Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17). Let everything that has breath praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6). I have a confession to make. I’m the guy who feeds crows and squirrels early in the morning. I understand that some (perhaps many)…
“It’s hard to be humble when you are as great as I am.” So said Cassius Clay, Nebuchadnezzar, Adolf Hitler, Ozymandias, the Pharisee in Luke 18, Pharaoh, and a host of others. How close is this to saying, “It’s hard to be humble when you are as great as I AM”? “God said to…
I am writing this article at the beginning of 2023, a time when we make resolutions to improve the quality of our lives. Many of these resolutions have to do with our physical well-being – e.g., diet, exercise, and plastic surgery. But what about our SPIRITUAL well-being? Do we give much thought to that? The…
When I was going to college (some years ago), I was a rather introverted, socially-awkward, young and callow fellow. So to push my boundaries, I joined a bowling league. This experience helped me to become the introverted, socially awkward, old and callous fellow I am today. In the league, I learned that it was absolutely…
Imagine the appeal of a drive-thru church tailored to fit today’s culture: “Welcome to McChurch’s, where you can have Him your way. May I take your petition, please?” “Hello, yes, I’d like to order a Savory Savior Burger with extra blessings and a side of forgiveness. Um. . . better super-size that this week. Oh,…
But how should we express our gratitude to God? We can’t very well send Him flowers and a note of thanks. What, of course, comes to my mind, and probably yours as well is to praise Him in prayer, offering up our heart-felt gratitude before turning to our many petitions for healing and comfort.
He knows that people are worriers, back then and even more so today. Anxiety is the chronic pandemic of our age, countered with medication and therapy. However, medication and therapy are not the ONLY resources that we have. Christ’s counsel is sorely needed, and what He says can profit every one of us.
Think of the sun. (Ensure you are wearing your mental sunglasses!). In the morning, it rises and provides light for the world all day long and then sets at night. If we go out at night, we might see the moon. And there is light from the moon but that light is REFLECTED light. The source of the light is still the sun, which is shining on the moon and then being redirected towards us.
There exist many lists of the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be found in the Bible, none exhaustive, and each gift has a bearing on our RELATIONSHIPS with others. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).
This verse is talking about temptations and our ability to resist them, NOT the overloads that life presents us with. Terrible things that are beyond our control do happen and we might indeed legitimately say, “This is more than I can bear.” But temptations are under our control; we always have a choice in the matter. And there always is a godly choice provided.