by Chuck Gianotti | Christmas
May God bless you with a wonderful celebration of our Lord’s birth. What an amazing thing to contemplate as we look on the nativity scene on the mantle or ‘neath the decorated tree. Eternity intersected time and space; the Creator entered his creation....
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Praise the Lord … 6Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. This psalm concludes the inspired biblical collection of one hundred and fifty psalms (also called poems, songs, or chapters). The six verses of Psalm 150 are saturated with thirteen...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, then you are a believer-priest. That’s amazing! What?? Let me explain. In the New Testament (NT), there is no special clergy class that is holier than the rest of us, a cut above the rank and...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the congregation of the godly ones. Superlative praise, extolling God ‘to the max,’ is the theme of this psalm. There is nothing meager about this kind of praise. It is the antidote to an old and tired...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
A question was recently put to me about the name Yahweh, the personal name of God: does every breath we take vocalize His name? After all, we are told, the two syllables of His name (yah and weh) sound like inhaling and exhaling. Some purportedly find support for this...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights! Placed in the middle of the concluding series of Hallelujah psalms (145-150), this psalm offers a crescendo of praise to the Lord God. Less is said about what God has done for His people...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Theologian A.W. Tozer has challenged the minds and hearts of many Christians with his considered insights into understanding God. Let the following passage soak in: “The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant and praise is becoming. Praising God is personal and emotional—at least, it should be, according to the writer of Psalm 147. The emotive words used in verse 1 tell us that praise is good,...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
What is it like to experience God? What should we expect? How can we know for sure that He is really there and involved in our lives? What kind of answers satisfy these questions? Where should the questioner look, and what standard is necessary to determine the...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2I will praise the Lord while I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. One of the most well-known exclamations is the celebratory “Hallelujah!” It is uttered at the report of good news or an important...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog, Psalms - Godly Emotions
To[i] worship God, we need to know Him. Jesus said that knowing God is what eternal life is all about (John 17:3). The Apostle Paul’s highest goal was to know Him (Phil 3:10). Our worship grows deeper as we increase in our knowledge of God and who He is. Our Lord...
by Chuck Gianotti | Holidays, IMHO Blog
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. 2Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. David overflows with lofty, unadulterated, and unqualified adulation for the Lord, not so much for what He has...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Knowing God is the high calling of the Christian endeavor, for it leads us to praise and worship, our ultimate purpose in life. But how do we grow in our knowledge of God? One way is to look for God as we study the Scriptures. The three operative questions (I call...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle. 2My lovingkindness and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and He in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me … 15How blessed are the people who are so...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16 NKJV) It beckoned me[1]—the voice beyond the door. Faint, hardly perceptible. Not the sound, but the meaning of it. It had been there...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications! Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness! 2And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for in Your sight no man living is righteous. Lament psalms like this one can sound depressing—that is,...
by Chuck Gianotti | Misc
Day by Day Books Give a gift that keeps on giving throughout the entire year! E-Med(itations) in book form are called the “Day by Day” series. Each book is a daily expository devotional that takes you verse-by-verse through books of the Bible, with short, easy-to-read...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
In the course of living the Christian life, there will be times when spiritual issues come up in conversations with non-believers. The Christian who is serious about his or her faith and walking with the Lord will look for spiritual themes that can be woven into...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1I cry aloud with my voice to the Lord; I make supplication with my voice to the Lord. 2I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare my trouble before Him … 7”Bring my soul out of prison, so that I may give thanks to Your name…” How can a godly person pray when...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
You don’t have to be a “Pastor” to take the initiative to care for God’s people. While God has called some to shepherd the whole flock of God, the spiritual gift of a pastor is not limited to the full-time, paid pastoral staff. This gift is for anyone with a...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1O Lord, I call upon You; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to You! 2May my prayer be counted as incense before You; the lifting up of my hands as the evening offering. David begins his lament to the Lord by asking to be heard. He does not presume upon...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
One of the most difficult decisions a Christian will make is leaving their church home. Unfortunately, things may happen that cause a person to question their fellowship, the local church community. In a consumer-driven world, the temptation is to see the local church...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men 2who devise evil things in their hearts; they continually stir up wars … 12I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted and justice for the poor. 13Surely the righteous will give thanks...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
One of the most important decisions a Christian will make is the choice of a church body to become part of. This will determine the part of the universal Christian family you will spend most of your time with as you worship, serve, learn, and grow together as the...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar … 23Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
That God draws them to Himself—John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. That they seek to know God—Acts 17:26-27 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1I will give You thanks with all my heart; I will sing praises to You before the gods … 8The Lord will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting; do not forsake the works of Your hands. Unmitigated and exuberant praise saturates this...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
“There were also with him other little ships.” Mark 4:36 Jesus was the Lord High Admiral of the sea that night, and his presence preserved the whole convoy. It is well to sail with Jesus, even though it be in a little ship. When we sail in Christ’s company, we may not...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. 2Upon the willows in the midst of it we hung our harps. 3For there our captors demanded of us songs, and our tormentors mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” Living through...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Often we Christians get mixed up in how we pray. Do we pray to the Father, to the Son, or to the Holy Spirit? We want to be biblically correct in all that we do, right? So, is it right to thank the Father for dying on the cross, when it was Jesus, the Son, who hung...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. This is the last psalm in the collection called, by some, the Great Hallel Psalms (Pss. 120-136) as distinguished from the so-called Egyptian Hallel Psalms (Pss. 113-118). Both these...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
I just couldn’t believe it. There he was, a young boy, pulling in the fish, one right after another. And only about 10 feet away from where we were fruitlessly awaiting our first nibble. I enjoy nature, to be sure, but my goal was to catch fish! Not that anyone was...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord; praise Him, O servants of the Lord, 2you who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God! 3Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praises to His name, for it is lovely. A declarative praise...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
“And they all with one consent began to make excuses” Luke 14:18 I want to be a Christian, but I am not good enough. Rom. 3:23, Matt. 18:11, Jer. 13:23, Titus 3:5, Matt. 9:10-13 I want to be a Christian, but I am afraid I cannot hold out. 1 Cor. 10:13, I John 5:4,...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
A Song of Ascents. 1Behold, bless the Lord, all servants of the Lord, who serve by night in the house of the Lord! 2Lift up your hands to the sanctuary and bless the Lord. 3May the Lord bless you from Zion, He who made heaven and earth. This delightful, brief psalm...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
“Be not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.” Rom. 12:11 These fifteen B’s can help us be authentic and intentional in our sharing the gospel with others. Be clean* Ps 66:18 Be loyal 1 Cor 10:31 Be tactful Eccl 11:1, II Cor 6:3 Be...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! 2It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes. 3It is like the dew of Hermon coming down upon the...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
