From a distance we in the church often look like beautiful people. We’re well-dressed. We have nice smiles. We look friendly. We appear cultured, under control . . . at peace.
Read MoreCategory Archives: Grace
Two Truths for Coping with Suffering
I have found great help from two truths God gave me at a time in my life when I was bombarded with a series of unexpected and unfair blows (from my perspective).
Read MoreA Promise for ”The Gentle”
What comes to mind as you read Jesus’s words, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5)? Truth be told, we may get a false first impression. We may think, Blessed are the weak for they shall become doormats.
Read MoreWhen You Are the Offended, Part 1
Over the past few days, we have examined Jesus’s words to us when we have offended someone. Tough steps . . . yet essential. But what about when someone offends us? The apostle Peter asked Jesus a similar question.
Read MoreFull of Grace and Truth
While thinking back on his days with Jesus, John (one of The Twelve) remembers there was something about Him that was like no one else, during which time His disciples “beheld His glory.” His uniqueness was that incredible “glory.”
Read MoreA Loving Father
God doesn’t sit in heaven with His jaws clenched, His arms folded in disapproval, and a deep frown on His brow. He is not ticked off at His children for all the times we trip over our tiny feet and fall flat on our diapers.
Read More“Won’t Someone Please Stop Me?” Part Two
Strange, isn’t it, how we tend toward extremes? What begins as self-improvement becomes self-enslavement . . . what starts as merely a mellow change of pace leads to a marathon of fanaticism. We’re nuts! Left to ourselves, we’ll opt for extremes most every time. Which explains why God’s Book so often stresses moderation, self-control, softening our sharp-cornered lives with more curves that necessitate a slower speed.
Read MoreGod Responds
Did God respond to the plea of Psalm 137? Absolutely! After seventy years in exile, every Jew who wanted to return to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and restore the temple was allowed to do so. And the Jews learned their lesson. While they were certainly not a sinless people after their chastisement, they never again struggled with the issue of idolatry. And to this day, they prize the Old Testament Scriptures above all.
Read MoreOur Great Challenge
Returning good for evil is not a complicated concept; it’s very simple. Yet it is rare. It’s one of the most difficult tasks we ever undertake in life. Let’s be honest. Forgiving an offense is much easier when the guilty person is contrite and has sincerely apologized. But when the offender takes delight in our suffering or personally benefits from our downfall, choosing to treat him or her kindly defies everything we know about justice and fair play.
Read MoreFree-Flowing Grace
In a piece titled “Forgiveness Is a Condition for Our Own Freedom,” Neil Anderson wrote the following: Forgiveness is not forgetting. People who try to forget find that they cannot. God says He will “remember no more” our sins (Hebrews 10:17), but God, being omniscient, cannot forget. “Remember no more” means that God will never use the past against us (Psalm 103:12).
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