In the 1970’s, Stanford University conducted a research project involving four-year-old children, marshmallows, and the idea of delayed gratification. The results of the experiment were later shown to be indicators of how successful those same individuals would be when they grew up. Recently it occurred to me that God has His own version of the… Continue reading When Christians Face the “Marshmallow Test”
If you have ever felt weak and frustrated, you will identify with my situation. It all started with a dream. I don’t remember much except the part where I was wearing one regular shoe and one super big shoe. I woke up thinking, “You’re trying to do things in your own strength.” From there, God… Continue reading God’s Grace Is Our Strength
Sacrifice is a tough word. It means giving up of yourself for someone or something else. It’s the system that God set up in the Old Testament to atone for the sins of His people. And it’s the plan He made from the foundation of the world to redeem mankind. But sacrifice isn’t just for… Continue reading When God Asks for a Sacrifice, It’s Not in Blind Faith
I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Not physically, but spiritually. The battle had been raging since the day before. The lies that washed over my mind made me feel like I was literally being dragged under water. I would struggle madly to sip a small breath of truth, comparing the words in my mind to… Continue reading Spiritual Emergencies Call for Spiritual CPR
The Bible is full of word pictures. Jesus used parables, simple stories to explain spiritual concepts, and Paul was fond of metaphors. One comparison Paul used throughout the New Testament was the idea of the Christian life as a race. Everybody knows that it’s not how you start a race that determines the winners and… Continue reading The Christian Life Is a Race – Finish Well
Navigating the sea of life can be tricky sometimes. Sailors in the old days used the North Star as a guide. Unlike the sun and moon which travel back and forth across the sky, the North Star stays pretty much where it is. In fact, Shakespeare in his Sonnet 116 indirectly called it (and love… Continue reading A Biblical Worldview Is a Christian’s North Star
Matthew 21:22 says, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” The Bible is filled with examples of people who prayed for things, believing they would receive them. In the Old Testament, Elijah prayed for rain, Daniel prayed for understanding, and Jeremiah prayed for God to take vengeance against his enemies.… Continue reading 3 Lessons from Those Who Didn’t Pray, Believing
When you talk to Christians online these days, more and more consider themselves “unchurched.” That means that they actively believe in God and even serve Him but are not affiliated with any local congregation. Some say that God has called them out of an apostate church and hasn’t sent them anywhere else. Some just say,… Continue reading 3 Reasons Christians Should Not Forsake the Assembling
This blog started with a dream. In it, I reached for my cell phone and saw the back had a raised image of an idol god on it. When I woke up, it occurred to me that maybe God was trying to tell me something. I thought hard about what the idol god looked like… Continue reading 4 Questions to See if Your Phone is An Idol
Proverbs 24:16 has been on my mind – and in my face - recently. It came to me this past weekend through my pastor in a sermon, a TV show I was watching, and in response to something I did on Saturday night. It says, “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the… Continue reading A Righteous Man May Fall Seven Times but Rise Again
