The Isaiah Fast (1)
Ash Wednesday Consider with me a different kind of fasting in the following devotional series. We ask, “What are you going to give up for Lent?” Let’s ask an Isaiah question, “What are you going to add to your life for Lent?” Today, and for the following days, we will consider and explore the
Forgiveness and Letting Go
Letting go is a higher form of forgiveness; it is taking forgiveness one step further. Without letting go of the thing you are forgiving calls into question your actually having forgiven. You cannot release it and hold to it at the same time. Ponder that. The grace and mercy of God comes to us
Twofold Grace
There are two aspects of grace that should never be seen in isolation from each other: unearned favor and unearned blessing. It is a given that we do not earn God’s favor. Favor is God’s attitude toward us and His unearned blessings are the expressions of it. His Grace flows to the just and
Holy House, Holy Life
The adornments of the temple were much about its holiness. It was a place set apart from all others, because God dwelt there. Holiness befits His house and we are now that house. We are temples; we are places in which God Himself dwells. We are to consecrate every part of this house, so
Making Amends
The 12 step program emphasizes making amends in step number nine: “Make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.” This means that we take responsibility for our actions and the hurt and harm that they have caused others. The evangelical tradition has wrongly confused
Listening More
I wish I had listened more. I was just trying to make my point and was not open to hearing a counterpoint. I was just trying to get my words injected into the conversation and never heard what the other person was trying to say. I spoke from my cultural understanding, the ones that
It Sums Up The Bible
“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets (Matthew 7:12 NLT). It sums up the Bible. How would your life change if you truly lived by it? How would the lives of those your life
Professional Christians
These are those who have made a profession but have never committed their lives to the pursuit of Christlikeness; these are those who became professing Christians to advance their business or office. They pay lip service to a kind of Christianity that is civil religion, cross-less and powerless to change their lives and the
The Long Run
All ways of living are not equal, no matter how much you want it to be so. Some ways of living seem great and gratifying until the fruit of those ways begins to return. Resentment and retaliation can seem satisfying until they come back to bite you. Un-Christlike actions may seem sweet at the
Living with the End in View
My Dad used to say, I want to live to see the end of a Christian life. At age 87 he did, but what he was saying was way more than that. It is called living with your final end in view. It is living your story the way you would like for it
On Defending God
God does not need our protection. We do not need to go and defend His name or honor by attacking people. He Himself did not call for aid at the crime of the cross. We tend to see the blasphemous ways that others live and are blind to our own. We deny more than
Blessings Heal The Soul
Blessings given become blessings returned. You cannot give a blessing from your heart without receiving it back. Jesus even commanded that we give blessing in return for the curses that might be hurled at us, even in that case a blessing comes back to us. The world says, if someone hits you hard then
A God Breathed Life
God is love. God is Spirit. To have the Spirit is to be inhabited with love. To be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with the principle that drives the universe, love! To live in the Spirit is to live a life of love for neighbor. Sin is a failure to love.
You Are Beloved!
How did Jesus get through rejection, mockery, betrayal, and all manner of suffering? He knew He was loved by His Father! He knew Himself to be beloved. “And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’” (Mark 1:11 ESV). No matter what happened to Him, He
Standing On The Promises
We can stand “on the promises of Christ our King”. He has promised to give us His Holy Spirit. He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us; He has promised to be with us unto the end of the age. He has promised us that His yoke is easy and His burden
The Inescapable Cross
Life always has a cross in it. I believe in a God who came to the cross; He came to all of the suffering of His creation via incarnation. Jesus said, “Take up your cross and come follow me.” We may try to escape it, but at a price. Soul sickness comes when we
God Draws Us to Himself
God draws us so that we might come near to Him; God draws us so that we may know Him. To know Him is to know our great need. To know Him is to find satisfaction that can be found nowhere else. There is a sense in which we cannot even know ourselves until
Change Your Thinking (5)
Building community is an activity of the Kingdom of God and the Spirit of King Jesus. It involves hard work. It requires love for all individuals in the community and hospitality for all who are becoming a part of it (churches can’t be closed communities and be NT). It requires forgiveness and reconciliation. It
Change Your Thinking (4)
We still live and die for the kingdoms of men. We fight to sustain or defeat rulers. We get caught up in it. Jesus kingdom supporters did not take up arms in defense of their Messiah. The sort of kingdoms that originate with men are often built and sustained by carnal means. Jesus was
Change Your Thinking (3)
We like talking about walking with our friend Jesus; He is that, just as Abraham was God’s friend. But think for a moment about WALKING WITH KING JESUS; this means He is my Lord and Master. He is not just Savior; He is King, Lord of all. Don’t think you can choose Him as
Change Your Thinking (2)
What would my life look like if I lived every moment and made every decision in the light of Jesus being King? How would it affect my reactions when man’s rule goes awry? Would it change what I let upset me? Should Christ as King give me a calm peaceful center? Would
Change Your Thinking (1)
Jesus began His ministry with a radical announcement, as did John the Baptizer, “Repent for the Kingdom of God has arrived.” Perhaps a couple of paraphrases would help a little to hear this message. “Turn your life around, the Government of God has come.” or “Change your thinking, God is King and He has
Seeing Jesus Now
We have been called to see Jesus, not only someday, but today. Our vision of Him is to be daily. We are to see Him in all the ways He has been revealed to us in the NT; we are to see Him in all the ways the Spirit reveals Him. Not someday, but
One Teacher, Our Rabbi
Jesus steered His disciples away from the coveted titles of the day, “Rabbi”, “Father”, “Teacher”. He taught that preferring exalted titles could end in humiliation (Matthew 23:7-12). He was teaching humility, besides, He reminded them that they were all equals as students/brothers, with no hierarchy (v. 8). “And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’
Not Of Natural Descent
“Children of God” was understood by many in ancient Israel to refer to the human bloodline of a chosen people. A true child of God is not about any national, ethnic or family bloodline. It is not even about belonging to the right religion. When John said the children of God are born “not