How to Avoid the Five Biggest Mistakes in Sharing Your Faith by Larry Moyer I don’t know when I have felt any dumber. As I backed my car into our driveway, I stopped just before entering the garage and opened my door on the driver’s side to look at something laying on...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
7Let us go into His dwelling place; let us worship at His footstool. This psalm expresses a desire and commitment for God’s presence which is symbolized by a temple (also called “God’s house,’ see Psalm 134:1) in Jerusalem. While the OT portrays God’s presence in a...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Every human relationship, whether with friends, family, neighbors, or work associates, involves trust (or the lack thereof). You buy merchandise from a store you can trust or start a business partnership with someone you trust. You go to a doctor you can trust and...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1O Lord, my heart is not proud nor my eyes haughty; nor do I involve myself in great matters, or in things too difficult for me. Academics, armchair theologians, and the average thinking Christian wrestle with understanding and reconciling God’s sovereignty and...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
One of the godliest people I know is my father-in-law, a true man of prayer. He had an intimate relationship with his heavenly Father which was evident in how he prayed. Family lore has it that he prayed for every person in his church daily! Sometimes, his prayer...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord. 2Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. This psalm includes individual lament, confession, forgiveness, and trust. It finishes with a confidence that God will also forgive and...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
What? This kind of article is usually reserved for December so that people can plan to begin afresh in the new year. But, realistically, our commitment to Bible reading often flags after a while and we need a bit of a kick to get going again. If you have fallen off in...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
3 Many times they have persecuted me from my youth up, yet they have not prevailed against me. 4 The Lord is righteous; He has cut in two the cords of the wicked. Psalm 129 is a simple song of trust. While the bulk of this piece is about the conflicts Israel faced,...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
So you would like to start, improve, or simply change how you do your daily quiet time, eh? You know it’s a good idea to begin every day with the Lord, but things can easily become bogged down or just get old. You’ve probably heard of people who spend 30 – 60...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways. 2When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, you will be happy and it will be well with you. This is a happy psalm. It is a wisdom psalm. These two descriptions go hand in hand. We read here that...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
For the average working person or stay-at-home mom, mornings are hectic. Getting up, cleaning up, filling up (our stomachs), prepping the children, exercising (?), catching up on the news, checking the schedule for early appointments, driving through traffic, logging...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. The Lord is necessary—that should go without saying. He is the first cause; nothing exists that He has not created (John 1:3). He...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Like most people, my morning preparation for the day is not complete until I take a look in the mirror. My ritual is a little less intense than some since I have no head hair to fuss with. I pretty much look the same every morning, needing only to check that no...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion, we were like those who dream … 4Restore our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the South. This is a psalm of hope for the Jewish people. It looks back on their rescue after 70 years of captivity in Babylon and...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Where do we find Bible verses to help us when we need them? The list found HERE has been helpful to me at different times in my life. One of the best ways, however, to discover verses that give us hope and promises for the different challenges we face is from our...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Those who trust in the Lord are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever. 2As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever. This short psalm expresses confidence in the Lord and asks for help; it...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
One of the most beloved poems of all time needs little introduction. Read it and let it sink in. Believers are in a good place when we realize what God can do with us, as instruments in the Master’s hand. ‘Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer thought it...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
8Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Disrespect and verbal taunts can escalate to intentional harm. In the ancient world, conflicts were often settled with physical violence. Today, the harm may be emotional distress, financial...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
“I’ve often wondered what it must be like to enter heaven, what the first minutes and hours must be like. Jesus spoke of angels escorting the souls of believers to heaven (Luke 16:22). I’ve spoken to some patients in the hospital who claim to have seen their...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens! Lies, mocking, disrespect—who of us has not had others verbally taunt us, looking down their noses at us, treating us as inferior and making our lives difficult? People in the ancient world had similar...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Interconnectedness and relationships are stamped and infused into every aspect of creation, reflecting the nature of the Creator who exists eternally as the Trinity. Nowhere is this interconnectedness seen better than in humans, for, as the Scripture says, we were...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” … 6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.” Life for the ancient Israelites centered around Jerusalem and the temple, which was called “the house of the Lord.” When King...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
Leadership is important. History highlights leaders who impacted their world. When I speak about leaders in the church, I don’t just mean pastors. The people of God desperately need visionary leaders, not only within formal administrative structures or in positions...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? 2My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. What a beautiful song of trust! This psalm offers words of faith in the Lord rather than complaints over life’s troubles. But trust...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Often in popular Christianity, believers go along with the crowd. Positive peer pressure can be good, but it is also important to understand why we do or don’t do things. Lifting hands as an outward physical element of worship or praise is one of those things that...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1In my trouble I cried to the Lord, and He answered me. 2Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. This psalm begins with the collection of psalms that all start with the inscription “Songs of Ascents” (Pss. 120-134). Jewish pilgrims probably...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Many church leaders juggle full-time (secular) jobs, families, and various ministries. Leadership conferences and books are great but take a lot of time and are quickly forgotten. Full-time pastors have had the advantage of Bible college or seminary training. Still,...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. 2How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart. Psalm 119 is an opus maximus on the Law of God, a magnificent retinue of praise for the Lord’s...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Three weeks into my recovery from total-hip replacement (a long time coming), and things are on schedule in the mending process. What a miracle of modern medicine that a significant load-bearing part of my skeletal structure has been replaced with titanium. I’m...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
22The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone. 23This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Imagine being a pilgrim marching with a crowd of jubilant...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Life’s greatest decisions (and the smaller ones, too) carve the path of our lives forward. We can see the course in our rear-view mirror or trace it on the map of our past life, but what about the future? How can we discover God’s will so that we can walk by faith...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Praise the Lord, all nations; laud Him, all peoples! 2For His lovingkindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord! This shortest chapter in the Book of Psalms (only two verses) is a golden nugget, not to be passed over because...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
“The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act … Plainly the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of liberty” (Abraham Lincoln).*...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my supplications. 2Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live. This psalm is a beautiful expression of personal love for and devotion to the Lord. It begins with a concise...
