Author: Dave Dishman (Page 192 of 458)

It’s said that breaking up is hard to do, but not all break-ups are bad. Most junior high crushes are best left to memory, and parting ways with a bad work situation leads to a lifting of spirit and peace of mind.

Paul and Barnabus split ways over John Mark. Barnabus wanted to take him along on the next mission trip, but Paul disagreed. Mark deserted them earlier and Paul feared a repeat performance. Barnabus the encourager and believer of the best saw the redeemable side. So they had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.

Barnabus and Mark left for Cyprus while Paul recruited Silas and headed the other direction. Instead of one missionary band, two moved out to strengthen new church plants and talk about Jesus.

Sometimes good people disagree. Break-ups may be hard, but the results are not always bad. In fact, they often lead to flourishing. One beautiful result of the Paul versus Barnabus spat was that Mark matured under the leadership of Barnabus, so much so that Paul asked for Mark to visit him while imprisoned, writing of Mark, he is helpful to me in my ministry—a huge turn-around in their relationship.

As things start to come apart, remember that the Lord may have new ideas in mind. Perhaps the flourishing of those around us, or even our own, will result from the break-up at hand.

Acts 15 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2023

Photo by Rommel Davila

David seesawed with unpredictability as he fled from Saul, never really knowing who he could trust. Those he once helped informed on him, keeping King Saul and his warriors ever at his back. No safe space existed.

So David in his writings turned to the one he could trust—Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.

Along with Saul, David faced his old enemies the Philistines. Their enmity drove him to the Lord as well—In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?

In the midst of turmoil, one truly safe space exists—God and his word. The Lord who sustained David walks among us. The words of God David repeated over and over in the darkness of his cave rest today in the palm of our hands.

Turn to them or lay then aside, but know they are always there for you.

Psalm 54 & 56 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Zach Lezniewicz

I’ve been watching crews work on the infrastructure for a new housing and mixed-use development in our town. Weeks and weeks of moving dirt, preparing for future storm drainage and laying out streets. All before a single building goes up. Building a city takes careful planning and lots of hard work.

Which is why I find this brief reference to Sheerah so interesting. Either Ephraim’s daughter or granddaughter (the text is not totally clear), Sheerah built Lower and Upper Beth Horon as well as Uzzen Sheerah.

Rare to see a woman listed as a builder of cities in the Bible. Sheerah must have possessed a great deal of drive and leadership skills to organize those around her to haul rock and level ground and work together for the good of the community. Foundations she laid thousands of years ago remain visible today.

I also find it interesting that one of the cities is named after her—Uzzen Sheerah. I wonder if she named it after herself, or did her grateful fellow citizens title the city in her honor? Either way the name stuck, which says a lot for the character and work ethic of this ancient architect and builder of cities.

1 Chronicles 7 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Ümit Yıldırım

Paul and Silas cast a demon out of a slave girl after she followed their entourage for several days, shouting and making a ruckus. Her owners previously used the girl to predict the future, generating a great deal of money in the process. Seeing the change in the girl, the furious owners incited a mob who beat the preachers and threw them in jail.

Why? Paul and Silas hurt the local economy. Making good money trumps concern for others. It’s part of the base nature of humans, an outgrowth of sin. Why did slavery last so long? It was lucrative. And so is legalizing recreational marijuana and promoting sports betting and hawking drugs to terminate pregnancies. Follow the money and uncover the base intentions of humankind.

Jesus tells us to follow him, not the money. He frees us from slaving for wealth. Followers of Jesus still prosper, and he promises those who turn to him an abundant life.

Generosity of resources and spirit mark the way of Jesus, rather than living large upon the misfortune of others.

Acts 16 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Giorgio Trovato