There are times when it becomes a prize-less fight to defend myself or my opinion. When my character or my doctrine are being challenged, what should move me to defend them? When should I refuse to invest in the argument? When someone accuses me of having made a mistake that someone else really made, when I have been misquoted, when […]
Now everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ; certain that God is appealing through us, we […]
At times empires arise among humans. They rise up and take under their control the local leadership of kingdoms and make them subjects of the emperor. When the local leaders refuse to submit, they are replaced by loyal servants of the empire. The laws and cultural influences of the empire are forced onto the nations that make it up. Language […]
When we pray for healing and receive it, we praise our God fervently. When a worried-over bill is paid just in time, when a lost daughter returns home, when our prayers are answered in a way we like, we are full of praise, and sometimes worship. I praise Him toward you, I worship toward Him. Why are we not confident […]
There is a proverb: “It is possible to be so heavenly-minded that you are no earthly good.” What is the truth, though? If our minds are set on carnal things, that is death. If our minds are set on spiritual things, that is life and peace (Romans 8:6). It is possible to be so earthly-minded that I am no good […]
When I am pitying myself, I am denying myself the power to have my problem solved. I don’t gain answers to my needs of comfort, healing, revelation, or provision by focusing on what is absent and causing my pain. I can only find the relief I need by focusing on Yahweh, Who is my Provision, and my Peace, and my […]
We are hideously good at taking parts of messages and settling for them when we should know that there is more. The news at Passover one year was “Jesus Defeated…”. Patience found the rest of the story after 3 days wait: “Jesus defeated Death and the Grave.”
On days when you feel unprepared for great things, consider the preparation that Esther had. She was in the right place at the right time. She was beautiful, but that was insufficient by itself. Many other young women were beautiful. She learned to ask for help, and sought the advice of Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the king’s women. […]
The Kingdom of Heaven is an invitation to be strengthened and led, not beaten and pushed. When the other 10 disciples heard this, they began to be indignant with James and John. Jesus called them over and said to them, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their men of high positions […]
When we really are stumped regarding the best thing to pray, it is, like always, good to pray for God’s will to be done. Using “If it be Thy will” prayers as a substitute for finding, through study and prayer and fasting or whatever it takes, what His will happens to be, is not likely to be the best plan. […]