Center of Influence

A series on the book of Micah
Week 1 – The judgment of God
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Micah 1:1-16 

[In the book “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, Robert Louis Stevenson explores the struggle between good and evil in human nature. Likewise, Micah contrasts God's hatred of sin but love for sinners. In this series, we will look at both sides of God’s character and what that means for us today.]

  

Big cities tend to be the center of influence. Commerce, culture, technology, government, education, entertainment and fashion often originate in big cities and then spread across the country.

 

Samaria was the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel. Unfortunately, it had become the center of pagan worship, blending Canaanite religious practices with Israelite traditions. Samaria’s idolatry was graphically described as prostitution. It was a metaphor that illustrated Samaria’s unfaithfulness.

 

Following a vision from the Lord, Micah condemned this rebellious behavior and declared the judgment of God on Samaria.

 

⁶ “So I, the Lord, will make the city of Samaria a heap of ruins.
Her streets will be plowed up for planting vineyards.
I will roll the stones of her walls into the valley below,
    exposing her foundations.
^7a All her carved images will be smashed.
    All her sacred treasures will be burned.      NLT

 

Ominously, the Lord promised to come, and it wasn’t a social call!

 

³ Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling place;
    he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth.
⁴ The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart,
like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.   NIV

 

But the depths of depravity in Samaria weren’t restricted by the city limits. Like the cities of America, Samaria was the center of influence. As a result, Samaria’s rebellious behavior spread throughout the northern kingdom into the southern kingdom and its capital of Jerusalem.

 

⁵ And why is this happening?
    Because of the rebellion of Israel—
    yes, the sins of the whole nation.
Who is to blame for Israel’s rebellion?
    Samaria, its capital city!
Where is the center of idolatry in Judah?
    In Jerusalem, its capital!         NLT

 

What can we learn from this? Sin is not static; it’s dynamic. It’s like an addiction that grows progressively worse. It moves from city to city, person to person and even within an individual. Like a cancer, it lives to bring death.

 

Micah’s message is a warning for us today. Peter also gave us some good advice regarding how to live and navigate in a sinful world.

 

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.    NIV    1 Peter 5

 

Like Samaria, we as individuals are a center of influence. We influence those people around us at home, work, school, the grocery store, church – everywhere we go. So, will we be a center of influence like Samaria, or like the light of the world that Jesus spoke of?

 

¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.         NIV    Matthew 5

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Good News

A series on God’s calling: Rahab
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Joshua 2:1-24 

[Traditionally we think of someone who has received “God’s call on their life” as being a missionary or pastor or some other paid ministry position. But God has called all of us into ministry. And there’s not just one way that He does it. In this series, we will look at how God called people in the Bible to ministry, and what that means to us.]

 

There are certain events that I can still remember when I heard the news even though it happened years ago. One of those was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. I was in my fifth hour history class in junior high when the principal announced over the PA system that Kennedy had been killed.

 

Bad news travels fast! And the media loves to spread it. Everyone knows that a sensational headline sells. Even in Old Testament times, bad news traveled fast. Rahab the prostitute was a firsthand witness of it.

 

Even though news traveled by word of mouth, Jericho was in a prime location to hear widespread news accounts. It was on an east-west trade route that connected two north-south trade routes making an H-shape in the region.

 

Because she was a prostitute, Rahab likely had many travelers visit her house, telling her the latest bad news. In fact, all the people of Jericho had heard about the Israelites and their God. As a result, their “hearts melted in fear”.

 

But Rahab was presented with an unexpected opportunity when two spies that Joshua had sent came to her house. You could call it a perfect storm of circumstances. Because of what she had heard about the Lord, Rahab firmly believed “that the Lord has given you the land”. Here is what she said to the spies.

 

¹⁰ We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. ¹¹ When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.     NIV

 

That’s quite a statement of faith. Rahab recognized that the God of Israel was greater than any god that she had ever encountered. Because of this, she believed that this unexpected opportunity could give her a chance to live. Therefore, she made a deal with the spies.

 

God isn’t limited in how he calls us to ministry to serve others. It doesn’t have to be through a burning bush or dreams or a mentor. It could be through a perfect storm of circumstances providing an unexpected opportunity. And when it happens, we need to be prepared to respond like Rahab.

