One winter day while a Chilean peasant was tending his cattle along a long, deep gorge in a remote area of the Andes, he saw two gaunt, bearded figures across the chasm. Thinking they were terrorists, he ran and hid. The next day he returned and saw they were still there. He quickly gathered a pencil, some paper, and a stone, wrapped them in a handkerchief, and heaved them across to the strangers.
Read MoreTag Archives: First Thessalonians
Absolute Honesty
As honesty and real integrity characterize our lives, there will be no need to manipulate others. We’ll come to the place where all the substitutes will turn us off once we cultivate a taste for the genuine, the real.
Read MoreCrowns God Sets Aside for His Servants, Part 1
There are at least five crowns promised in the Bible. For our purpose here, I will simply list the eternal crowns mentioned in the New Testament and offer a brief explanation of each. We’ll cover three today and two tomorrow.
Read MoreEliminating the Pornography Snare
At a recent church meeting of twenty fathers and their preteen sons, the group leader asked which of them had never struggled to stop viewing pornography. Only one man raised his hand. Nearly all had experienced, or were experiencing, a desperate struggle with ensnaring temptations and sins related to viewing pornography. When asked when and […]
Read MoreLove Offers a Place to Unload
Imagine two mountain hikers trudging along, each carrying a backpack. The one on the left has a light pack that a child could carry. The poor soul on the right is so loaded down we can’t even see his head or body . . . just a couple of spindly legs wobbling under the burden […]
Read MoreUnwise Cracks
“There are no exceptions to the rule that everybody likes to be an exception to the rule.” This quip seems especially true for exceptional individuals. Take Solomon for example. God told him, “I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one […]
Read MoreWhy You Can Have Confidence in the Bible
What is your final authority in life? Before you answer too quickly, think about it for a few moments. When you’re cornered, when you’re facing an intimidating obstacle, when you’re forced to deal with reality, upon whom or what do you lean? There can be no more reliable authority on earth than God’s Word, the […]
Read MoreThe Problem With Prayer
For many, there appears to be a problem with prayer. “It’s a one-way conversation.” “It doesn’t seem to work.” “God takes too long to answer.” “God does what He wants anyway.” Crushed between the mortar and pestle of life, it’s easy to think there’s a serious problem with prayer: God. When God doesn’t answer according […]
Read MoreHelping Men Who Are Addicted to Internet Sex: For Pastors
Scripture to reference: Galatians 6:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–5; 2 Timothy 2:2; 1 John 1:9 “Pastor, I need to speak with you.” “Of course,” you reply to the man on the phone and set a time to meet that afternoon. It’s one of your leaders at the church, Sam. Later, when he arrives at your office, […]
Read MoreMoral Purity
Holiness sounds scary. It need not be, but to the average person it is. Our tendency is to think that holiness would never find its way into the office of a salesperson—certainly not that of an aggressive and successful athletics coach. Nor would a mother of small children be that concerned about holiness, nor a […]
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