“So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons” (2 Samuel 9:11 NIV).

Who in the world is Mephibosheth and what possessed his momma to give him such a name?  Well, I can’t answer the second question, but I can shed some light on the first. Mephibosheth was a man who was living way below his potential.  He was the grandson of King Saul and the son of Prince Jonathan, but he lived like a pauper.  When he was a boy, his nurse dropped him while fleeing from their enemies.  As a result, he was crippled in both feet (2 Samuel 9). Read the rest of this entry

Every day, every moment in a Christian’s life is soaked in spiritual warfare. Whether we’re aware of it or not. I know I struggle with stuff all the time with the attitude that it’s just sort of generic “struggling”; often, I don’t consider the spiritual fight-what’s really taking place. These battles are usually launched by yet another encounter with my sin nature, and they typically begin with a self-demeaning thought.
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Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NASB)

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail, and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold, and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” Read the rest of this entry

The topic of this text and this message is confessing sin. Or in other words, it’s about agreeing with God that we have done something wrong; that we’ve either done something he says we shouldn’t do, or failed to do something he says we should do.

We are addressing this topic because sin affects our fellowship, especially unconfessed sin, so this is a matter of importance to us. Read the rest of this entry

Reality shows are everywhere these days. Some people survive, others become idols but I wonder if they are being real. Often times we aren’t real with one another. We’re not even genuine with God I think. We say our little prayers, repeating words that our parents taught us or words that we’ve heard others say in church.

Come on – get real. That’s what God wants. Matthew 6:5-7

5“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Examine the prayers of David from the Psalms. He didn’t try to sound big and macho. He cried for help with very real problems and confessed very real sins. Examine the prayers of Jesus from the gospels. He too prayed about how he really felt. These were the cries of real people to a real God. That’s what God wants when we pray; he wants us to be real. He doesn’t want us trying to sound fancy and churchy he wants to talk to us. He wants to be with us not with some public face we put up. He sees through the facade. He is your Lord and Savior but what he really wants is to be your friend and walk with you like he did with Adam before the fall and with men like Enoch and Moses. Can you imagine the joy of walking side by side with God Almighty? But before you can really walk with him you have to really talk with him.

Just drop all that is not genuine and be real. Get real with God. Let your guard down and let God be your friend.