If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too: If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated don’t give way to […]
If fruit is ripe, it is usually sweet as an evidence and/or result. Ripeness and maturity can be synonyms. Our maturity, whether it is emotional, social, or spiritual, can be measured by how quickly our responses to situations we face are manifestations of the character of Jesus. The list of such manifestations in Galatians 5:22 & 23 is what Paul […]
If you have opportunity to speak to a group of people and you know about it in time to prepare what you say, I recommend making one point. If you go hunting with a machine gun, you might kill something. If you go hunting with a rifle, it is more likely that you will kill what you went for. Ken […]
Because we are born of God, and the life we live in these beautiful bodies is just a passing thing compared with how long our lives really are, no matter how you live here, it is going to cost you everything. Laying down your life for your friends costs all you have and more. It takes the manifestation of the […]
Commander Naaman, from Syria, contracted leprosy. His wife had a servant who had been kidnapped from Israel and enslaved in Syria. She suggested to her mistress that if Naaman were to go to the Israeli prophet Elisha, he could be healed. Naaman asked permission to take leave from his duties as a warrior and go to Israel to see Elisha. […]
Our lives are being written as volumes that will rest between the bookends of John 3:16 and 1 John 2:15. God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus. The same John wrote that if you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. Somewhere in the middle, (John 20:21) Jesus sent us like Father […]
If you ask an Evangelist “What produces Growth in the Body of Christ?”, the answer you get will likely sound like, “Leading people to saving faith in Jesus.” If you ask a Teacher “What produces Growth in the Body of Christ?”, the answer you get will likely sound like, “Teaching believers how to rightly divide the Word of God and […]
Today I decided to stop counting my days as if one more day of my life was wasted on something other than my calling. Instead, I will count the day as having moved me one day closer to the door to my work. An heir, as long as he is a child, is no different than a slave, even though he […]
Scary toys usually have a disclaimer printed on the packaging: “Adult Supervision Required.” Another one made famous when TV was young was, “Kids, don’t try this at home! We’re trained professionals. You could get hurt!” Those warnings were probably imposed by a board member’s lawyer, not his mom. The concern was likely for the company’s safety, not for the safety […]
When Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesian congregations that ended up in the Bible, his last instructions before the greetings at the end of the letter were about being clothed in Christ as armor. He told them to use His righteousness and His truth and His faith and His peace as their protection. They should pray in (under the […]