Take Up Your Cross, Unless …
You’ve got the sniffles. You’ve got a ballgame. You’re visiting a friend or a friend visits you. And so on and so on. Simply put, “sacrifice” is “an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy”. Jesus eloquently spoke of it as “taking up your […]
Help From Above May Come Through Those Below
Obviously, God is omnipotent (all-powerful), and can do anything He wants. But it’s also true that sometimes He elects to act through agents — even human ones. As great and powerful as the gospel is, it is often carried and dispersed through “earthen vessels” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7) — as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:20, […]
How Is Your Influence?
Paul wrote, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33). The “communications” mean “companionships,” while “manners” means “moral habits.” Thus, the people we choose to be around will influence us either poorly or richly. An example of this is seen in 1 Peter 3:1-2: “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your […]
How Is Your Foundation?
A few days ago, I caught a glimpse of a special airing on The History Channel about dams breaking. The few moments of the broadcast that I saw showcased a dam that had broken in the Midwest, flooding the nearby national park. The ranger and his family lived in the park and they completely lost […]
How Am I to Be Around?
There is an old story about the wife who asks her husband, “Why don’t you play golf with George anymore?” “Would you play golf with a man who puts down the wrong score and moves his ball when you aren’t watching?” “No, of course not.” “Neither will George.” What kind of person am I to […]
Hold On to the Lord
At times it seems that everything around you is collapsing. Endeavors you invested in may fail. People with whom you work may disappoint you. The business or career you worked hard to build may crumble. These times, as difficult as they are, are opportunities to stop and examine what is truly important. Habakkuk wrote, “Although […]
“Create in Me a Clean Heart”
This statement came from Psalm 51:10, where David was writing in the aftermath of his sin with Bathsheba. He had stated, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your […]
Ho-Hum Services
When we come into the presence of God to worship, it is a significant event. It should never be taken lightly. Yet, too often our worship services are casual and unprepared. Not only is this an offense to God, it is a sad and destructive message to our visitors. All they have to do is […]
His Most Productive Crop
One growing season a farmer had a beautiful crop of grain. But it was wiped out by a hailstorm a week before the harvest. His son expected the farmer to lash out in bitterness and despair. But instead he accepted the loss in a spirit of faith in God and His care. Today this farmer’s […]
“And He Took Courage”
We come together not only for the purpose of worshiping God, but also for encouraging and building one another up (1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 10:25). Acts 28:15 says, “And the brethren, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the Market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul […]