Americans like things to be logical and fair. We operate our lives on that basis. Meaning this: If I do what is right, good will come to me; and if I do what is wrong, bad things will happen to me. Right brings rewards and wrong brings consequences.
Read MoreCategory Archives: Christian Living
A Self-Description of Jesus
In all my studies I’ve found only one place where Jesus Christ—in His own words—describes his own “inner man.” In doing so, He uses only two words. He doesn’t say: “I am wise and powerful,” or “I am holy and eternal,” or “I am all-knowing and absolute deity.” Do you know what He said? Hold on, it may surprise you.
Read MoreThe Difference
Satan, our relentless enemy, has a game plan, and it’s on the board. Knowing that his days are numbered, knowing that he has an appointed amount of time before the scoreboard counts him out, he holds the world in his lap and gives it directions, implementing his strategy day after day.
Read MoreRallying Points
To rally: “to muster for a common purpose . . . to arouse for action . . . to come together again to renew an effort.” That’s the way Webster defines the verb. He says the noun means: “a mustering of scattered forces to renew an effort; a summoning up of strength or courage.”
Read MoreSelf-Pity
A severe case of ingrown eyeballs strikes all of us every once in a while. In both dramatic and subtle ways, the stubborn enemy of our souls whispers sweet little nothings in our ears. He reminds us of how unappreciated and ill-treated we are . . . how important yet overlooked . . . how gifted yet ignored . . . how capable yet unrecognized . . . how bright yet eclipsed . . . how valuable yet unrewarded.
Read MoreHow to Be Salt and Light
God calls us to be salt-and-light Christians in a bland, dark society. We need to remember salt must not lose its taste and light must not be hidden. Let me suggest three statements that declare and describe how to fulfill this role . . .
Read MoreDon’t Take It Easy
Last fall one day at the church, I spotted a visiting gentleman who was shaking hands with a half-dozen folks he’d never met before. Then he looked at me, and with a grin and a twinkle, he whipped out his hand. It was a hand you could strike a match on, toughened by decades of rugged toil.
Read MoreStart Seeking God
“Lord, I’m back and I diligently seek you.” How many times have we said this? This time stop talking and sit silently. Wait patiently, seek diligently, sit silently. That means you need to pour out your heart and then deliberately be quiet. Spend a full day in quietness.
Read MoreProphet Sharing
“Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” (Exod. 1:8). Too bad. Tragic, in fact. Seems a shame Joseph had to die at the young age of 110(!), before he had a chance to impact the new king. What a difference that encounter might have made in the lives of the Hebrews, who were now reduced to the monotony of mixing mortar and making bricks.
Read MoreLiving Mercy
The apostle John asks: “If someone who is supposed to be a Christian . . . sees a brother in need, and won’t help him—how can God’s love be within him?” (1 John 3:17, TLB). True servants are merciful. They care. They get involved. They get dirty, if necessary. They offer more than pious words.
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