Posts from June 2023 (Page 2)

  At first it might seem that if God created all things, then evil must have been created by God. However, evil is not a “thing” like a rock or electricity. You cannot have a jar of evil. Evil has no existence of its own; it is really the absence of good. For example, holes are real but they only exist in something else. We call the absence of dirt a hole, but it cannot be separated from the dirt.…

  These verses and many others in the Bible teach us that Christians are to be loving, merciful, and self-sacrificing. As we see the needs of people all around us, our hearts should be full of compassion just as our Heavenly Father has compassion towards all people. “The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made” ( Psalm 145:9 ). It is right to have a heart that would continually give to others, and it…

  Award winning, Western author and novelist, Stephen Bly, writes that in the days of America’s Old West, there were two types of friends — “runners” and “standers.” At the first sign of trouble, the runners would bolt, abandoning their so-called “friends” to whatever peril they were facing. The stander would stand beside their friend no matter what the circumstances. While awaiting death , some “friends” who had ministered with the apostle Paul , turned into runners and abandoned him…

  The Bible speaks a number of times regarding rejoicing. David once stated, “This is the day which the Lord has made ,” and then he added, “We will rejoice and be glad in it ” ( Psalm 118:24 ). Why isn’t that just as true today as the day David wrote it? A celebrated writer once wrote, “Every new day is a miracle.” The point: “the Lord did not owe us another day, but He gave it to us.”…

  In 1 Corinthians 9:27 , the inspired apostle Paul wrote, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” The Holy Spirit ’s teaching of “self-control” in the life of the apostle Paul can be further illustrated in the following story: An old grandfather counseled his grandson who was angry at a friend who had done him an injustice. “Let…

  Most of us have regrets in our lives.  Maybe you made a bad financial decision or maybe you treated someone badly.  It is so easy for us to dwell on the past and how badly we messed things up.  We sometimes think our lives would be better if only we hadn’t made that poor choice.  Some people would just like to have a life “DO-OVER.”    If that is you, I have good news.  When you become a follower of…

  If I had you write down a list of things that you looked for in a friend, what would that list look like?  That list might look a little like this: Someone that makes me laugh, someone that helps me when I need help, someone that is unselfish, and someone that just enjoys being around me.   We get so caught up in our own lives that often times we forget to be a friend to our friends.   A wise…

  Forgiving someone who says they are sorry is something most of us can do relatively easy.  But, what do you do when someone has wronged you and doesn’t say they are sorry and is unrepentant?   The way I see it, we really have no choice. Either we forgive or we slowly poison our mind and heart. If we hold on to unresolved bitterness it will destroy us.   Matthew 6:14-15 says for if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly…

  The world we live in today is often impatient, selfish and rude.   If you have ever worked in retail, especially during the Christmas season, you know exactly what I mean.  The way some people degrade and belittle others over small things is very discouraging.  The book of Proverbs is full of wisdom and provides awesome guidance to us on how to live our lives.  Proverbs 16:23-24 says t he heart of the wise instructs his mouth and adds persuasiveness…

  Today, we continue to look at lessons I learned from Tim McGraw’s song, “Live like you were dying.”  That now infamous chorus starts out, “Man, what’d you do?”  We all know what comes next don’t we….. skydivin’, Rocky Mountain climbin’ and 2.7 seconds on a bull whose name sounds like a dish at PF Changs… Fumanchu..   But, the lesson I want to talk about today is the next line…. I Loved Deeper!  In 1 Peter 4:8, we are told…

    Tim McGraw and I have had a love/hate relationship over the years.  You see, once I had a serious illness and my sickness came at the same time as Tim McGraw’s hit song, “Live Like You Were Dying.”  It seemed like every time I turned on the radio that song was on and just reminded me of the scariness of being sick.  Lucky for me, I had less than serious but always sarcastic, co-workers that never miss a…

    When we look at leadership in the Bible, what strengths do we see? Moses was very humble, to the point of not even believing he was the man for the job God planned for him to do. Joshua was strong and brave. He also drove his people to be strong and brave. Caleb stayed ready all his life. He was ready when he was 40 as a spy and at 80 as a man taking the land God…