Soon after David was anointed king, he encountered spiritual opposition through Joab. (here is a brief description of Joab from wikipedia)[Joab, which translates to "The Lord is father," was the nephew of King David, the son of Zeruaiah. He was made the captain of David’s army. He had two brothers, Abishai and Asahel. Asahel was […]
Inquiring Prayers
We give up so easily in prayer. We pray once and if God doesn’t answer, we assume He is not listening. Or, we make the mistake of getting some vague conviction from God and fill in all the practical loose ends with our ingenuity and strategic planning. In 2 Samuel 2:1-2, shortly after Saul is […]
Sinners Being Gracious to Other Sinners
Being gracious to others, especially those who wrong us severely, has become a lost art. We are so quick to point out the flaws in others in attempt to tear them down and build ourselves up. In comparison to these lowlifes, we reason that we are not that bad and that cruelty and injustice must […]
Dialogic Prayer that Leads to Maranatha Faith
“How Long, Lord?” This is one of the prayers recorded in Revelation 6. Prayer is a back and forth dialogue with God, and in that exchange, faith is produced. And not just ordinary faith, but what I call Maranatha faith. Maranatha or "Come, Lord Jesus." A faith that longs to see Jesus. Revelation 5 is […]
Revelation 5 – Navigating Through the Messy Middle
I love the book of Revelation. I think it fits my poetic sensibilities. You may look at me and I know you must be thinking, Ray, he looks like a guy who drinks root beer all day and watches sports. I don’t like root beer, but I do love sports. But that is only one […]
Unity of God's People and the Necessity for Ecumenical Efforts
Unity is what heaven is going to be all about. In Revelation, you have people from every tribe, tongue, nation surrounding the throne of God in utter, all-consuming worship. But when you look at the state of God’s church today, we fall so short of this glorious portrait of unity. There are countless denominations and […]