God’s Word is filled with examples of those who believed God and “commenced prayer.” David certainly did. “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm” (Ps. 40:1–2).
Read MoreCategory Archives: Christian Living
Commence Prayer
It was in 1968 on an airplane headed for New York—a routine and normally very boring flight. But this time it proved to be otherwise. As the plane was on its descent pattern, the pilot realized that the landing gear was not engaging. Passengers were told to place their heads between their knees and grab their ankles just before impact.
Read MoreThinking Right
Wouldn’t you love to live courageously in spite of the odds? Doesn’t it sound exciting to be divinely powerful in day-to-day living? Aren’t you anxious to become authentic in a day of copy-cat styles and horrendous peer pressure? Of course!
Read MoreGoing Fishing
Billy Wilder, the great movie producer, openly admitted: “I have a vast and terrible desire never to bore an audience.” With tacit agreement Jack Parr once declared: “The greatest sin is to be dull.”
Read MoreCost and Worth
“How much does it cost?” “What’s it worth?” These two questions may sound alike, but they are different. Very different. “Cost” is the amount of money it takes to complete a purchase . . . the bill, the tab, the monetary expense required to accomplish a financial transaction. “Worth” is the usefulness of the object . . .
Read MoreDeterioration
Solomon seized the reins of wrong and drove his glistening chariot of gold onto the misty flats of licentiousness, pride, lust, profanity, and paganism. Silently, gradually, like eroding soil near the banks of a deep, angry river, he began to believe the lie that has captured many a top executive . . . or super salesperson . . . or successful physician . . . or athletic prima donna . . . or film star . . . or TV celebrity.
Read MoreRefuge Wanted
People don’t want to listen to a recording of some sermon when the bottom drops out. They want a place to cry, a person to care, someone to bind up their wounds, someone to listen, the security of a few close, intimate friends who won’t blab their story all over the church—who will do more than say, “I’ll pray for you.” They want refuge.
Read MoreFinding a Refuge
The law of supply-and-demand is something we face every day. Because there are those who need, there must also be those who provide. There are employers and employees. There are counselors and counselees. There are teachers and teachees (I couldn’t resist).
Read MoreA Renewed Mind
No hypocrisy, no competition. Wouldn’t that be refreshing to live such a life? It all comes to those with a “renewed mind” . . . those who determine they are going to allow the Spirit of God to invade all those walls and towers, capturing the guards that have kept Him at arm’s length all these years.
Read MoreControl
It’s easy to get confused these days. “Out of control” isn’t what we want to be. People who drink too much are said to be “out of control.” Those who worry too much become emotionally “out of control.” The same goes for those who go too far with anything: prescription drugs, food, fitness, sex, work—you name it.
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