Leaning Into Humility

Leaning Into Humility

“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…

Weaning Ourselves

Weaning Ourselves

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…

Bowling for Turkeys

Bowling for Turkeys

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…

A Redacted God

A Redacted God

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,…

Gratitude

Gratitude

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. 

Good Works

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.

Gifts of the Spirit

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).

Enduring the Load

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.

The Blessings of Death

And what a wonderful blessing it is to realize that our TRUE treasures here in this life are not silver and gold, wealth and status, power and position, but rather loving relationships, with God and with those who have become our family.  At the bottom of the human heart is the place where such loving relationships flourish.  They are the foundation of joy in this life.