by Chuck Gianotti | Uncategorized
“We need winds and tempests to exercise our faith, to tear off the rotten bough of self-dependence, and to root us more firmly in Christ. The day of evil reveals to us the value of our glorious hope.” (Charles H. Spurgeon, 1896. Morning and evening: Daily...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth. This psalm is a polemic, that is, an argument that trusting in anything other than Yahweh God is worthless. He alone is a real deity, and He acts in real...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
“A theological conservative believes in the inerrancy of Scripture, a theological fundamentalist (in today’s context) believes in the inerrancy of their interpretation” (Rick Warren). We must be careful with holding so fast to our specific, unique, and...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
7Tremble, O earth, before the Lord, before the God of Jacob, 8who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of water. This psalm speaks to geographical features of creation as one would talk to a person. In verse 5, the writer addresses the sea...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. (Rom 8:34) [God] raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus … (Eph. 2:6) We are...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
1Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord 9 …Praise the Lord! This psalm begins the collection often called the “Egyptian Hallel” psalms (13-18). Though this name is not given to them in Scripture, later Jewish writings saw these as...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
by Chuck Gianotti | Misc
Do you have editing skills (or know someone who does) and would like to serve the Lord and His people for 2-3 hours per week providing copy-editing for E-Med(citations)? We will provide a small hourly stipend and flexible hours. One of our great editors has to step...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Praise the Lord! How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments. Psalms 111 and 112 are connected by theme and literary markers (similar wording and the use of acrostics). Both begin with “Praise the Lord.” The latter picks up the...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
“If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength.” (Eccl. 10:10) When my spiritual edge becomes dull, I have to work harder to walk the walk and talk the talk of a devoted follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. We try harder to...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, in the company of the upright and in the assembly. Pure praise describes the Lord’s character in the way He interacts with His creation. Some praise focuses on what God has specifically done in the...
by Chuck Gianotti | Misc
We have an opportunity for someone to serve the Lord as part of the E-Med(itations) team. In particular, we are looking for someone with a working knowledge of inDesign software for laying out print-ready copy for E-Med book publications. If you know of someone who...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head. (Psalm 22:7 KJV) Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the renowned 19th century preacher, captures God’s love on the cross. Using “ye old Englishe” style, the message comes through loud and...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” The NT quotes, refers to, and alludes to this psalm more than any other passage in the OT. Jesus Christ saw the cryptic messianic application to Himself, and the...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3) The knowledge of God, the loyalty to God, the love of God: What a progression! Never forget that our entire goal and purpose in life is to know God, for...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1O God of my praise, do not be silent! … 30With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord; and in the midst of many I will praise Him. 31For He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul. This individual lament displays...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Sin is rampant; we all know that. But how do we deal with it if we call ourselves “good Christians” when we find ourselves caught up in its web? King David, a man of God that he was, most famously known for his affair with Bathsheba, knew this problem well. Besides...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul. 2Awake, harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn! 3I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to You among the nations. We believe, from a NT...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
The year was 1919. Astronomers gathered in the tropics of Brazil and the island of Principe off the west coast of Africa to observe the longest eclipse of the 20th century. This was not just an entertaining stargazing effort; it was to conduct an extraordinary...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (2 Tim. 2:15) Did you know that E-Meds (Bible-Equip) offers two online courses for a guided delve into the study of God’s word? But why...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. 2Let the redeemed of the Lord say so … We live in a universe designed and saturated with the gratuity of God. All things exist because the Lord created everything out of His joy of...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting … 4Remember me, O Lord, in Your favor toward Your people; visit me with Your salvation … The trilogy of Psalms 104, 105, and 106 puts forward an overriding...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
When I was younger, it seemed that older people spent excessive time reading the news and arguing with anyone within earshot about their political views and world events. Those that didn’t simply lacked a loud voice about such things, so naturally, to young ears like...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples. 2Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; speak of all His wonders. 3Glory in His holy name; let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. While the previous psalm (104) was focused...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Popular advice flows freely with a warm, knowing look and firm but compassionate voice, “Follow your heart.” Should I marry this person who makes me feel good, move to that city where the weather is nicer, take the better-paying job, or go into debt for the dream...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty … 24O Lord, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions. This psalm gives God the blessing of praise, not...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
It has been said that problem-solving is about learning to kick something into a higher orbit, that is, to reframe or evaluate the dilemma in the context of a bigger picture. The ultimate way for Christians to problem-solve is to take the problem into the heavenly...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Spiritual growth comes through knowing God and learning to praise Him. Lest we become redundant or vainly repetitious in our worship and praise with minimal vocabulary, we find language in the...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Artificial intelligence (AI) has invaded my life in two surprising ways. Is AI a sinister technology that will someday take over the world and eliminate human beings? Will it be a tool of the anti-Christ that will usher in the end times? Or is it simply a useful tool...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
0A prayer of the afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord. The inscription in verse 0 sums up this psalm. There are times we all can relate to these feelings. The Hebrew word for “complaint” means to rehearse or repeatedly go over a...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
God cares for the disadvantaged. Who are they? I think of refugees fleeing their homes because of violence and wartime atrocities, women and children subject to domestic abuse, kidnapped kids thrown into human trafficking, immigrants who have sacrificed everything for...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1I will sing of lovingkindness and justice, to You, O Lord, I will sing praises. 2I will give heed to the blameless way. When will You come to me? I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart. 3I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm, IMHO Blog
Like most people, my hair has commanded much of my attention over the years. It didn’t begin that way. As an infant, I came into this world bald, probably with only a wisp of blonde hair. With no photos of my infant existence to be found anywhere in family...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. 2Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. The common theme of Psalms 95 through 100 is the invitation to worship and sing praise to the Lord. He is extolled in lofty, poetic form, with the last in...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm, IMHO Blog
An evangelist I am not; that is not part of my spiritual gifting—there, I’ve said it. I’ve heard many testimonies of the sort where someone leads a sinner to Christ on an airplane. I’ve sat through seminars and read many books about becoming effective in our...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble; He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake! 2The Lord is great in Zion, and He is exalted above all the peoples. 3Let them praise Your great and awesome name; Holy is He. We can learn much about God as we read...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
I once mentioned to a cardiologist friend that I would love to observe a live medical operation in person and in real-time. This was circa 1993 when we were living in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. I’ve always been fascinated with learning and experiencing new things....
