Christian Living / Judgement / obedience

Are Love and Tolerance the Same?

John 13.34 records God saying, I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you shouldimage love each other.

The current definition of love is to tolerate any belief or behavior by another individual even if that belief or behavior is offensive to the first person. The person engaged in the offensive behavior is not considered unloving when they continue in their behavior that is offensive to the first party.

Love seems to mean toleration today but only for those engaged in non-traditional behaviors. Those holding traditional values are not to be loved by those not holding such values as demonstrated by curbing their behavior when with the ‘traditionalists.’ It is the traditionalists who need to change their thinking if they are to be loving. (more…)

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March 23, 2016
Prayer

Believing God Hears Us

John 11.41 observes Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me.”image

One of our hindrances to prayer is our belief that God hears us. God the Son had no such hindrance with believing that God the Father heard His prayers. Why? (more…)

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March 21, 2016
evangelism / faith

Speaking of Jesus

John 7.13 observes no one had the courage to speak favorably about Him in public, for they were afraidimage of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.

While watching a popular sports talk show yesterday I noticed the interviewee easily referenced his commitment to God but not to Jesus. As he was wearing a cross around his neck I am assuming he would identify with Christianity as his religion.

This comfort with God and discomfort with Jesus is age-old and helps explain why we are so broken in our current culture. (more…)

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March 17, 2016
Christian Living

Discipline is the Key to Successful Relationships

Proverbs 1.3 teaches that their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair. This teaching refers to the purpose of the Proverbs, the wiseimages sayings written predominantly by the wisest person to ever live.

What is the key to wisdom? The key to living a wise life is to live a life of discipline. A simple answer really to a simple question. The doing of the answer is what we find immensely difficult. (more…)

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March 14, 2016
evangelism

How Christians Can Most Effectively Deliver Their Message

2 Corinthians 4.4 describes Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who imagedon’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

‘The devil made me do it’ is a euphemism for describing why I choose to do the wrong or naughty thing. When the world is askew, when all kinds of bad things are occurring, it isn’t the devil we blame but God. (more…)

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March 4, 2016
Christian Living

Real Men Wanted

1 Corinthians 16.13-14 commands, be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Do imageseverything with love.

This may be my favorite verses in the Bible. I am particularly drawn to the admonition to act like men. We need more of that today particularly in this highly feminized culture where the woman of the year for 2015 was/is a man.

Most Bible translations change the phrase ‘act like men’ to ‘be courageous.’ I like that change because it equates manliness with courage. (more…)

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March 1, 2016
evangelism / Judgement / obedience

What God Requires From Us

Luke 9.60 comments, let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach aboutimage the Kingdom of God.

God requires only a few things from us but He appears fairly adamant about those few things.

First is to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. While we look to make the adherence to this command a feeling within ourselves God measures it by His second command which is to love our neighbor as ourselves. (more…)

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February 23, 2016
Christian Living / heaven

The Blessing of Children

Exodus 1.21 explains, because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own.image

What was God’s response to some pro-lifers who defied their king? Bless them with children. What was God’s response to His people who were suffering immense hardship in slavery? Bless them with children.

God’s greatest blessings are children. (more…)

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February 18, 2016
Christian Living

The Power of Weakness

1 Corinthians 2.3 observes, I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling.image

Weakness is a despised attribute in the world even among Christians. We try and pretend its not something God honors but it is.

We turn this godly virtue on its head when we quote the Bible’s promise, ‘when we are weak then we are strong.’ We like that ending strong part pretending we are never really weak. But the verse really means when we are really weak that’s when we are really strong in the eyes of God not man.

The problem is our God models for us weakness and humility over and over but we try and try to ignore it. (more…)

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February 15, 2016
Christian Living / heaven

What Do You Think About?

Romans 13.14 commands, don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.image

Contentment is a difficult virtue to maintain. It seems to last only moments before we move onto the next fantasy relationship or wished for possession that would finally make our lives complete.

If we could record our daily thoughts then replay them at night we might be surprised to find how much of those thoughts are spent wishing for someone or something else. God commands us not to live in this fantasy for many reasons. (more…)

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February 10, 2016