A dictionary is a map. It charts where we have been to get to the place where we are. It doesn’t suggest how to use a word, but instead documents how a word is commonly being used. The Bible is a Map. It is a record of how far we have seen in various directions. It documents what we found […]
Our carnal, earthly selves usually hate changes in our calendar, our environment, our list of responsibilities. But, new things bring change. Yahweh’s mercy is new every day. I think that means that we don’t always recognize His mercy. It’s not just a re-wound toy that will run again for another day. It’s new. The Roman church popularized a style of […]
One of the biggest mistakes we may make as we interact with people is engaging them from a perspective that we are normal, but they are not. If I don’t listen to you and discern who you are and how you think before I try to share something important with you, I am likely to speak my wondrous truth in a […]
Don’t confuse style with fashion. Fashion is what was popular to wear 40 years ago and is now popular again. It changes the width of ties and the length of collars and the prints and colors of skirts each year so that you stand out for wearing clothes that were new last year and makes you feel that you need […]
1 Timothy 6:17-19 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure […]
Some people call Hebrews 11 the “Hall of Faith.” I wondered for quite a while when I was being stretched from average church member to expecter of the miraculous, why the writer was bragging on these heroes regarding their faith when their ends included being cut in two, being whipped, beaten, poor, living in caves and deserts, and not receiving […]
Joshua 13:14 Only to the tribe of Levi he had given no inheritance; the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as He said to them. NKJV Deuteronomy 10:9 Therefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance, just as the Lord your God promised him. NKJV Your […]
We know that knowledge puffs up and that love builds up (1 Corinthians 8). Still, what we prefer to offer to unbelievers and new believers is information instead of the costly commodity called agape. What makes new believers into disciples is fitting into a family through real relationships. They need accountability through relationships. They need to find opportunities to serve through […]
If you are going to fly, you have to overcome some things. My new puppy thinks that she can fly. She really can get airborne, but she can’t stay there. She hasn’t completely overcome gravity yet. The flying deck is stacked against you – unless you can overcome drag and gravity, both of which have laws supporting them – you […]
Could it be that we have not found the ends of the earth with either the good news about salvation or the good news about the Kingdom of heaven because our favorite songs have been about us longing to be in heaven rather than about our God already being in the earth? I have studied and shopped for many denominational […]