God’s Boundless Presence and Grace
Read: 1 Chronicles 16:37-43; Acts 7:47-48 He left Zadok the priest . . . before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon. (1 Chron. 16:39) For many Christians, the church sanctuary is where we particularly experience God’s presence and grace. Sunday sanctuary worship can be a sacred time and place. In a similar […]
Jesus Shall Reign
Read: 1 Chronicles 14:1-17; Philippians 2:10-11 The fame of David went out into all lands. (1 Chron. 14:17) One of my favorite hymns is “Jesus Shall Reign.” The song expresses longing for the day when every creature will recognize the honors of Christ as king. It originated in the early eighteenth century during the modern Protestant missionary […]
Overfamiliarity with God
Read: 1 Chronicles 13:1-14; Hebrews 10:31 The anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah. (1 Chron. 13:10) I have a good friend who is an advocate for CPR training in our community. When he demonstrates the AED (defibrillator) machine, a recorded message plays before the electrical shock is administered: “Shock Advisor—Stand Clear.” An electrical shock powerful […]
God Knows Who are His
Read: 1 Chronicles 11:10-47; 2 Timothy 2:19 Abishai, the brother of Joab . . . was the most renowned of the thirty . . . but he did not attain to the three. (1 Chron. 11:20-21) Last year my classmates held a 45th college reunion. We told stories of professors and classmates we vividly remembered. We also reflected that even those whose […]
Not This, but That
Read: 1 Chronicles 11:1-14; Hebrews 2:17 Then all Israel gathered together to David. (1 Chron. 11:1) Psychology Today once did a study of the coaching methods of legendary basketball coach John Wooden. They found that one of Wooden’s teaching methods was so novel they gave it a new name: scold/reinstruction. It consisted of scolding what the coach […]
Preach It Brother!
Read: 1 Chronicles 10:1-14; Mark 13:5 So Saul died for his breach of faith. (1 Chron. 10:13) Early in my time in parish ministry, I was part of a preacher exchange. I was assigned to preach in a primarily African American congregation in Detroit. I wasn’t used to hearing any response from the congregation, and I loved […]
Revisiting the Prayer of Jabez
Read: 1 Chronicles 4:9-10; Mark 11:23 Oh . . . that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain! (1 Chron. 4:10) When our children were young, they often begged for things at the store. As parents we would say, “We don’t have the money!” And they would respond, “Just get the money out […]
Roots
Read: 1 Chronicles 3:1, 10-24; Matthew 13:5-8 The sons of Elioenai: Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani, seven. (1 Chron. 3:24) Recently, my wife and I were given a gift that would trace our ancestry using our DNA. The results weren’t too surprising, based on the stories of our families. But both of us also […]
Joined to God’s Story
Read: 1 Chronicles 1:6-28; Romans 15:4 Adam, Seth, Enosh . . . the sons of Abraham . . . (1 Chron. 1:1, 28) The book The Great DeChurching reports that in the United States more than forty million people left their local Christian congregations in the last forty years. In other countries, persecution of believers is rampant. When we look at […]