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1O sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him … 9…He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity. God will come to judge the...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
So you want to begin memorizing Scripture? Where do you start? Many books on discipleship include verse lists for new and growing believers. The ones I memorized fifty-two years ago when I came to Christ are still branded in my mind and spirit. Here are the ones I...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many islands be glad. 12Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones, and give thanks to His holy name. Themes repeat throughout the psalms—this is understandable when one considers the common themes of life and the...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
I am surprised not more Christians memorize Scripture—this is one of the best and most practical ways to grow spiritually. Did you know there is a tremendous benefit for your spiritual life in developing this discipline? I would invite all who read this to move past...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. 2Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Praise and worship are the ultimate purpose of our being created in God’s image. In a world of Christian...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Faith or wisdom, which do we as Christians live by? Both! One doesn’t negate or exist in tension with the other. The books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are filled with wisdom. The first is wisdom for how to live practically in this world—“Do this, and the result will...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
6Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. 7For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, 8ado not harden your hearts…” A call to worship beckons the faithful to...
by Chuck Gianotti | Holidays
How shall we think about what is coming in this new year? If we could see into the future, even one day or one hour, we could become immensely wealthy by perfectly timing our investments in the stock markets or be assured that all our bets would win. Yet, seeing into...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1O Lord, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth! 2Rise up, O Judge of the earth, render recompense to the proud. 3How long shall the wicked, O Lord, how long shall the wicked exult? … 19When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
THINK!” was emblazoned on the whiteboard in class. I would write that on the first day for new students in my Bible college class on hermeneutics. My goal was not to teach the young people what to think but how to think. Of course, we all think as a primary function...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. Two kinds of praises come from the heart of the believer who is caught up with the greatness of our God....
by Chuck Gianotti | Holidays
Merry Christmas! This is the time of year for gift giving, and we at E-Med(itations) want to GIVE YOU A FREE GIFT. Our devotional commentaries are available online for free. Did you know we have 10 complete series of E-Meds? You can begin with any of these from day...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
The famous saying is that all truth is God’s truth. But not all that passes as “my truth” or “your truth” is not truth, but rather opinions. The Bible is the surest source of truth and drips with wisdom (which can be defined as truth applied to life)—particularly the...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; 2To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night, Starting our day with gratitude and praise is good, the Hebrew word denoting that which is pleasant or...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
When I was younger, like in my 20s, I discovered a way to get an education at NO COST. College and university degrees are enormously pricey, but there is an easy and inexpensive way to gain wisdom and smarts. This idea that I’ve stumbled across taps into the fact that...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!” Inscribed on sympathy cards and beloved by many believers during times of grief, heartbreak, or...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
I’d like to think that my decisions in life are made through a spiritual-logical process of consulting Scripture, praying for the Holy Spirit’s guidance, seeking insight from godly counsel, evaluating the pros and cons, and generally using wisdom integrated with...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
14O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. 15Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us, and the years we have seen evil. How do you talk about God’s existence before there was ever any...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Recently in conversation with some old friends, the comment came up that as we get older, our job is to keep the lights on at church. The thought was that as we are less on the front lines of ministry and more in the background, doing the more mundane stuff like...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever; to all generations I will make known Your [God’s] faithfulness with my mouth … 38But You have cast off and rejected, You have been full of wrath against Your anointed … 49Where are Your former lovingkindnesses, O...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
The following story is told by a former bodyguard of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning sovereign in Great Britain’s history, who passed away in 2022. This showed the humorous side of a very proper and austere lady who took her role as England’s monarch quite...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1O LORD, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the night before You. 2Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry! 3For my soul has had enough troubles, and my life has drawn near to Sheol. What value is there in reading this psalm,...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
To the good fortune of all Christians everywhere, I never became a professional gospel singer or musician. I dreamt of it when I became a Christian, thinking about how best to serve the Lord. Oh, I could grab a handful of ivories on the keyboard and strum a few chords...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1His foundation is in the holy mountains. 2The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwelling places of Jacob. 3Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah. Jerusalem is a magnificent city, but this psalm isn’t focusing on its outward...
by Chuck Gianotti | Misc
Only one week left to take advantage of this unique opportunity to give a FREE GIFT to the elders or church leaders in your fellowship. Order the five-volume set of Elders’ Shopnotes, a collection of short articles providing practical help, advice, and teaching...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
C.S. Lewis used the term “chronological snobbery” to refer to the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is thereby discredited.[1] It was one of his obstacles in coming to faith when considering a 2,000-year-old religion like Christianity. But what about when...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me; for I am afflicted and needy … 17Show me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, because You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me. King David was a man whose heart aligned closely with the Lord....
