Winning Arguments or Winning People The competitive society we live in has penetrated most aspects of our lives, especially for those of us who are type A personalities. When my wife told me that was my personality type, I said, “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” It’s true, this type can be aggressive, even combative at times. But […]
Fill and Spill You can’t pour anything out of an empty pitcher. An empty pitcher doesn’t fulfill its mission to slake thirst. Likewise, if we’re to accomplish our mission to win souls (Prov. 11:30), our personal pitcher, otherwise known as our heart, must be filled with the good news of the gospel of Jesus. We’re reminded in Matt. 12:34, “…the […]
No Condemnation The world judges us for all kinds of real or perceived flaws, failures, and fall-shorts. But God says NOT GUILTY. Who ya gonna believe? Romans 8:1 says as plain as can be, “Therefore there is NOW NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” One side piles guilt, tension, self-loathing. The other gives peace that surpasses all […]
Simple Is Better “As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him” (Col. 2:6). How did you receive Christ when you came to believe in Him, when you “got saved”? Was there a lot of pomp? Did you have to memorize large sections of the Bible? Were you wearing your “Sunday go to meeting clothes”? Most likely, […]
Anger Is A Tell Your opinions are challenged. You get angry. You have unmet expectations. You get angry. People question your decisions. You get angry. Ever stopped to ask why? Why does something, usually a trifle, get me so worked up? It’s a “tell.” The area to look at and talk to yourself about is “Why am I so quick […]
Why Not Now? It’s been said, “Until the pain of the status quo exceeds the pain/cost of change, no change will occur.” Ancient Israel is the role model for this saying. Listen to the flow of Psalm 78:8-32 “A stubborn and rebellious generation…whose spirit was not faithful to God…He wrought wonders…He divided the sea…He led them…He split the rocks and […]