The best questions to ask often have surprising answers. This is especially true in the Christian life. Much of Christianity is counterintuitive, even upside down from “common sense.” For instance, God’s Word states that it is better for one “to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). This idea is not one that any of us […]
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The Real Reason We’re Doing What We’re Doing
Just last month, my wife Cynthia and I were engaged in a cruise conference to the Greek Isles with some friends of Insight for Living Ministries. As we disembarked at Athens, we were near ancient Corinth, one of the sites where the apostle Paul ministered untiringly on his journeys. Anyone who visits Corinth’s marketplace will […]
Read MoreSpiritual Orienteering
Navigating life in the 21st century can be a complex and confusing game. Crucial decisions must be made as to which direction to take, and often the pace of the race leaves little time to stop and look at the map. The sport of orienteering began in Sweden about a hundred years ago. Orienteering involves […]
Read MoreNeeded Today: A Ministry of Encouragement
Henry Drummond’s remark haunts me at times: . . . how many prodigals are kept out of the Kingdom of God by the unlovely character of those who profess to be inside?1 Will you allow me, in this private chat with you, to pick out one “unlovely characteristic” frequently found in Christian circles . . […]
Read MoreA Sheltering Tree
Shortly before his death, Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote Youth and Age in which he reflected over his past and the strength of his earlier years. To me, the most moving line in this quaint work is the statement: “Friendship is a sheltering tree. . . .” How true . . . how terribly true! When […]
Read More30 Days to Finding the Freedom of Forgiveness
Living in a fallen world of people where we all sin and have been sinned against means we all need forgiveness and to grant forgiveness. Although they are not always easy tasks, doing so is worthwhile bringing freedom and blessing. This article is designed to create a better understanding and application of forgiveness. For the […]
Read MoreProphetic Momentum
I remember the time I spoke to American football’s Los Angeles Rams at their pregame chapel service, and later that night, they destroyed the Dallas Cowboys. The evening before Super Bowl XIV, I spoke to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they ripped the Rams apart the next day. Then I spoke to baseball’s L.A. Dodgers before […]
Read MoreHow Firm Is Your Foundation?
Gaps, cracks, and droops. Sticking doors, scraping windows, and sagging floors. If you live in a part of the world with soft soil or an extreme climate, you know about foundation problems. Unless you plant your piers on the bedrock, your house could very well shift, sink, or settle. In the same way, without digging […]
Read MoreThe Devil Made Me Do It?
More than thirty years ago Flip Wilson kept America in stitches with his television characters “Reverend Leroy,” the friendly, pompous pastor of the “Church of What’s Happening Now,” and “Geraldine Jones,” the sassy African-American woman in a miniskirt. Whenever Geraldine would impulsively buy a dress—or do anything she shouldn’t—she excused her urge by uttering the […]
Read MoreGetting Past Guilt: Overcoming Barriers to Feeling Forgiven
Puritan minister Richard Baxter warned about the emotional toll of carrying unnecessary guilt: “That sorrow, even for sin, may be overmuch. That overmuch sorrow swalloweth one up.”1 In his wonderful old English, Reverend Baxter captured the feelings of people who have not experienced forgiveness. Grief over past sins plunges them into a depth of sorrow. […]
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