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
One of my favorite quotes comes from Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in his classic: “The Gulag Archipelago” (1973). If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1O Lord, You showed favor to Your land; You restored the captivity of Jacob. 2You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin … 6Will You not Yourself revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? The prayer of this psalm can be summarized...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
The computer and the internet are the key ingredients that created the information explosion. But who created those two things? Well-known names like Steve Jobs (Apple) and Bill Gates (Microsoft) come to the fore, but the seminal developments began before them in a...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! 2My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. Those who love the Lord want more of His presence in their lives both now and to come. There is...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Sermon Title: How to have all the money you want. Scripture: “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1O God, do not remain quiet; do not be silent and, O God, do not be still. 2aFor behold, Your enemies … 17Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever, and let them be humiliated and perish, 18that they may know that You alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High...
by Chuck Gianotti | Misc
Order for an elder or church leader (or yourself) a free copy of the five-volume set of Elders Shopnotes. This compendium of short articles provides practical help, advice, and teaching for effective shepherding of God’s people in the local church. And...
by Chuck Gianotti | Misc
Order now for an elder or church leader (or yourself) a free copy of the five-volume set of Elders Shopnotes. This compendium of short articles provides practical help, advice, and teaching for effective shepherding of God’s people in the local church. And...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
3Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. 4Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. This short psalm needs careful unpacking to understand and then to apply it as a blessing to our lives. Verses 3-4...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Sing for joy to God our strength; shout joyfully to the God of Jacob …13“Oh that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! The call to sing for joy (vss. 1-5) arises from a survey of God’s work and intention for believers (vss. 6-16). The...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
NOTE: The following excerpt comes from the excellent little book, “Gentle and Lowly” by Dane Ortlund (Crossway) Have you ever stopped to observe what Paul says, at the end of that long sentence (in Eph. 2:4-7), is the ultimate reason for our salvation? It goes like...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
19O Lord God of hosts, restore us; cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. The bitter longing of their hearts throbbed unremittingly. The prophets proclaimed God’s severe judgment on Israel, both ahead of time as a warning and during Israel’s...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
“Temporary deviations from fundamental principles are always more or less dangerous. When the first pretext fails, those who become interested in prolonging the evil will rarely be at a loss for other pretexts.” James Madison, 4th president of the United...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1O God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance; They have defiled Your holy temple; They have laid Jerusalem in ruins … 5How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire? This psalm gives a contemporary update on the previous psalm,...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing,” wrote U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. While mere humans are not inspired, the adage seems intuitively true that, “All truth is God’s truth.”...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
The farmhouse of my childhood is no longer there. After my grandparents died, the property was sold, which was scandalous to me. How could Dad sell all my memories? On a visit back to the farm, I was mortified to see an old travel trailer desecrating the very place...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Listen … incline your ears … 4btell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. From the beginning of creation, God has shown Himself to be gracious—which, among other things, sets Him apart from all...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud; my voice rises to God, and He will hear me. 2In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; in the night my hand was stretched out without weariness; my soul refused to be comforted. 3When I remember God, then I am disturbed;...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Few men have virtue enough to withstand the highest bidder,” intoned George Washington, the first president of the United States, in one of his many speeches.1 Have you compromised your spiritual wallet with Satan-inspired currency? What have you gained at the price...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
When I was a young boy, our family vacation was always a two-week visit to my grandparents’ farm in northern Minnesota. What was it about them that has so captured my imagination, which I am sure is completely outsized, seeing them through my eyes of a child? It’s...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel. 2His tabernacle is in Salem; His dwelling place also is in Zion. 3There He broke the flaming arrows, the shield and the sword and the weapons of war. Selah. Nothing rouses people like a national victory anthem....
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Anyone who studies the Bible will notice that often the New Testament (NT) writers quote from the Old Testament (OT). The problem arises when you compare the NT quotes with the actual verses in the OT and sometimes discover they don’t seem to match up. In a few cases,...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
The date was June 3, 1970. The place was Northern Minnesota, in a small town near the Canadian border called Ely. My grandpa was 78 years old, my grandma 75, and they had been married for 53 years when he wrote the following letter to their son (my father) and family....
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks, For Your name is near; Men declare Your wondrous works … 10And all the horns of the wicked He will cut off, But the horns of the righteous will be lifted up. Pride is ubiquitous in this fallen world and it comes up in...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
How would you like to have that said about you at your funeral, that no one was going to miss you and, in fact, all were glad you were gone? This was the epithet of the sixth king in the dynastic line of David: “Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king,...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
Grandma was an adventurous gal—ahead of her time. She reminds me, metaphorically, of the security we have in Christ. Hearty, resourceful, and meticulous, she lived through World War I (1914-18), the U.S. Great Depression (1929-41), and World War II (1939-45). And she...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1O God, why have You rejected us forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture? … 19Do not deliver the soul of Your turtledove to the wild beast; Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever. This is one of the sad songs in the scripture,...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
It is refreshing to hear more and more people talking about God and their belief in Him. The world certainly needs more of that. So why in my prayer do I resist praying to “God?” Please don’t write me off as a persnickety old-school legalist; hear me out. If your name...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
He came out of the locker room and stood in the hallway looking me up and down. His head was covered in permanent welts from his role as an enforcer. Already stripped out of his upper body pads and jersey, one gloved hand held his stick, the other clenched in a fist...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart! 2But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, My steps had almost slipped. 3For I was envious of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked … 17Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I...
by Chuck Gianotti | Misc
As we continue to celebrate our significant milestone for E-Med(itations), here are other resources on our BibleEquip.org website. We aim to help you deepen your relationship with God and know the Bible better. Elders’ ShopNotes (ESN) ESN is a collection of ninety...
by Chuck Gianotti | Misc
A Great Idea As we celebrate the 3,000th E-med milestone this week, we want to share a great idea with all our readers and churches. Every church wants its believers to read the Word daily, and most Christians know they should, but many fail in the practical side of...
