Keeping our Word, Even and Especially, when it Hurts
When you say you will do something, whether it is teaching 2nd grade Sunday School or meeting a friend for lunch at noon, can they count on you to ...
Jesus Protecting Women
How counter-cultural was Jesus' view of sex and of women! In Jesus day, women were second class citizens, often used and abused. Women flocked to Christianity for good reason! Today, ...
THE HEART, THE HEART, THE HEART
This week in Bible study a friend from pickleball, quite new to study, came in and began our study with: I hated this study on the Sermon on the Mount. ...
JOY LEADS TO BEING SALT & LIGHT
One of my most frequent prayers, as I know it is for many of you, is that my children (and their spouses) will be seized with passion for the Lord. ...
The Counter-Cultural Life (Fall Series from Sermon on the Mount)
Too often instead of being in the world but not of it, we are of the world but not in it. Yet unless you are living counter-culturally, you are not ...
Blessed Are The Persecuted
When I read the book of Acts and other accounts of the early Christians, I am struck by the boldness of believers in the face of such terrible persecution. They ...
Called to Be Peacemakers
This statue is outside a church and refers to The Book of Common Prayer: The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each ...
Power for Stubborn Sins
If I'm honest, there were stubborn sins in my life that I thought would never come out until I saw Jesus face to face. Having a really positive relationship with ...
The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life
Continuing our theme, on which you gave so much thoughtful input, let's consider what leads to happiness. I used to think, and even have written, that God is not particularly ...
THE SECRET OF SATISFACTION
Many of the founders of our country were Christians, and part of our inalienable rights is "the pursuit of happiness." I used to think that wasn't a Christian philosophy, but ...
The Power of Meekness!
Though meekness rhymes with weakness, that is not what it is. How illuminating it is to learn that it comes from two Greek words meaning: "used to" and "the hand." ...
Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
Jesus wasn't talking about the grief that follows the loss of a loved one, which might surprise many greeting card companies! Though it is true that the Lord is close ...
The First Step: Poor in Spirit
When I knelt to receive Christ in 1966, I didn't come completely broken, just broken enough to know I needed forgiveness from God. Yet in my heart, I still felt ...
He Who Would Love Life
For many, summer is our favorite season. "The winter is past, the time of singing has come." How we want to seize it, and, as the psalmist says, "to love ...
How To Help A Fool (Two Week Study:)
Though it is extremely rare for a fool to come to his senses, it has happened, for nothing is impossible with God. The common variable seems to be pain. So though our ...