“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). 1 can begin each day with prayer that includes thanks. I can replace the question, “Why has God done this to me?” with, “How has God helped me in the past?” I can count…
Speaking the Truth in Love
Speaking the Truth in Love
Church Blog (Page 9)
At some point in life most of us face many types of health I financial, family or other serious problem. Recently, it seems that “storm clouds” have encircled many due to lost jobs, poor health and the economic situation in our country. It would be quite easy to begin counting our problems instead of our blessings. Life is precious. It was given…
Crowds followed Christ. He could have used the crowds that followed Him to have thrown Jerusalem and Palestine into a turmoil. But Christ would not sacrifice truth and righteousness for a crowd. When Christ saw that the crowds were following Him for what they could get, that their motives were wrong, and that they were not seeing the truth that he was…
Many time’s our “downs” outweigh our “ups.” We may feel we are going uphill all the while being pulled back. We may be hurting because our loved ones are hurting due to health challenges, financial setbacks, or spiritual deprivation. We may spend our mornings, days, or late nights in tears because of the thing’s life is throwing our way. I beg you…
The Christian life is all about peaks and valleys. When we are feeling good about our relationship with God and Jesus and something happens to re-enforce those spiritual feelings, we call that time “peak times” or “mountain top experiences.” When things don’t go right and we wonder if God is really listening to us (or if He really cares), those are the…
Its amazing how we can give so little consideration to our daily lives or thoughts of its brevity. That is until we have one of those “close-calls11 or “brushed with death11 experiences. For those few moments, and sometimes several afterwards, we pay close attention to the meaning of our lives. We come to the realization of how truly limited and terminal our…
The gospel is the good news that Christ died for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:1–5). It is the total message of God’s power to save all who will hear, believe, and obey it (Romans 1:16). The gospel is contained in the second law God gave. “If the first covenant had been faultless, then should no…
1. Thou Shalt Love People, Not Just Use Them (Matthew 22:39). The greatest thing in the world is a person. The greatest thing about a person is his motives, and the greatest motive is love. 2. Thou Shalt Develop Thine Understanding (Matthew 7:12; 1 Peter 3:7). “If every man’s care were written on his brow,…
Christians are not subject to man-made rules. Paul warned against commandments of men such as, “Do not touch . . . taste . . . handle” (Colossians 2:21–22). Such rules, he said, “have an appearance of wisdom” in man-made religion but are of no value in restraining fleshly indulgence (2:23). Jesus rebuked those who were…
Paul and Timothy were great friends. Paul converted Timothy, counted him the son he never had (1 Timothy 1:2), and watched him follow in his footsteps to become a preacher and missionary. He said of his young pupil, “I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state” (Philippians 2:20). There was no…