We only have one life to live and each day is a gift. Deep down most of us want to believe the world is a better place because we are here. “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2). The pages of your life are being written now. Are you satisfied with what you are writing? Have you discovered your purpose or are you living into your shadow mission, spending your talents, gifts, and energies on yourself? Living only for ourselves leaves us looking for more.
Purpose
May 7, 2017
May 7, 2017 • Dr Charles Kyker
More from
More
What Men What More of and Their Struggles
June 18, 2017 • Dr Charles Kyker
Solomon started out well when he first became king of Israel. Solomon honestly acknowledged his inexperience in leading God’s chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they could not be counted. So when God appeared to him at Gibeon in a dream and asked the young ruler: “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you” (1 Kings 3:5), Solomon asked for wisdom. The Lord was pleased to answer his request. Not only did God give Solomon wisdom to lead, He gave him much more. In fact, no king in all the world could be compared to him.
Respect
June 11, 2017 • Trent Jones
Toward the end of David’s reign, David commanded a census be taken of God’s people. It took his commander, Joab, nine months and twenty days to complete the pain-staking task of counting the number of capable warriors ‘from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south’. David wanted to know how many were in Israel and he found out that he had over a million capable men ready for war. “But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him” (2 Samuel 24:10a). Why was David convicted? At one point, David himself penned these words: “Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7). Why was David now seeking numerical figures when the Lord alone deserved his focus? David didn’t need to count on a mighty army to defeat the Lord’s battles. He knew that God had given him the victory in the fiercest of times. Like David, in our quest for more, we sometimes forget that everything we have achieved, accomplished, and yes, avoided is because of God’s mercy and power.
Fulfillment
June 4, 2017 • Dr Charles Kyker
David was a warrior with a shepherd’s heart. Because he was a strong leader, he attracted valiant men to fight the Lord’s battles. Second Samuel 23:8-39 names the “Three” and the “Thirty” –mighty men who specifically fought alongside king David in fiercest times. These verses give a few examples of their heroic feats and exploits. We must remember that although the Lord had given Israel this land, they were surrounded by enemy nations, and the threat of occupation was nearly constant.