One of our goals in life should be to have a helpful influence for Christ on others. Certainly, we want to be a fragrance of the Lord’s grace in our homes, but we should also seek to elevate others’ commitment to Christ among our church family as well. Paul laid out his game plan in […]
Have you considered how kind God is being to you right now? No matter what your life looks like, even with or without the certainty of a job, money, a home, family, or friends, God has and is blessing you. Really, take a few moments and think about the ways God is being kind to […]
If you grew up going to church you have, no doubt, seen animated pictures of animal sacrifices upon God’s altar. Whether it was a bull, a lamb, or even a turtledove, in the Old Testament God required blood to be shed on his altar as an atonement for the sins of his people. These sacrifices […]
Some time ago, I reunited with an old friend from high school. After catching up on some basic questions, we were both surprised to discover that our spiritual journeys had taken us to entirely different places. While I remained a growing Christian (and then became a pastor), my friend rejected all forms of Christianity and became a […]
You have to know what your target is if you are going to hit it. Have you ever considered what spiritual maturity looks like? If you are a Christian, I’m sure you have at least a vague sense that maturity is where you want to be, but what does the target look like? One way […]
Leaky floats are not very fun in the swimming pool. As long as the float holds enough air to stay mostly above the water, kids will still try to make it work, but as the air escapes the fun starts to sink. Sometimes holes happen over an extended time of normal wear and tear, while other […]
This world is a hard place to live. Of course, when the whole planet shuts down because of a pandemic, it is obviously tough to live. But, even when everybody’s everything seems to be going fine, many people are silently suffering. Hope gets a person moving the right direction and keeps them moving well through […]
Candy is so yummy! I loved it when I was a kid and I still do today. I like chocolate anything. If someone mixes in peanut butter, nuts, caramel, or even pretzels, that is fine with me too. When it comes to hard candy, I really enjoy sour flavors dancing around my tongue. Even though […]
A biology professor once told me that he was experimenting with a poison so deadly that inhaling it would have the effect of simultaneous multiple rattlesnake bites. Needless to say, he handled the stuff very carefully! A casual attitude about sin can also result in deadly consequences. Consider the words from the Bible: “Now the works of the […]
When I was a boy, many times I went to bed afraid. I didn’t like loud crashes of thunder during summer storms. I still don’t like snakes. But, I was also afraid of the scary situations in the world. I grew up at the end of the Vietnam War. Night after night on T.V. there […]
