As I was walking back from the mailbox earlier today, I wished with all my heart that I did not have to use a cane. I’m okay at home because if my knees give way and I start to fall, I can grab hold of something but outside there is nothing to support me so I have to use it. I have to use a cane when I walk because I never know when more of the cartilage in my knees might tear.
I think if we would be honest with ourselves, all of us could say that there are times in our lives when we get discouraged because of cruel, sarcastic and critical words that have been said to us. Our strength grows weak, our determination to keep going falters and we are tempted to say things and do things that a Christian should not say or do.
His Faithfuless, My Faithfulness Read More »
When I say that ‘I am a Christian’, I am not shouting that ‘I am clean living.
I’m whispering ‘I was lost, but now I’m found and forgiven.’
When I say ‘I am a Christian’ I don’t speak of this with pride.
I’m confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.
When I say ‘I am a Christian’ Read More »
But God raised Him from the dead. Acts 13:30
I have a lot of favorite verses in the Bible, but I suppose if I had to choose only one, it would be Acts 13:30: But God raised Him from the dead. Wow. How powerful is that?
Think about it. What can life throw at us that can’t be overcome by that statement of eternal truth?
If God is for Us, Who can be Against Us? Read More »
The ultimate measure of a person is not where one stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where one stands in times of challenge and controversy. ~Martin Luther King
Have you ever thought you were too weak to help?
It’s easy to imagine someone who’s better qualified, tempting to believe that your personal failures render you useless. We all want to conceal our dirty laundry, but followers of Christ must remember that we’re called to serve where we are and to offer ourselves in that service. We’re all gifted so we can offer those gifts in service to others.
Four Questions For Broken People Read More »
Note: This event occurred prior to my injury. In a time of confusion and loneliness, I wandered into an unfamiliar church. I sought a bit of peace in a sea of turmoil. I found a good deal more.
“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.” Exodus 23:20
Singing. That’s mostly what happened in Sunday night church. Familiar songs, though I hadn’t attended church since high school. Someone selected a hymn and everyone sang accompanied by a piano.
2 Peter1:5-8
For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Do Your Part – How to Strengthen Your Faith Read More »
by Tim Keller
The Greek term “gospel” (ev-angelion) distinguished the Christian message from that of other religions. An ‘ev-angel’ was news of a great historical event, such as a victory in war or the ascension of a new king, that changed the listeners’ condition and required a response from the listener.So the gospel is news of what God has done to reach us.It is not advice about what we must do to reach God. What is this news? God has entered the world in Jesus Christ to achieve a salvation that we could not achieve for ourselves which now:
1) converts and transforms individuals, forming them into a new humanity, and eventually
2) will renew the whole world and all creation.
This is the ‘good news’—the gospel. And it is good news in three important ways.
The Gospel – Key To Change Read More »
God does not allow evil and suffering to continue because He does not love us, or is in some way detached and removed from us. God takes our suffering so seriously, that he took it upon himself on the cross. ~ Tim Keller
When I speak to a group about RELENTLESS GRACE, the questions are frequently penetrating and gut-wrenchingly honest. One question is asked more than any other. “Do you believe that God caused your injury?”
God’s Role in Tragedy Read More »
Then Gideon and the 300 men who were with him came to the Jordan {and} crossed over, weary yet pursuing. Judges 8:4, NASB(emphasis added).
The story about Gideon and his meager band of men defeating a massive enemy gathering is always inspiring to me. First, I’m reminded that no battle is ever won in my own strength. Second, I’m encouraged by the fact that nothing is impossible with God.
Weary Yet Pursuing Read More »