by Chuck Gianotti | Misc
Today marks our 3,000th E-Med(itation). It all began with the first posting, Of Segways and Cliffs (October 10, 2010). Our goal has been to encourage Christians in the daily reading and understanding of the Bible. Rejoice with my editors and me by leaving a comment on...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
What hope is there for the person who has fallen in sin and disloyalty to God? Someone has needled people of religion that they have just enough of it to make them feel guilty. But beyond the false and manipulating guilt put on us by legalistic systems, most believers...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
God’s glory shows up in the most unexpected ways, in the most supremely mundane places. In one of my more pensive moods, sitting on a hillside amidst a cascade of wildflowers, I was enjoying God’s beauty on a warm, sunny day, relaxing with little care in the world (at...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness to the king’s son … 18Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone works wonders. 19And blessed be His glorious name forever; and may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen. Do we...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
If your favorite meal entrée is filet mignon or filet of sole, I would suggest stepping up your culinary tastes to enjoy a different kind of filet, namely a filet of strangers. Let your meals fulfill more than just a necessity of life; I invite you to experience more...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
My father (Jack Gianotti, Jr.) had an interesting quirk about him, one that I enjoyed often and which I have sometimes fallen prey to. He was a dignified man in many ways, and I learned a lot from him. He had a master’s degree in political science and, after the war,...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be ashamed. 2In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline Your ear to me and save me … 9Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails. The line of demarcation between...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt,” wryly spoken by Abraham Lincoln (16th president of the United States, 1861-1865). On the other hand, Woodrow Wilson (28th president, 1913-1921) encouraged foolish people to...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
Reprising my grandparents’ canoe tripping in the Boundary Water Canoe Area (BWCA) of northern Minnesota along par of the 5,529-mile border with Canada (marked by the 49th parallel), three of us brothers set out to chase the mythology of a generation and an era gone by...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1O God, hasten to deliver me; O Lord, hasten to my help! This psalm is virtually identical to Psalm 40:13-17. Besides minor differences, the references to Yahweh in the earlier psalm are sometimes replaced with God (Elohim) in Psalm 70 and vice versa. Scholars suggest...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Have you ever been in an argument where other people try to box you into a corner with a false entrapment? They throw the kind of question at you that no matter how you answer, it will be wrong. Or they thrust a seemingly “water-tight” argument on you to prove you are...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
It was a hot, sultry day in Dallas, Texas. We had arrived a month early to settle in for my start at Dallas Seminary. The year was 1979. At 29 years old, I was launching with Mary into a complete career change, walking away from eight years working in the R&D and...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
24b “May Your burning anger overtake them … 28a “May they be blotted out of the book of life.” Many theologians see in this psalm a description not just of David but of the ultimate innocent sufferer, Jesus Christ. Dishonored, He bore the reproach of all against...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
True or false: God will never put you in a situation that is more than you can handle? While once a typical Christian response to challenging circumstances, it is now being blown off as “not true” (as one person suffering from terminal cancer told me). Well, is it...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
Majestic eagles, ospreys, and loons with their four distinct and haunting calls; iconic Canadian geese, Great Blue Herons, owls, wood ducks, hawks, and an attack by a horde of seagulls—we-ve seen them all. Otters, beavers, bears, moose, and the occasional porcupine. I...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
24b “May Your burning anger overtake them … 28a “May they be blotted out of the book of life.” Popular Christianity tends to shy away from passages like Psalm 69, where God is requested to hand down judgment and condemnation on unbelievers: “May Your burning anger...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
“The whole earth is full of His glory” Isaiah 6:3b. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace The glory of God is His reputation. It is His stature in the eyes of His creation, His...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
In the middle of Big Trout Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada, the lost camper alarm pierced through the air. One of our 18 group members turned up missing for dinner call. Launching into emergency protocol, we immediately sent two canoes around the island in...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered, and let those who hate Him flee before Him … 3But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God; Yes, let them rejoice with gladness … 24They have seen Your procession, O God, the procession of my God, my King, into...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
“The whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah 6:3b While sitting on a cliff overlooking Lake Ontario, one of North America’s Great Lakes, the sunset was gorgeous and a group of us were enjoying the calming, relaxing show of a multicolored display. The blue, red,...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
White caps were everywhere, the wind competing against us, water spray nearly blinding us, and the headway difficult. We were halfway to the island where we planned to spend the night. Fourteen campers and four leaders in six canoes loaded with camping gear and food....
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us— Selah. 2That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations. We take for granted that God is glorified in creation, but that by itself is a limited view of His greatness....
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
What is the most important Christian doctrine? That sounds like something ivory tower scholars debate in the dusty confines of a seminary apart from everyday life. But the apostle Paul didn’t think that was a bad question; he spent two books of the Bible on this...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
It happened in slow-motion. While trying to steady the rock of the canoe from gunnel to gunnel, the windward side slowly dipped in the trough between waves, and we took on water—in the middle of the lake on a chili October afternoon. Canoeing mishaps do occur, some of...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; 2sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious. 3Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You. 4“All the earth will worship You, and will...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
… 18but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. We are to grow in our understanding and appreciation of our Lord’s grace to us, which He poured out fully in saving us at the...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
Someone coined the phrase “Business as Mission” to refer to the strategy of entering a mission field with a business as a “full-time” day job and therefore gaining a work visa to the country, but with the expressed purpose of gaining a foothold where traditional...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1There will be silence before You, and praise in Zion, O God, and to You the vow will be performed … 11You have crowned the year with Your bounty, and Your paths drip with fatness. 12The pastures of the wilderness drip, and the hills gird themselves with rejoicing....
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
… 18but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. We have seen that growing in grace takes us on a journey of discovering more and more the depths and expanse of God’s...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
Born with a paddle in my hand in northern Minnesota, near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA), I come by my love for canoeing honestly. It’s in my genes; it flows through my blood. For some people, their continuity of life is etched in tattoos on their bodies; their...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy. 2Hide me from the secret counsel of evildoers, from the tumult of those who do iniquity, 3who have sharpened their tongue like a sword. They aimed bitter speech as their arrow … The...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
… 18but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. If growing in grace is not a platitudinal salutation, a call to be more sociable, or a command to become more and more gracious...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
He loved to sing hymns and choruses. Not that Ross McIntee (my father-in-law) had a refined voice, he sang loud, on tune and with gusto. To keep congregational singing in church from dragging, he would often bellow out the beginning of a verse just before anyone else....
