continues, “But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the Lord his God” (v. 16). Wow! Here is a good king, who did right in the sight of God (v. 4), who sought the Lord (v. 5), but when he became “successful” he stopped relying on God’s strength and began to rely on his own. Then suddenly you find him doing what he would have never done–He enters the temple to burn incense to the Lord, something that only the priests were allowed to do. The priests resist him, their earthly king, and he burns with anger. Then…boom! A spot of leprosy breaks out on his forehead. The priests “hurried him out of there, and he himself also hastened to get out because the Lord had smitten him. And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death…” (vv. 20-21).

Continue reading The Leprosy of Pride →

God desires faithfulness and surrender, not worldly success, which is what so many Christians and even churches seem to be hung up on. An illustration has been coming to mind a lot lately: The story goes that a man heard from the Lord and the Lord told him to push a large stone. In faithfulness, day after day, he pushed the stone as hard as he could. From the early morning to the sunset, he pushed and pushed. He gave his all to push. But as the years passed he began to grow frustrated. He had pushed for years but the stone had not moved one inch. In agony he apologized to God, to which the Lord responded: “My faithful son, I told you to push the rock, not to move it.”
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Earlier today I went to a convenient store…I took my two youngest sons, ages one and three, the youngest in a stroller. We first picked up a cup of Dr. Pepper for my wife. Then I grabbed four “bug juices” for my four sons. Then I balanced two Gatorades for some gentlemen laying carpet in our house. I balanced my way to the counter, paid and was glad to get the bottles in a bag. So picture this, I’m pushing a stroller with one hand. In the other hand I’m holding a cup of Dr. Pepper with a dangling bag with six bottles, all while encouraging my 3-year old to stay close.
Continue reading Dribbling Dr. Pepper →

We’ve all heard of a forty-day fast, but what about a forty-day feast? No, not forty days of pure gluttony but forty days of “feasting” on God’s word. Mary Beth, my wife, originally coined the term and is using it to write about forty days of feasting on what God is doing in her life. My take on it is a little different: Forty days during which every day you read a book of Bible from beginning to end at one sitting.

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Tonight I went to a Third Day Christian concert. Toward the end, the band left the stage, as they typically do, before returning for that final, incredible song. After they left, people cheered; they whistled; they applauded. I watched as 7,000 or so people clapped as one, waiting for the band’s reappearance. Suddenly I imagined what it will be like in heaven someday when millions of believers stand before the throne of God, cheering and applauding and shouting with excitement and anticipation of worshipping their Lord and Savior.
Continue reading Applause →