I have a friend who is struggling with a new business because he is having trouble gaining capital. There is a proverb, “You have to have money to make money.” The investment of money as a beginning of a business can be considered a “foundation,” on which the business is built. Paul could see that what we build as spiritual “capital” for eternity is coming from the ways that we […]
Monthly Archives: March 2019
Your Conscience
We have been given a conscience so that we will hate evil. One problem, however, is that it cannot always discern what is evil. It prompts us to know that there is evil, but doesn’t empower us to tell evil from good. One person’s conscience will give one reading of a certain situation, another’s will give a completely different reading. It is like having a dashboard light in your car […]
Would Jesus Drive a Ford?
Imagining Jesus in modern circumstances is challenging on days. He wears a turban, old sandals, has dirty feet, and never would ride in a chariot or oxcart. Today, would He drive a Ford, or a Tesla? A mountain bike? Would He still be walking? Until we can come up with something of an answer to such silly questions, we may have trouble imagining Him being present with us in our […]
Self-Pity
Muriel Lester said, “Hunt for self-pity as you would hunt for lice.” Lice are difficult to eradicate because they are small and hidden. Lice combs are fine combs that are for dragging through hair to scrape lice eggs off the hair. The dread and loathing and intent for destruction that a person suffering from a lice infestation would employ is an appropriate level of the same emotions and intent that […]
Believers Boating
My hero E. Stanley Jones said once that he could see three types of Christians: the rowboat type, the sailboat type, and the steamboat type. He explained that the rowboat type does everything out of his/her own strength, which dissipates quickly. Rough water or contrary wind would describe real life circumstances that would easily prevent progress in this Christian’s life. Sailboat types are moved by their circumstances in one direction […]
Eternal, Powerful Life
Being born of God makes it possible to attain the power of unending life. Being filled by God makes it possible to walk now in the powers of the age to come. Peter, before he was filled with the Spirit of God on the day of Pentecost, was afraid of a servant girl who exposed his relationship to Jesus. After he was filled, he confronted the most powerful group of […]
Fear Of Mysteries
Jesus taught in parables so that people wouldn’t understand what He was teaching unless the Holy Spirit was drawing them to. Many times, His disciples didn’t understand, but were too afraid or too proud or too stupid to ask Him what He meant. Worse, on days they just asked each other. When they did ask, He explained Himself. There are many Mysteries in the Scriptures that are not explained in […]
Diving in the Desert
Two things happened before Jesus started public ministry. The Holy Spirit descended on Him, and the Holy Spirit drove Him into the desert to be tempted by satan. These two things must happen in our lives before we are useful in His Kingdom. We must be in submission to His Spirit. The event or events that we could point to as evidence that this has happened may be very different […]
No One is Excused
If you study any science to its limits, you are at that point confronted with a philosophy. If you study any philosophy to its limits, you are at that point confronted with theology. If you study theology honestly and without prejudice, the Holy Spirit will point you to the Source of all things, because that is what He loves to do. No one has an excuse for not pursuing Yahweh, […]
Living Abundantly for Others
Every outpouring of our God in the earth – every major action of His, seems to be the result of at least one person crying out to Him in intercession for others. What subject is the most common theme in your prayers? Praying for some things as a discipline of caring for others may take us into a higher place of prayer. Only praying for annoying people to straighten up, […]