Making Life Work

By: Lenny Cacchio

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. (II Samuel 11:1 NIV) I have some questions about this verse: 1. Was David a king? 2. What did kings do at that time of year? 3. If David was a king, what was he doing in Jerusalem instead of joining his men in the field?

    David stumbled, and these questions point to a reason why. David failed to do the work of a king. The nation was at war, but David stayed in Jerusalem where he could enjoy his perks of office, rest comfortably in his own bed, eat the best foods, and have others fulfill his...

By: Lenny Cacchio

Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever. (Jeremiah 25:5 KJV)

    If you are inclined to blame political leadership for all the wrong in our country, you need to rethink it. Sometimes political leadership is nothing more than a reflection of the people it represents, and that is especially true in a representative republic such as ours.     In the last chapter of II Samuel, King David makes an appalling mistake. At the time he is a powerful figure in the Middle East. He has conquered lands as far away as present-day Iraq and beyond. He has friendly relations with the Lebanese to the...

 

By: Ronald L. Dart

The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law (Deuteronomy 29:29). 

    There are things about God that we are never going to understand for the simplest of reasons. They have not been revealed, and theorizing isn’t going to help very much. It is revelation that we need if we are going to understand.

    One of the things that has been revealed, in part, is the work and character of the Spirit of God, and yet even that is not well understood. A troubling set of questions surround the Holy Spirit, and they suggest that we may have taken a wrong turn somewhere and we need to retrace our steps.

By: Ronald L. Dart

King Solomon once wrote, "Wisdom is the principle thing: therefore get wisdom: and with all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote you: she shall bring you to honor, when you do embrace her" (Proverbs 4:7, 8).

    I recently saw a bumper sticker that proclaimed, "God said it, I believe it, and that settles it for me!" The person who wrote that bumper sticker may consider me an infidel, but that doesn't settle it for me. I want to know why God said it. Because only then can I even begin to claim to understand God.

By: Ronald L. Dart

Was it Jesus’ intent to create a hierarchy of human government over the individual Christian? Does the Christian ministry sit in Moses’ seat for the church? This article explains what you always wanted to know about church government but were afraid to ask!

    Paul stood on the beach staring out to sea. This would be his last time in this place. It would have been good to have visited Ephesus once more, but it was not to be. It was just as well. He would not have been in Ephesus one hour before a coalition of Jews and silversmiths would have been plotting murder. There was no point in putting temptation in their way.

By: Lenny Cacchio

Doris Kearnes Goodwin in her book Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream makes the following observation about the Johnson White House:     What is clear is that this continual concentration on conspiracy squandered a large amount of energy. The worse the situation in Vietnam became, the more Johnson intruded his suspicions and fears unto every aspect of his daily work. Conversations with Cabinet members would begin with the question, “why aren’t you out there fighting against my enemies? Don’t you realize that if they destroy me, they’ll destroy you as well?” Discussions on legislation would be interrupted by diatribes against “the critics”. Private luncheons and dinners would be dominated by complaints about “traitors....

By: Ronald L. Dart

    If Jesus told you not to think something, would you believe Him? Or would you continue to suppose that something were true when Jesus told you plainly it was not? For example, if Jesus said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets," would you assume that Jesus came to do away with the law?

    Surprisingly, many Christians think that Jesus came to destroy the law when He said specifically that He did not. He said: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17).

By: Ronald L. Dart

The Second Key

    The best ideas are usually simple and this one is no exception. The idea was conceived long ago and is so simply stated that most of us would read right over it and never grasp its implications. It reads as follows: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children” (Proverbs 13:22).

    I can hear you saying, “That sounds like a good idea, but a little tough to execute. I have enough trouble making ends meet as it is without worrying about the next generation.”

By: Ronald L. Dart

    It had been a hard three days. David and the handful of young men with him had left in a hurry and had taken no food. By the time they got to a place called Nob, they were in a bad way. They needed food and there was only one place David thought they might get something to eat. The Tabernacle at Nob.

By: Ronald L. Dart

 

 

"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years" (Genesis 1:14-19).

    Nothing God gave to man has been used so consistently for the purpose He intended. Every civilization of man has used the sun, the moon, or both for the demarcation of time. They had no choice. Even a hunting society had to take notice of the passage of seasons. When would the animals migrate to the north and when would they return? How soon would the antlered animals make their move down from the high country? No people dependent upon the land could fail to notice that there was a time to plant and a time to harvest. Their problem was the prediction of that time, and that required the observation of the sun. It required a calendar, and some form of calendar has always been a mark of civilization.

By: Ronald L. Dart

    There are times when events in the modern world and the events written in the Bible converge, and when they do, they often shed light in both directions. The world and the society we live in is very different from the ancient world, But the hearts of men really are not very different. And, of course, God never changes at all. And in these simple truths, we can learn some very important things.

By: Lenny Cacchio

    When John F. Kennedy entered the White House, he set upon a course of bringing the best and the brightest into his administration.  We can debate whether or not he succeeded, but we certainly should not begrudge him the attempt.  With the system we have, a President and indeed the federal government as a whole have the obligation to find the best people they can.  So if you walk around Washington, DC today, you will find a lot of bright, capable people populating the place.

    But keep in mind that if these people populate Washington, it means that they are no longer in your community, and are perhaps thereby (as a wit once remarked) raising the average IQ of both places.

And that’s one of the drawbacks of having...

By: Lenny Cacchio

    "Common Sense" was Thomas Paine’s pamphlet from Revolutionary days written with the intent of convincing reluctant colonists that rebellion against the King was not only permissible, it was also a duty.  Paine’s frequent reference to Scripture is remarkable, especially because, as a Deist, he rejected the inspiration of Scripture as the Word of God.  That’s a lesson about propagandists:  they can be fundamentally dishonest people who will say whatever it takes to get the rest of us to agree with them.       Having said that, propagandists can serve an interesting function for the historian.  Propaganda has a better chance of achieving its desired impact if it repeats back to people what they are already thinking, even though...

By: Linda G. Gallia

    I received a prayer message from a friend the other day. It was one of those sweet emails meant to give encouragement and make people feel good. It said: "GOD OUR FATHER, WALK THROUGH MY HOUSE AND TAKE AWAY ALL MY WORRIES AND ILLNESSES; AND PLEASE WATCH OVER AND HEAL MY FAMILY. IN JESUS’ NAME. AMEN. This prayer is so powerful. Pass this prayer to 12 people including me."

    I sat for a few moments, gathering my thoughts about why this particular little prayer disturbed me. My concern is that prayers such as these might cause us to believe things about God that could actually hurt us. When people ask God to take away all their worries, illnesses, and trials, and it doesn’t happen, they often lose faith in God. I realized...

By: Lenny Cacchio

The book Morning Coffee Companion, a compilation of Sabbath Morning Companion essays, is now available through our publisher and Amazon.com. You may also order a copy through your local bookstore.  Enjoy a daily devotional alongside your favorite cup of joe.

Link:  Morning Coffee Companion

    What is this thing called charisma? Why do people follow a charismatic leader? The word charisma is a Greek word often translated in the New Testament as "gift". More precisely, it can refer to a divine endowment or miraculous faculty. King David undoubtedly had some divine endowments relative to leadership. Strong men naturally followed him, even risking their lives...