The weddings in Jesus’ time were arranged marriages. They were not just arranged for relationships but to strengthen family businesses and legacies. Families would come together and negotiate a financial contribution they would each sow into the couple. There would be terms. Then, there would be the actual wedding ceremony. During this time, just the feast portion alone would last five days.
Read MoreThe book of Daniel teaches us how to live a life of integrity in a culture that does not honor God. Daniel was among the exiled Israelites in Babylon, which had a culture of excess. He lived a life dedicated to the Lord by setting a standard that he would not defile himself with the ways of the Babylonian culture that violated his convictions.
Read MoreRelationships are messy, complicated, and difficult. The good news is that God's Word promises that we can live in a healthy, robust community if we do the hard work of getting along and treating one another with dignity and honor. How can we do this practically? We can start by asking questions.
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We are called to place our highest value on relationships and prioritize the health of our hearts. Jesus tells a teacher of the law that the whole law can be summed up in two commandments: love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
At the point in the Scripture above, Jesus had been in ministry for three years. He is entering Jerusalem and inaugurating what we now know as Passion Week. Word had begun to spread about his miracles, and people had experienced his miracles. They had experienced the one who would come and take away the sins of the world and establish the kingdom of heaven on earth.
Read MoreAs a backstory to Jehoshaphat, there was King Asa. 2 Chronicles 16:9 states, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” Asa brought a curse on the land from continuous war. Then, Asa put the prophet in prison. This was the context in which Jehoshaphat became king.
Read MoreThe Shunammite woman desired a child, but when given the opportunity to tell the prophet Elisha what she desired, she did not ask for it. While her response demonstrates contentment, she may have been dealing with fractured faith. There is a fine line between being content in your faith and being convinced that your faith can produce more.
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Sometimes, we find ourselves in a place of apathy or discontent where we take lukewarm actions. Instead of following God's instructions, we stop short. Often, this is a result of having unmet expectations. When we don't believe we're winning in a specific area of our lives, we lose our zeal and let our hearts withdraw, leaving room for apathy to grow.