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. In our most difficult times of struggle, our darkest moments of fear and extreme discomfort, spiritual dryness takes...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
… 18but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. This is one of those verses easy to gloss over as superfluous religious terminology having little to do with the everyday life...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
He harshly rebuked the young boys who walked up his driveway on a hot day. All they wanted was a drink of water. “Go to your own home and get a drink.” As Mary tells the story, a short while later her father grabbed a pitcher of water with some cups and raced across...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation. 2He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken … 5My soul, wait in silence for God only … God is! That’s a complete sentence. So what? Even the demons believe God...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
If God wants to give us the desires of our heart, as we delight ourselves in Him (Ps. 37:4), then it makes sense that we can adapt or otherwise follow the example of the prayers of godly people in the Bible whose hearts delighted in God. While King Solomon was not...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
One of the great prayers of the Bible comes from a man who, though deeply flawed, loved the Lord deeply. David wanted to build a house for God, but the Lord denied him that request and instead promised that He would build a house for David. David was thinking of a...
by Chuck Gianotti | Misc
I am taking a short break from writing E-Med(itations) for two reasons. First, my tech team, Matt Williams and company, and others have encouraged me to reach a larger audience, the greater Christian community. They are doing the lion’s share of the work to make...
by Chuck Gianotti | Misc
As you may know, E-Med(itations) is part of my BibleEquip ministry, which is a collection of resources I have developed to help Christians in their walk and service with the Lord Jesus Christ. Recently, I’ve started to post Bible-Equip content across multiple...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Speaking with tongue firmly planted in my parody cheek, many today are departing from the truth of God’s Word and becoming callous about a clearly taught principle of Scripture. I want to make two points about the importance of having a beard. The biblical doctrine of...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in 1859, the same year as my great-grandfather Giovanni Gianotti. Doyle was, of course, a British physician and celebrated author of four books and 56 short stories featuring the exploits of the fictitious Sherlock Holmes. The name of...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1 Hear my cry, O God; give heed to my prayer. 2From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint … 8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever, that I may pay my vows day by day. David calls out to God for help because of his adverse circumstance and...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
The Bible makes statements about itself, claiming to be inspired, that is, the Word of God. This, of course, does not prove that the Bible is inspired, that would be circular reasoning. However, on one hand, this presents assurance to believers, but on the other...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt and my great-grandfather were contemporaries. Teddy was born in Oyster Bay, New York, in 1858; Giovanni Gianotti was born in Turin, Italy, in 1859. The former outlived my ancestor by six years, with Teddy dying in 1919 at age 60 while...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1O God, You have rejected us. You have broken us; You have been angry; O, restore us. … 12Through God we shall do valiantly, and it is He who will tread down our adversaries. God’s promises of victory did not always come easily for David. The inscription details lead...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
(Adapted from Dr. Paul Meier and Dr. Paul Minrith) Years ago, I sat under the teaching of Drs. Meier and Minrith, Christian psychologists and prolific writers on mental and emotional health issues. While my wife Mary and I attribute the longevity of our marriage (46...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
A few years ago, I went back to the farm. I could call it a blast from the past or a weird experience, but it was more the closing of a significant chapter in my experience of bygone generations. It was long after my grandparents passed away (the last being in 1988)...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me …17O my strength, I will sing praises to You; for God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness. Life is hard—and the Old Testament gives us stories to...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
The apostle Paul’s highest goal was to know Him—that was the focus that framed everything else in his life: I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord … that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
God used the World’s Strongman Contest to meet our needs during my seminary years in Dallas! No, I wasn’t a contestant, though I proudly regale my ability at twisting off bottle and jar lids for my wife. But God worked in an interesting way in 1980 to provide for Mary...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?… 10The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11And men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
After my first year of Dallas Theological Seminary, Mary and I learned the ropes of life in Dallas and adjusted to the academic environment. But let me allay some misconceptions. Some people think of seminary as a quiet place where people spend a lot of time praying,...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by … 5Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth. If you have ever felt boxed in...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
First of all, the Bible is clear that if anything exists, then God made it. To put it another way, if there is something that God didn’t make, then that thing doesn’t exist. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
As a car pulled up next to mine at a stoplight, I had an olfactory flashback to my past. My window was open and wafting in from the beat-up old vehicle on my left was a whiff of stale gasoline, the kind that comes from old fuel-soaked upholstery or wood that has lain...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me; fighting all day long he oppresses me. 2My foes have trampled upon me all day long, for they are many who fight proudly against me. 3When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. 4In God, whose word I praise, in...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
For those who are older, we grew up with Mad Magazine, one of the original satirical publications in cartoon form. My favorite part was the last page which had a fold-over design. The page contained a picture or drawing of sorts, with words and paragraphs overlayed...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
Believing we were in the center of God’s will, having left everything behind, committed to not borrowing money for school, having no job, no home of our own, staying with friends, already enrolled in the seminary, partway through the first semester, our money running...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
16As for me, I shall call upon God, and the Lord will save me … 22Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. 23 … I will trust in You. This classical lament psalm has encouraged believers everywhere. Life is...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Sometimes a bit of satire can communicate well, though I risk the danger of superficially stereotyping major and sometimes complex issues, and offending people who hold to these various belief systems. Nevertheless, I plunge ahead in the spirit of conciseness and...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
So how did Mary and I determine it was God’s will for us to leave everything behind and study theology for four years and then embark on a new career of serving the Lord full-time? It began for me on the day I surrendered to God by accepting that I was a sinner,...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your power. 2Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth … 4Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul. Many of David’s psalms reflect his thoughts and experiences while fleeing from...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Historical context is essential to an informed study of what was going on when God conveyed His truth in the ancient World. When we understand what it meant to the early believers, we present-day believers can then apply it to our lives today. While the history of the...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
A three-month notice was unheard of in the corporate world. But, after two-plus years of my working at Marine Midland Bank, which had recently been acquired by what is now known as the HSBC bank (then the 4th largest bank in the world), we were setting out on a new...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,” they are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice; there is no one who does good … 6Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores His captive people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel...
by Chuck Gianotti | Proverbs - An Introduction to Wisdom
The last chapter of Proverbs describes and extols the “woman of excellence.” While many women pour over photographs, magazines and websites for tips to become more beautiful, godly women have poured over, studied and sought to emulate the woman of Proverbs 31. The...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Over the course of the Christian life, there will be times when spiritual issues come up in conversation with non-believers. This happens when you purposefully share your faith in evangelism, for example. But most of the time, spiritual matters will come up in...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
As I write this (December 2022), the city of Buffalo, N.Y., is digging out of the worst blizzard in its history. Situated on Lake Erie’s eastern end, the so-called lake-effect snow is part of life there, but this one was a doozy. With the death toll reaching...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? … 8But as for me … I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever. 9I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it, And I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones. This psalm...
