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 […]
God Doesn’t Remember A few days ago, we celebrated Veterans Day: a day of remembrance. Psalm 106 talks about some who didn’t remember—the Israelites—and what God did because of it. (It’s a great read.) I thought, with VD behind us and Thanksgiving looming, it might be good to address the act of remembering. The Bible is full of examples of […]
The Because Principle * In my Bible translation (NAS), the word “because” appears nearly 1,600 times. It’s a multi-functional word that serves two major issues. First, it answers one of the most frequently asked questions in all the world: Why? Secondly, and just as often, it is used to shift blame for or excuse bad behavior: “Because Bob…” Remember when […]