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The Science of Speaking Truth
Too often, our own pride and the desire to have a meaningful impact on the world around us affect our objectivity, and we find ourselves providing more opinion and subjective narrative than we do truthful insight and objective perspectives. So how can those to whom I speak know the difference? How do they know if what I speak is the truth or just my opinion? Every day they are bombarded with falsehoods and half-truths that they feel obliged to accept. How can I possibly influence them in the right way if I use only the same tools the rest of the world does? In order to ground our investigation in…
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No One Left Behind
It should be pretty clear by now that being a follower of Christ is an active process. You see, Jesus is never standing still; he is always in motion: healing, loving, turning over tables, sharing the Good News, walking on water, and performing miracles. And it was these actions, in concert, that demonstrated his love for others and for us, providing numerous examples of just how we might “love our neighbors as ourselves.” Jesus is (and has always been) God’s Word in action. That’s why his ministry kept him moving all the time. He rarely stayed in one place for very long; but when he did—and while he was traveling…
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Undermining Our Foundation
When we “mine under” something, we mine, drill or excavate, ultimately removing the material that supports the foundation something is built upon. As a result, the foundation itself loses the integrity it needs to support the structure on which it stands. Typically, we don’t pay much attention to the foundation once it’s been laid. Since the foundation is typically immovable, we usually don’t expect it to shift or change over time. Ironically, however, experience tells us that foundations do shift over time, because the earth beneath it is ever-changing. Since the planet we live upon was created from kinetic components (even the hardest rock is made up of moving particles),…
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Pick Up Your Cross
Jesus said that only when something dies can it create new life. I know that in this context he was talking about himself, alluding to his own necessary death on the cross so that New Life might be accessible to all. “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.” John 12:24 NLT But I see that we, too, can only create new disciples—bear new fruit—when we truly die to ourselves. Only if we can really let go of what this world has to offer, and…
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Beautiful
You are Beautiful, my childAnd I know that you are scaredThings are not as you’d hoped they would beBut I want you to knowAlthough you feel aloneI am with you and am working to set you free This is not the life I want for youOr a pain I want you to endureBut this world is not what I intendThough it all has gone astrayThe plans for you I’ve madeWill bring your sorrow to an end Take my hand and follow meAnd I will show you something newI will show you something trueLet me put my arms around youThat you may know that you are lovedThat you may know your…
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Knowing the Word
Often we find ourselves in a place where we understand, at a rudimentary level, a need for knowing God’s Word, in one degree or another, for a number of reasons. But ultimately, there is no way to really do that without actually reading His Word, whether visually or audibly. Everything we want to know about God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, comes from His Word. But for many of us, that Word only comes to us via a sermon or Bible study. When we allow the Spirit to convict us in this, it stirs the desire to “want to” develop a habit of reading His Word with greater frequency. Yet…
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Don’t Make a Resolution: Be Resolute!
res·o·lute Determined, unwavering, purposeful, resolved, adamant, single-minded, firm, unswerving, steadfast, staunch, stalwart, unfaltering, unhesitating, persistent, indefatigable, tenacious, strong-willed, unshakable. “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.” Daniel 1:8 True Resolve Daniel had resolved (past tense) to keep the ways of God as he had been instructed. Daniel was part of the upper echelon of exiles taken from Jerusalem during its initial siege by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 605 BC. Daniel was only a teenager at this time, but belonged to the families of royalty and priests that best represented the…
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Merry Christmas!
So I really have to admit, I just don’t understand this whole “political correctness” thing in regards to the traditional Christmas greeting. For 30 years I lived in a world of non-Christians who cheerfully celebrated this holiday with open arms. Nobody I knew really professed any great faith, but we all looked forward to this time of year, giving and accepting gifts, and enjoying the time off from school and from work.
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Going Your Own Way
We often wonder as kids that, if I’m obedient to my parents, if I actually do what they tell me to do – if I take their advice, am I really leading my own life? Am I making my own decisions? And it’s a hard question. And ultimately we rebel because we want to be able to show that we can do our own thing. We believe that doing our own thing means just doing everything the hard way. Tragically though, when we get through it we find that our parents were right. We didn’t realize that our parents had already gone through those same things. They tried to tell us, but…
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The Little Things
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Luke 16:10 While Jesus spoke these words to admonish us to take care in handling what’s been entrusted to us, it’s interesting to see how this truth applies to us in the way in which we deal with our relationships; especially the one we have with Him.
