Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, in Christ; for He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His […]
My sister and I now own our parents’ home. Yesterday, in the third hour of cutting grass there, I was thinking of the many hours I did a ratty job of cutting the grass in that yard as a child. Now, my parents gain no benefit from watching me do a very good job of it. Then, they were annoyed […]
Thomas Sowell is quoted as having said, “People who love meetings should not be in charge of anything.” After we have been in a typical meeting with other believers, can anyone look at us and gather any evidence that we have just spent time with a Person Who was raised from the grave after paying a ransom to deliver us […]
Nehemiah did not finish rebuilding a wall around Jerusalem by focusing on answering Tobiah and Sanballat. His focus was on the honor of his God and on the memory of his ancestors. Sanballat and every other distraction and distress were answered, but sometimes simply by being told there was no time to waste answering them. Our success in the lives […]
I had the privilege of accompanying a few different groups of young servants through the streets and alleys of a section of Columbia, SC called Five Points on some Friday and Saturday nights for a while. The area is downhill from the main campus of the University of South Carolina, and is full of bars, restaurants and dance clubs. People […]
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. These things should have been done without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a gnat, yet gulp down a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You […]
Being humble is being embarrassed because you are great.Being ashamed is being embarrassed because you are not great.Don’t just pretend to be humble. Don’t just degrade yourself verbally hoping someone will correct you with a statement about how great you are. Your God gives grace to the humble. Actually be humble, which is related to being humiliated on days. Jesus […]
What is there in your life that is so important to you that you think of it often, wondering how it can happen, when it will happen, how much it will cost, whether it will be successful or effective? I suggest that if you have no such purpose or goal or hope, that it is quite likely that you are […]
What do I add to the body of Jesus? Is my contribution even noticeable? Am I a costly weight being carried along by other loving believers who are praying that I will get a life? That’s a costly question when I ask it. A better question set to lean into is: Who does Jesus say that I am? Am I […]
Most of us have a computer in one of our pockets at any time we are awake. It can be used as a telephone also. It can likely be used as a map service that has at least major highways anywhere on the planet, and can show you where you are in relation to the map if you have a […]