Working Out the Inner Work
Our obedience reflects the kind of servants we are. Obedience is not about earning anything. It is about “working out our salvation” in cooperation with the One “who works within us to will and do of His good pleasure” (Phil 2:12-13 ff.). It is about working out in our lives what God’s Spirit is
A Perpetual Source of Nourishment
What you think about today can feed your soul tomorrow? Positive truth sown in the mind is like a seed that will bring forth an abundant harvest. Hear truth. Live with it. Meditate on it. This food in the storehouse of your mind and heart will see you through the good times and
A Sanctuary Prayer
Father, from your Holy Sanctuary descend upon us and make us Your dwelling place, even Your holy tabernacle. May the prayers that arise from our hearts be incense that glorifies You! May the living offerings presented here warm Your heart! May we never allow anything to enter us or come out of us that
The Bad Hides Behind the Good
Religion can be a place where evil conceals itself. It can be a platform from which self-centered people look down on others as a way to mask their own sickness. We will run away from bold evil. So evil comes to us pretending to be good and right. Religion is often a vehicle to
To Adore Our God
God is to be adored - not because He needs to be, but because we have the need. It frames our lowliness against the backdrop of God’s greatness. It strikes down our pride so we can behold His majesty. It keeps us in our place. Glimpse the universe with its billions of galaxies and
Reflecting God
Your real self is like a diamond hidden in the darkness that can never shine or be seen in the fullness of its beauty until a light from without shines on it. We were not meant to originate light, but to reflect it. We only discover who we are and who we were meant
Honey for the Soul
Honey has its own unique taste. Its sweetness is very gratifying. Bees sacrifice their short lives to give it to us. They extract from a thousand flowers the nectar which we share. Jesus, the Rock, contains honey for our souls. He is both Bread and Honey from heaven. To truly know Him is sweetness
Uniting Lips and Heart
Living in harmony with ourselves is a wholeness to which we must aspire. Our thoughts, words and actions should come from a common healthy whole, like the seamless robe of our Lord. It was not torn nor divided, but was one whole piece. We need a unity of heart and action, living in such
Living in the Grace Circle
God who needs no grace gives grace. We who need grace so much must surely give grace. What is worse than for the sinner, having received grace, and then not giving grace to another? When grace does not flow out of us, then we have misunderstood the cross and God’s generosity to us. The
All Saints’ Day
All Saints' Day celebrates the reality that the saints (set-apart-ones) in this realm are one with the saints in the heavenly realm. We are surrounded by those who have gone before us (Hebrews 11:1-12:1). Believers are “saints by calling.” Saints do not feel like saints. They seek to live their lives in a way
The Other Sheep
“I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd” (John 10:16 NLT). Some think, “We are the only ones” or, “Our brand is more right than the other ones.” So goes our
Educating Disciples
We need to keep learning. Christians, of all people, need to be lifelong learners, because we are lifetime disciples. Of course, there is an “ever learning” that never comes to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:7). It also needs to be said that education is not the enemy of Christianity. It is
Turning It Around
“Now I know brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” Philippians 1:12. What we thought was bad for us turned out to be for our good and even the advancement of the good news. The Christ of Romans 8:28 does not control all things, but makes all
Lost Power
When the church was despised, it turned the world upside down; when it sought to be accepted by the world, it was turned upside down. When it had no power, it was powerful; when it sought recognition and influence with the rulers, it became weak, shorn of its locks. When the church was without
An Ocean of Love
We all sail on an ocean of Love. It is a place of divine energy; love goes out from God, because He is Love. To some, it is undetected. To many, it is obvious. Creation declares it. Christ demonstrated it. It flows by human kindness and acts of compassion; it is detected from the
Subtle Choices
We can be choosing when we don’t realize that we are choosing. Sometimes it is a matter of going back and thinking of things I should have released a long time ago. Even a choice to remain neutral from two opposing opinions is a choice. The impulse to grab a snack or a shiny
The Butterfly Effect
I am fascinated by the butterfly effect. This is “the phenomenon whereby a minute localized change in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere” (Wikipedia). It can be a ripple effect, but it can stir up a great storm. It has the potential for great harm or great good. It is truer than
Losing Your Way
How do you lose your way? Turn to your own way. Follow any path that presents itself to you. Choose ease and comfort; neglect truth and justice. Follow impulses, appetites and peers. Be swept along by the streams of the surrounding culture. Reject discipline. Neglect the wisdom of those who have gone before.
Without Money
Simon the magician said, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this
Un-borrowable
“And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ (Matthew 25:8 ESV. There are some things that you cannot borrow. You cannot borrow character from another. You can ride the coattails of other people, but in the end you develop your character and build
Connected to the Vine
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart
What More?
“What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? (Isaiah 5:4 ESV). God’s vineyard, Israel, had backslidden; instead of producing sweet grapes of righteousness and justice they were producing wild grapes of injustice
From Glory to Glory
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NASB). We are in a process of growth that is lifelong; any growth we have is by
Speculate or Help
“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:1-3
Reversing Chaos
In Jewish thought the sea represented chaos. Before the creation act there were turbulent chaotic waters. The Spirit brooded over the waters of chaos and birthed a good creation. Because of the violence and wickedness of man the waters of chaos came back in the great flood. One of the sad things the OT