 

Because of her faith and actions, she is mentioned in the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11. James also praised her for her faith, which was visible by her deeds. But maybe the greatest praise of all is that she is mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus.

 

⁵ Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, ⁶ and Jesse the father of King David.  NIV

 

Bad news does travel fast. But God used it to bring Rahab the prostitute to faith. A faith that eventually led to the birth of Christ. That’s what I would call Good News!

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Gung – ho for God

A series on God’s calling: Joshua
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Joshua 1:1-18 

[Traditionally we think of someone who has received “God’s call on their life” as being a missionary or pastor or some other paid ministry position. But God has called all of us into ministry. And there’s not just one way that He does it. In this series, we will look at how God called people in the bible to ministry, and what that means to us.]

  

As a little boy, I loved to explore the area around our house. To the east, was a gently sloping hill, covered with brushes and trees. It went down to the Pine River which was about 100 yards from our house. I especially enjoyed exploring along the riverbank where I would catch turtles.

 

To the north, was a deep field of weeds and sumac. But if you walked far enough, you’d find a deserted salt mine with small mounds of dirt, which must have been tailings from the mine. One time while exploring there, I found an arrowhead.

 

As a young man, Joshua had an enthusiastic faith in the God of Israel. And why not? He had personally witnessed the miracles of God including parting the waters of the Red Sea. Joshua was gung – ho for God!

 

Therefore, it’s not surprising that when Israel was about to possess the Promised Land, that Joshua was chosen by Moses as one of the twelve men to explore the land. Like me, Joshua was an explorer.

 

After forty days, the explorers returned. Ten of them fearfully described the inhabitants as being powerful and the cities fortified. But Joshua, with the enthusiasm of his youthful faith, countered their negative report. He confidently proclaimed that the Lord “will give the land to us” and “we will devour the people”.

 

But the damage was done, and the people of Israel rebelled. Because of this, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years never to enter the Promised Land. By the time the next generation had grown up, Joshua had experienced some significant changes.

 

First, he was forty years older. In addition, he’d been wandering in the wilderness with people who had rebelled against the Lord. Finally, the Lord had chosen Joshua, in place of Moses who was very old, to lead the people into Canaan.

 

It’s hard to say how all of these life circumstances might have affected Joshua’s faith. Be that as it may, as Israel prepared to cross the Jordan River, the Lord spoke to Joshua giving him these final instructions.

 

⁵ No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.          NIV

 

⁶ Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.   NIV (This was repeated three times.)

 

⁸ Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.     NIV

 

These instructions still apply to us today. The Lord promises to always be with us. He encourages us to be strong and courageous in the face of obstacles. He reminds us that we need to meditate on his Word and to obey him.

 

If we follow these instructions, then like Joshua, we will be gung – ho for God!

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

Pablum or Dreams

A series on God’s calling: Joseph, son of Jacob
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 37:1-11; 42:6-9; 45:1-8 

[Traditionally we think of someone who has received “God’s call on their life” as being a missionary or pastor or some other paid ministry position. But God has called all of us into ministry. And there’s not just one way that He does it. In this series, we will look at how God called people in the Bible to ministry, and what that means to us.]

  

Being the youngest of four, I was very spoiled. Nowhere was that more apparent than at the dinner table. If I didn’t like what we were eating, I’d ask Mom to fix some Pablum for me. And she would oblige me, even until I was eight years old!

 

As an adult, this became a problem because my siblings teased me mercilessly every time we got together. After years of them poking fun, I decided to go on the offense by accusing them of being jealous, even if they weren’t. Joseph, the son of Jacob, had a much more serious problem with jealous siblings.

 

Like myself, Joseph received special treatment from a parent. In his case, it was his father, Jacob. One time Jacob had an expensive robe made for Joseph as a special gift – the “coat of many colors”. His brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more.

 

Joseph also had a unique gift from God. That is, God spoke to him through dreams. Sometimes they were his own dreams. But other times they were the dreams of another person, and he would interpret them.

 

As an immature seventeen-year-old who was full of himself, he didn’t seem to recognize that God was speaking to him through his dreams. Instead, he used them as a way to boast, or even provoke his brothers – which it did.

 

One day Joseph’s brothers were out watching the flocks when they saw him approaching them in the distance. At first, they plotted to kill him, but later decided it would be more advantageous to sell him to a caravan of traders going to Egypt.

