By Grace Through Faith Alone
We were studying Acts and Galatians this week and I heard an interesting sermon that drove home one of the points I have tried to illustrate on my blog and when talking with other Christians. In Acts, Paul is answering some followers who believe that only those circumcised are going to go to heaven and they were preaching this to other Christians. Some times people have the right intentions and are passionate about their faith but they have the teachings a little wrong. Here is an example: How are Christians supposed to dress? How long can a Christian man’s hair …
fitness freaks for God
The amount of money spent on physical fitness products and facilities in America is astounding. It is strange that we spend more on this stuff than any other country … yet U.S. citizens are in the worse shape than anyone else in the world. God has an opinion on health issues … and it’s certainly not the same as many “fitness freaks” with messed up priorities. In 1 Timothy 4:7-8 God says: “… train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and …
It's Not The How; It's The Wow!
“Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20 NLT) Long ago and far away, there was a teacher who worked painstakingly to teach me how to play the guitar. Every week, we’d climb up and down musical stairs crafted from the pentatonic, hexatonic, heptatonic, and octatonic scales. This emphasis upon technique frustrated me, and I grew to hate it so much that I abandoned the guitar – until playing it again became a positive part of …
Only One You
Mister Rogers was right after all: There is only one you. But this information is much more important than to just be boosting your self-esteem. It is to help you better serve others by being more confident about your God-given role in life. No one else fits your shape. No one else has your blend of gifts, talents, and natural abilities – making you very important in the whole scheme of things. “God made our bodies with many parts,” wrote Paul, “and he has put each part just where he wants it.” (1 Corinthians 12:18) And as it is with …
Thoughts Captive
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV) Use today’s devotional as a prayer – Father, teach me to wage spiritual war in your manner, and not according to the world. Guide me to live – and to fight, argue, conflict – with weapons of the Spirit and not weapons of the flesh. Be my strength, Lord, when I am up against the wall – and I decide, by faith, to respond with weapons of the Spirit …
Loving God
“I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal, when you went after me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.” (Jeremiah 2:2, NKJV) The word ‘kindness’ in the Scripture above is a translation of the Hebrew word kesed, which is often translated as “loving mercy.” Starting in Genesis, it shows up throughout the Old Testament as a description of God’s loving pursuit of his people. It’s a reminder that God chases after us with such persistent grace that he refuses to let us get away. That’s a concept I can easily understand about God …
Radiant Certainty
“I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” (John 16:20-22 NIV) There are some days when, frankly, I don’t feel much …
When Bad Parents Happen To Good Sports
It happens every year and by now it shouldn’t upset me but it always does. When parents think that a child’s success in sports is the end all be all. I sat at the season opener for my son’s Under 10 Soccer League, lots of parents cheering, the kids were excited in their new uniforms. I was standing (I can never sit down when my kids play) next to an older lady who said her granddaughter was playing on my sons team. The game started and the kids were having fun while the parents cheered. Then the guy enters. He …
