What’s in it for me?
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. – Proverbs 3:5 Counterintuitive. I love writing this word on a whiteboard and asking a group what it means. After a lively discussion, it’s established . . . “to go against what comes naturally (our intuition).” We are separated from […]
Not exactly a pleasant topic
Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. – Matthew 10:32 Martyrdom. Not exactly a pleasant topic, but one repeatedly addressed in Scripture—including the context for this one—as well as throughout church history and in headlines today. Apparently, holding a belief that a benevolent creator has chosen a particular […]
He has yet to fail me
Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us… – Hebrews 12:1c Typically, I abstain from corporate motivational posters. The one exception: A majestic sunrise, underscored with, “PERSEVERANCE: Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising each time we fall.” Honestly, there are moments I am tempted to give up. […]
What has you fretting?
He says, Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. – Psalm 46:10a Ever fret over the economy? Worry about godlessness in the nation? Wonder how God can allow evil and oppression to continue? Even if you haven’t yet, if the […]
The parts that still hurt
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. – Deuteronomy 6:5 Funny. I just glanced this verse over and noticed the autocorrect had inserted “hurt” where I must have mis-typed “heart.” As I pondered the “mistake,” I realized that what prevents many men from […]
Moments I am tempted to give up
Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us… – Hebrews 12:1c Typically, I abstain from corporate motivational posters. The one exception: A majestic sunrise, underscored with, “PERSEVERANCE: Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising each time we fall.” Honestly, there are moments I am tempted to give up. I […]
Things lurking under the bed
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 6:12 As boys, how many of us were convinced at times of scary things lurking under the bed, in the […]
Some things can’t co-exist
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. – Galatians 5:16 Oil and water. Similar poles of a magnet. Light and darkness. The natural laws in physics teach us that some things are just not designed to “coexist.” They oppose. They resist. They repel and dispel. […]
Play to win
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. – Galatians 5:16 Play to win. Don’t play not to lose. For anyone who’s ever competed in sports or any other type of contest, you know the difference. Think about it too long, hesitate, second-guess . . . […]
Believe in a spiritual battle
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 6:12 As boys, how many of us were convinced at times of scary things lurking under the bed, in the […]