by Chuck Gianotti | Proverbs - An Introduction to Wisdom
The book of Proverbs characterizes five kinds of people and their relationship to wisdom. The primary topic or thrust, of course, is to help us not just know about wisdom but to become wise. Teaching about what a wise person looks like is often presented in relief,...
by Chuck Gianotti | Worship 52 Devos
2For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. We have been studying the words of our Lord in the last hours of His earthly life. Too often, this is left out of our thought life and meditations until a few weeks before Easter, when...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Some denominations have a clergy class of “priests,” and their adherents refer to them as father, monsignor, reverend and assorted other titles. In some cases, those of the clergy wear special clothes (“vestments”) while officiating in their religious services or in...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
My wife Mary grew up in a solid Christian home with parents fully committed to the Lord and His people. Church was a second home, with three services on Sunday (they attended all three) and a mid-week prayer and Bible study service. In a land-locked community, the...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
0For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 1Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me...
by Chuck Gianotti | Proverbs - An Introduction to Wisdom
The compendium of proverbs in chapters 10-31 does not lend itself to a consecutive verse-by-verse study since there is no apparent general ordering of them. But it is immensely suitable for topical studies. For example, the book has much to say about our verbal...
by Chuck Gianotti | Worship 52 Devos
63But Jesus kept silent. We have been following the words of our Lord leading up to His death on the cross. But communication can take place when no words are uttered. A look can do it, or just a poignant silence at times when an answer might otherwise seem...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Knowing God is our greatest goal as creatures made in His image. This knowledge is not an arrival destination but a growth journey. Our Christian lives are more than a self-improvement endeavor, but a personal relationship with our Lord in the truest sense of the...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
Early in my Christian life I was a skeptical sponge. By that, I mean I couldn’t learn enough about God and His Word, the Bible. I checked out everything I heard against the Word of God. I would rush home from work to devour it, initially trying to speed read through...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me....
by Chuck Gianotti | Proverbs - An Introduction to Wisdom
The Book of Proverbs contains literature, and we must acknowledge the form or genre of the literature to get the most out of the book. The predominant form of the book is poetry. This is not like the rhyming poetry of popular culture today. The rhythm and meter in...
by Chuck Gianotti | Holidays
Photo by Dan Kiefer on Unsplash My Christmas after coming to Christ overwhelmed me. With the aroma of dinner wafting in from the kitchen, I sat alone, fixated on the nativity scene under the tree. Talking and laughter emanated from the other room, drowned out by the...
by Chuck Gianotti | Worship 52 Devos
1Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death; 2and they bound Him, and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor … 11Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
One of the most common struggles for new believers is not always “feeling” that they are saved. Without a doubt, the Lord wants all Christians to be confidently assured of their relationship with Him. This confidence does not come from the unreliable, changing grounds...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
Pulling into a gas station with a friend from work, I noticed a large advertising sign with a single word emblazoned in red letters, “Save!” Underneath was the standard marketing ploy showing the old price of other gas stations crossed out and the new, reduced price...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
22“Now consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver. 23He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; and to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God.” The last two verses of this psalm...
by Chuck Gianotti | Proverbs - An Introduction to Wisdom
1The proverbs of Solomon … Now comes the proverbial statements for which Solomon is famous. He has already introduced the entire book with his identifying signature and pedigree, “The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.” While chapters 1-9 form a...
by Chuck Gianotti | Worship 52 Devos
63But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Bookmark (0) A friend of mine, quite a while ago, created a graphic to represent in picture form the truth of what Christians have entitled the Love Chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. God delights in the arts, even using poetry to extol the greatness of love, as He does in...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
Bookmark (0) The decision was staring me in the face. God was inviting me to surrender to Him. No one told me I had to change and quit smoking, drinking, swearing or anything else. He wanted me to have a relationship with Him and to free me from my selfishness and...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
Bookmark (0) 1Hear this, all peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 2both low and high, rich and poor together. 3My mouth will speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will be understanding. 4I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle...
by Chuck Gianotti | Proverbs - An Introduction to Wisdom
Bookmark (0) 1Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars; 2she has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table; 3she has sent out her maidens, she calls from the tops of the heights of the city: 4“Whoever is naive, let him...
by Chuck Gianotti | Worship 52 Devos
55At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me. 56But all this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures of the...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Like many people, keeping my commitment to daily communion with the Lord has its challenges. Responsibilities, meetings, finances, people issues and family commitments wait impatiently for us to wake up. We need to preempt those forces by taking command of ourselves...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
Not able to convince my friend that she was brainwashed with religious superstition, I told her I didn’t want to waste any more time on any of this religious stuff. This was it; I wanted no more. What was happening inside of me was turmoil. The conversations stirred...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, His holy mountain. 2Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion in the far north, the city of the great King. 3God, in her palaces, has made Himself known as a stronghold....
by Chuck Gianotti | Proverbs - An Introduction to Wisdom
Bookmark (0) 32“Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, for blessed are they who keep my ways. 33Heed instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. 34Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts. 35For he who finds me finds...
by Chuck Gianotti | Worship 52 Devos
53Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?” The angels of God were inactive at our Lord’s...
by Chuck Gianotti | IMHO Blog
Eternal security for genuine believers is something I hold to unashamedly and for studied, biblical reasons. But the truth that this doctrine encapsulates can, unfortunately, be used as a license to abuse grace, producing spoiled Christians. I came to Christ through a...
by Chuck Gianotti | From the Farm
So there I was, having spent my best arguments against her, the college student working a summer job where I was employed. In my mind, I won all the arguments, if winning meant having the last word. But although I was convinced on one level that I was right, her...
by Chuck Gianotti | Psalms - Godly Emotions
1O clap your hands, all peoples; shout to God with the voice of joy 2For the Lord Most High is to be feared, a great King over all the earth … 6Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises… 7… Sing praises with a skillful psalm. Five times...