 

Despite their evil intentions, God was with Joseph in Egypt. It didn’t matter if he was a slave of Potiphar who had bought him; or a prisoner due to false accusations; or in the presence of Pharoah when Joseph interpreted his dreams. God blessed Joseph in all he did.

 

The result was that Pharoah placed Joseph in charge of managing the whole land during a season of prosperity, followed by a severe drought. It was during the drought that his brothers came to him for food. Not recognizing Joseph, they bowed down to him. And he remembered his dream from twenty years before.

 

With all the adversity that he had faced, Joseph could easily have become a very bitter man, and seen this as the perfect opportunity for revenge. Instead, when he finally disclosed his identity to his brothers, he forgave them. And as he wept, he explained how God had been in control during the whole time.

 

^4b “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! ⁵ And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you”.   NIV    Genesis 45

 

Joseph realized that God had always been with him and had been working in his life to draw him closer. In fact, God had been calling Joseph to be his servant since his youth through dreams. Joseph had finally understood and fulfilled his call.

 

God isn’t limited in how he calls us into his service. His only limitation is our own shortcomings. How is God calling you into his service? With Pablum or dreams? Or some other means?

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Calling You by Name

A series on God’s calling: Moses
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Exodus 3:1-22 

[Traditionally we think of someone who has received “God’s call on their life” as being a missionary or pastor or some other paid ministry position. But God has called all of us into ministry. And there’s not just one way that He does it. In this series, we will look at how God called people in the Bible to ministry, and what that means to us.]

 

Do you ever wonder how your life would’ve been different if…? Fill in the blank.

 

For instance, if I had stayed in college at Michigan Tech, I would never have met my wife, been the father of my daughter and grandfather to my grandkids. But, in order for all of those things to happen, a whole lot of circumstances had to change. Not the least of which was dropping out of school at Tech and moving to Lansing.

 

This mostly hinged around a summer discipleship program in Lansing where I decided that working with urban youth, not rocks, was what I wanted to do. From there, the circumstances fell like dominoes which led to the past fifty plus years.

 

The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years. During most of that time, the Egyptians enslaved them and made their life bitter with hard labor. However, centuries before that, God had told Abraham this would happen and promised to rescue his people. The time had come to fulfill his promise. But he needed a leader.

 

Moses was the man for the job! He was well educated having been trained in “all the wisdom of the Egyptians.” As a prince of Egypt, he was confident and had a position of power. Also, having been raised as a child of privilege, he believed that he was capable of doing anything, and getting what he wanted.

 

But he wasn’t ready to lead Israel! Moses needed to make significant changes. Although he was a man who “was powerful in speech and action”, he was also impulsive, acting out of his own will and pride. He wasn’t ready to follow God’s leading, or to submit to God’s will.

 

Forty years after fleeing Egypt as a fugitive wanted for murder, he was a humbled man. He had gone from being the prince of Egypt to a common, lowly shepherd; he had fallen from a position of power and prestige to a hardscrabble life. He had learned his lesson, but it had cost him his home, his family and his people in Egypt.

 

That is, until one day when he was tending his father-in-law’s sheep on the far side of the wilderness – on Horeb, the mountain of God. It was just another day at work for Moses when he saw a burning bush, but it wasn’t consumed by it. When he went to investigate, the Lord called out to him by name, “Moses! Moses!”

 

The Lord proceeded to tell Moses that he had seen the misery of his people; that he had heard them crying out; that he was concerned about their suffering. And as a result, that he had come to rescue them from the Egyptians to take them to the Promised Land.

 

About this time, Moses may have been wondering why God had appeared to him to tell him these things. He was about to find out. The Lord said:

 

¹⁰ So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”          NIV

 

Circumstances were beginning to fall like dominoes. Moses’ life could have been totally different. But God had been at work through all those circumstances; all those changes. He had been pursuing Moses for decades, preparing him to lead his people. It was time now, and Moses was ready.

 

¹ But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
    O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
    I have called you by name; you are mine.    NLT   Isaiah 43

 

Isaiah could have written these words to Moses. He also could have written them to you and me. God is calling us by name. Just say, “Here I am Lord. Send me.”

