We have the power and the responsibility to influence other people’s behaviors for the better. We also have the power to influence them and make them worse. I had a coworker once in the position of supervisor, who started all her interactions with tone of voice and choice of words that implied that the hearer was late, contentious, lazy, and […]
Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into His hands, that He had come from God, and that He was going back to God. So He got up from supper, laid aside His robe, took a towel, and tied it around Himself. Next, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet and to dry […]
How often do you think you should read the entire Bible? Once a year? Take 3 years to do it? Maybe, if you find the time, once before you die? Aim for a goal that is costly and you will gain a prize that is valuable. From that moment many of His disciples turned back and no longer accompanied Him. […]
David’s “mighty men” committed their lives to him. At least, they did until they came back from one mission with him and discovered that their base had been raided and their families and belongings had been stolen by raiding punks (1 Samuel 29-30). Their answer was to decide how to kill David. David’s answer was to “encourage himself in Yahweh.” […]
Our wills are not strong enough. The turn of each year’s calendar pages prove it. There are systems in place to increase our doubt that we can overcome, like 12 step programs that make us confess every time we introduce ourselves that we are alcoholics, or whatever other version of failure we wish we could escape. There are other systems […]
So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18 Holman Christian Standard Bible ©®) When a puppet appears in a puppet theater, it is usually either a marionette style, which is supported by strings and manipulated from above, or a […]
How can we intentionally and successfully shift from the condition of believing in Jesus to believing Jesus? How about from believing Him to being influenced by Him – influenced by His Spirit? “Putting on the armor of God” has become a day-starter for many believers who want to do a better job of fighting evil away from their lives and […]
Now He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a paralyzed hand. In order to accuse Him, they were watching Him closely to see whether He would heal him on the Sabbath. He told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Stand before us.” Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do […]
One of the tests by which the US Navy determines who will be accepted as a SEAL is to create stress on the subjects by causing them to function with unknown variables, such as time, distance, and other forms in which endurance is required. For each of us, whether we are holding a rope, holding our breath, hoping for help, […]
Muslims mock us for presuming to call the Most High God our Father. Allah is too perfect and great to have any offspring. Yet, that is exactly the way Jesus taught us to address His Father. Paul even added that we have received by the Spirit of God the liberty to call Him “Abba,” which might be well translated into […]