April 2012
20 posts
4 tags
Living Forward
Often, people express the desire to live life over again. Most remember doing things which are now regretted, situations which were not taken seriously, goals to which great energy was expended that are now viewed as being insignificant.
But life cannot be lived again, and the past remains the past. The Christian knows this and commits to living future days earnestly and carefully, looking to...
1 tag
Look With New Eyes
Most everybody has the same defects and short-comings. We have so many of them that it would seem we would be quiet about them and draw little attention to ourselves. But, in truth, we do not see ourselves as other people see us.
What a different world this would be if we most often saw in others the beautiful, the honorable, the graceful. How different would our life be if we treated...
5 tags
Self Respect
People can lose their health, their friends, even their social standing and their wealth, often through no fault of their own. But when the lose the best within themselves — truth, honor, integrity, and principles, then they have lost the best of themselves. These virtues are never taken away, but always surrendered. Where then is self-respect when this happens?
4 tags
Christ Loves The Church
Christ loves the individual. Christ loves the individual so much that “he became sin who knew no sin,” thus allowing the individual to know salvation. But Christ also loves the church and gave himself for her. So, for a person to say that he or she believes in Jesus Christ, that he or she is a Christian, but whose life and words show no love for the church, that person lives a false...
4 tags
Love Defined
Love lives its definition in the care that it shows others regardless of the pain that itself endures. Love grows through sacrifice. Love does not coerce or force. Love continually seeks out what is best for those who are loved in spite of what effects it may have on self. Love comes to bud and flower through suffering for another.
God is love, and Christ is love’s manifestation.
3 tags
Loving The Unlovable
Each of us is surrounded by people in this world. Some of those people are very easy to love. They have pleasing qualities which are agreeable, lovable, and kind. These are the people who become our friends, our lovers, our travel companions.
There are others who are not so likable. They are not amiable, congenial, or pleasing — at least not in our experience or perception of them....
4 tags
Prayer
Just the repeating of words does not make a prayer. Whether it is a petition coming from our own thinking, or the saying of something written by another, there must also be a sincerity, a glow coming from the heart, a passion of the spirit to touch God. Unless our whole self is poured out with the words, and presents our life at the feet of God, we have not truly prayed.
3 tags
Wrong Interpretation
It is not unusual for us to look at events which happen in our life and give them a wrong meaning. We want so much, sometimes, for God to be on our side, that we credit Him for doing things for us which in truth are contrary to His laws and His will. So, we must be careful when thinking about what is from God and what is of our own doing. Every opportunity which comes is not of God’s...
5 tags
Mistakes
We all have feet of clay. We make mistakes as we walk through life. Too many Christians do not take these mistakes seriously. They echo the words of James, “we all make mistakes…” and go on with life believing that God accepts this fact and forgives because of it.
But the truth is that God wants us to not stumble and fall in the first place. Therefore, He wants to be our...
5 tags
Torn Between Two Truths
We kneel in fear of God, and we kneel in fear of the world — one foot in eternity and the other in the temporal. In part, we know that all is in the realm of God and that no evil, regardless of how wild it rages, can exist outside the bounds of God. Yet, we know that same evil to have the ability to perpetuate bad on us. So we go through life living torn between assurance and anxiety.
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4 tags
Modern Communication
Modern communication is a true marvel of technology. Instantaneous contact between persons on different continents makes it possible to engage in conversation with anyone in the world. Yet as marvelous as this is, what is it when compared with the ability of a human to speak with the Creator of Eternity — the fact that the heart and soul of any person may communicate with Divine Grace...
4 tags
Moral Order
There is a great moral order in creation which we did not make. It is made, and it is maintained by God, therefore it is not impersonal. This order stands as an eternal pronouncement of the fairness, the integrity, the love, the consistency, and justice of God. We only come to learn this order through discovery. Unfortunately, such discovery usually happens when we go against it or ignore it...
7 tags
Morals Go Beyond
Death may bring an answer to many questions. It may even offer a solution to some problems. Most certainly it does provide release from the pains of infirmity. But there is no reason to think that death offers a release to moral character. The moral laws by which life on earth is governed still exist, and carry over into the “great beyond.” Therefore, it behooves the individual to...
5 tags
Only Through Longing
For a Christian to be alive in the faith, he or she must never be satisfied with what has been accomplished. Growth of the spirit is had through longing. What has been achieved is good, fulfilling, and rewarding but should only serve as a springboard to larger and grander goals. The acquisition of more can often be difficult to attain. The continued improvement and growth of self can even be...
3 tags
No Buffeting
In a perfect world, the Christian should feel buffeted against temptations of ambition, fears of retaliation, and pressures from the perspectives of particular interests. But the world is not perfect, and neither are we who are in it. We are often swayed by passions and emotions and the same self-interests which affect all people. We are often tempted and torn by the strong winds which blow...
4 tags
The Fidelity Of Pursuit
Many fear going to the grave never having done that which God desired for them to do. They know of things to be written which God would have them write, or people to interact with which God had placed before them. There is always more to be done, more life to be lived, so will it be enough?
For God to give us a task is for God to also give us the way to complete that task. No person ever...
March 2012
13 posts
5 tags
The March Of Time
The great cog of nature does not run in reverse. Everything in existence continues toward eternity. From the birth of time, a spontaneous, impulsive flow has borne all humanity toward the ceaseless abyss. Everything that through grace has been created and made beautiful will become nothing. Therefore, as Christians, make sure that we are attracted to heaven by enriching ourselves in what is...
4 tags
No
People today have forgotten the power and the necessity of the word “no.” It is a word which must be spoken with courage and resolution, otherwise it becomes meaningless. This is a difficult task sometimes. There is a power in the word “no” which not only prevents wrong, but also turn wrong into right. ”No” is a good word. ”No” is a necessary...
5 tags
Nothing In Return
It is said that the truest and purist form of giving expects nothing in return — it is unconditional. God has given us His Son. Without conditions, God has brought salvation into the world.
What this means for the Christian is: God does not expect obedience — but we are bound to give it; He does not expect honor and praise — but we are drawn to do nothing less. God comes to...
5 tags
Nourish Those Close By
Life is long and arduous, filled with rewards and disappointments, laughter and sorrow, vitality and sickness. Each soul needs to be nourished as he or she goes through life. Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of each Christian to everyday touch the souls of those who are close at hand. The Christian is to let others know that they are loved, thus nourishing the spirit within them.
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