Guided By One Spirit

I beg you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to stop arguing among yourselves. Let there be real harmony so that there won’t be splits in the church. I plead with you to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. (1 Corinthians 1:10 LB) In any argument, our objective should be to love – not win. It’s much harder to love than it is to simply win, and the truth is, we do “win” when we let God’s love flow through us into any disagreement. Love always wins; God proves the point by the resurrection of …

God’s Grace Sets You Free

Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. (2 Corinthians 3:4-5 NIV) Grace. If you carry away only one thing from these devotionals, my prayer is that it will be a mind-transforming, behavior-altering understanding of God’s infinite, indestructible, and immovable grace. Not just a quick, yet correct sound-bite explanation – like the “unmerited favor of God” – but the deep, ancient meaning of grace that stretches across the depth and breadth and width and height of God’s character. This is …

do you know His voice ?

Jack Green, an 80 year old man who lived most of his life in Arkansas and Missouri, died this week. He left behind his wife, son, grandchildren, and many joy-filled memories. Most of my contact with Jack was in the 1950′s and 60′s as a kid and teenager. I remember him being a “master jokester” who enjoyed fun and teasing us kids to the maximum of our limits. But Jack was also an All-American handy-man, and could fix things everyone else thought unfixable. While talking on the phone to Jack’s wife and son … I found it interesting that they …

Truth be told

“To be honest…..” Don’t you just hate it when someone starts a statement like that? Does that mean that everything they have said prior to “to be honest,” is not honest? I don’t get it. Why not just say what you’re going to say and leave it at that? When did that disclaimer become popular? Can you imagine your Grandparents saying that? I don’t think so. Evidently truth telling has become so scarce that there is even a new TV show called “The moment of Truth.” The contestant can win up to $500,000 not for solving puzzles or picking briefcases….but …

‘Help Me Not To Doubt’

“I do believe, but help me not to doubt!” (Mark 9:24, NLT) Recently, I’ve been thinking my life verse should be Mark 9:24: “… I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (NIV) I do believe, yet I have so much unbelief in my life. I walk in faith, yet my faith is often more in the things I see than the things I don’t see. I follow God, yet I repeatedly find myself stumbling down a path of my own choosing. Paul teaches this is a common disorder among Christians, but he also says the cure for our unbelief …

priority one

Many Christ-followers get on board with worthy issues that defend the poor, the homeless, the unborn, the illegal immigrant and the oppressed. In addition, they vigorously support organizations and political candidates who line up with this Biblical mind-set. Scripture teaches me that this is a good thing … and personally, I need to be more tuned in to these human struggles. At the same time, it is important to remember that the last piece of clear instruction Jesus left us before He ascended into heaven was to make disciples. From my vantage point there seems to be many Christians who …

Dear Friend, I Got Your Note

My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9a NLT) Hi! I got your note saying you didn’t think you could do what God is telling you to do. You may be surprised to hear me say this, but I agree! If God called you to do it, then you shouldn’t be able to do it without him. In fact, if you could do it without him, then it’s really not a God-thing. I know you’re feeling that God is asking you to do something that works against your strengths. Honestly, friend, …

Give Life With Your Words

Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit – you choose. (Proverbs 18:21 MSG) You have the power to kill or give life. Yes, you, gentle reader – a follower of Christ – are capable of murder, and so am I. We can speak death with our words, or we can speak life. Perhaps you’ve been on the other side of the killing kind of messages: “You’re not smart enough. You’re not thin enough. You’re not fast enough. You’re not good enough. A real Christian wouldn’t think such a thing.” In a world where people are beat up …

wanted dead or alive

About the time I think I’m having a challenging day … I discover another truth about Jesus. Although believers call Him the King of Kings … He certainly didn’t live like a king while on earth. As a matter of fact Jesus was a wanted man. Before He was two years old King Herod wanted Jesus dead. Matthew 2:13 His hometown “friends” in Nazareth wanted to throw Him over a cliff. Luke 4:28 The Pharisees wanted Him dead. Matthew 12:14 The Jews wanted Him dead. John 8:59 The Sanhedrin wanted Him dead. John 11:53 The Chief Priests wanted Him dead. …

The Forgetful Servant

“All of you, serve each other in humility, for God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5 NLT) Serving others requires forgetfulness on your part: You need to forget your own needs. You cannot be self-centered and serve the real needs of another person. “Don’t be selfish …,” Paul says in Philippians 2:3, “Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.” (NLT) Jesus gave his disciples an example of this humility when he stooped to wash their feet: “So during the meal Jesus stood up and took off his outer clothing. …