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Acadia National Park

A series on God’s calling: Abraham
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 12:1-5 

[Traditionally we think of someone who has received “God’s call on their life” as being a missionary or pastor or some other paid ministry position. But God has called all of us into ministry. And there’s not just one way that He does it. In this series, we will look at how God called people in the Bible to ministry, and what that means to us.]

  

Recently my wife and I took a trip to New Hampshire to visit some friends who had moved there last year. Since we’d never been to Maine, and they lived right on the border, we took a side trip to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.

 

When we told friends at home about our plans to go to Acadia, we received lots of advice and even tour books. We learned what sights to see, where to park, what restaurants to eat at and most importantly, where to eat lobster. Since we’d never been there, it was all very helpful.

 

Leading up to Abram’s calling from God, the “people of the world” had settled in Babylonia. In their pride and arrogance, they decided to build a city and then a tower to demonstrate how great they were. In order to stop them, God scattered the people by confusing their language.

 

Once again, the Lord needed someone to save humanity from themselves; to restore the world to him. He chose Abram.

 

¹ The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.      NLT

 

Abram didn’t know anything about the land that the Lord had called him to. He’d never been there. Making his decision even more difficult was the fact that he would have to leave his home and everything that made his life stable. But he obeyed.

 

⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.   NIV

 

We’re not told how long it took or what kind of adversity Abram might have faced during the journey. We don’t know if he had second thoughts about continuing the trip. Only that he obeyed God and eventually arrived.

 

⁵ He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. NIV

 

Unlike my trip to Acadia National Park, Abram had no idea where to go or what to expect. Yet, by faith, he went. And it was his faith that the Lord counted him as righteous. Abram listened when the Lord spoke; he acted; and he completed God’s call when he arrived in Canaan.

 

His call was a seismic shift in how God works. Because now God’s strategy was to work through one man and his descendants to a specific location. God’s promise that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you”, is the beginning of his redemptive plan to restore all humanity to a personal relationship with him.

 

God’s covenant with Abram included land, descendants, and blessings. But its ultimate fulfillment came in the person of Christ, the Messiah.

 

¹⁶ The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.           NIV    Galatians 3

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Your Ark Encounter

A series on God’s calling: Noah
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 6:5-22 

[Traditionally we think of someone who has received “God’s call on their life” as being a missionary or pastor or some other paid ministry position. But God has called all of us into ministry. And there’s not just one way that He does it. In this series, we will look at how God called people in the Bible to ministry, and what that means to us.]

  

In July 2024, my wife and I visited The Ark Encounter in Kentucky with our granddaughter Everly. The main attraction was a life-size representation of the ark that Noah built. 

They speculated on many daily details of living that I had never considered. It was all very interesting, but somewhat theoretical for us.

 

That was, until later that year when Hurricane Helene caused significant damage and loss of life in many states across the southeast. North Carolina was especially devastated with flooding, and particularly the city of Ashland.

 

In Genesis, Noah didn’t face a hurricane resulting from atmospheric conditions off the coast. He faced a hurricane of God’s judgement due to the wickedness of mankind.

 

⁵ The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.   NIV

 

In fact, the people were so evil that God regretted that he had ever created mankind. Scripture tells us that, “God’s heart was deeply troubled”. As a result, he came to a difficult decision.

 

⁷ So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”            NIV

 

However, God always provides a means for redemption. He is constantly seeking us out to draw us to him. The same was true at this time and he found just the right person. “Noah found favor with the Lord”.

 

Therefore, God called Noah to be an integral part of his redemptive plan; he called him into ministry; he called him to build an ark.

 

¹⁴ “Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. ¹⁵ Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.      NLT

 

God’s call could easily have puzzled Noah because he was many miles from any large body of water. Also, he may have felt overwhelmed by such a large project to undertake with just his family. Finally, living in such an evil and godless culture may well have given Noah serious doubts. Yet, he obeyed.

 

²² Noah did everything just as God commanded him.            NIV

 

Just like Noah provided the means for saving humanity then, Jesus has provided the means for saving humanity now. He has made it possible for anyone to metaphorically, “board the ark to be saved from the flood”.

 

God is still at work today. Like Noah, he’s calling us to be a part of his plan of redemption; he’s calling us into ministry; he’s calling us to “build an ark”. 

So, what is your ark encounter that God is calling you to do?

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com