The Ideal Combination

“What is your favorite feeling?” When my sister, Luci, asked me that question recently, my brain began to click through a dozen or more possibilities. Being a person to whom feelings are extremely important, I had a tough time selecting one. Finally, I landed on “accomplishment.” There is nothing quite as satisfying as crossing off the last item on my to-do list at the end of a busy day.

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How to Be Salt and Light

God calls us to be salt-and-light Christians in a bland, dark society. We need to remember salt must not lose its taste and light must not be hidden. Let me suggest three statements that declare and describe how to fulfill this role . . .

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Jesus Values Our Obedience

Reading the words of our Savior, we need to realize the tremendous emphasis He put on obedience. As I think about appropriating Christ’s model and commands, three specifics seem important enough to mention.

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The Strength of Serving Others

Jesus said a strong thing to Peter when He spoke these words: “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me” (John 13:8). Our Lord’s rebuke introduces a convicting observation: being a servant is not a sign of inner weakness but of incredible strength.

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Graciously Receiving and Giving

Being a super high-achiever, I must confess I find it difficult to receive from others. Really difficult. I’m usually on the giving end, not the receiving. My pride fights hard to stay intact when receiving generosity.

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Being a Servant Is Unannounced

As Jesus prepared to wash His disciples’ feet, He never said, “Men, I am now going to demonstrate servanthood—watch my humility.” No way. That kind of obvious pride was the trademark of the Pharisees. If you wondered whether they were humble, all you had to do was hang around them awhile. Sooner or later they would announce it . . .

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Proud Hearts and Dirty Feet

The gentle and humble lifestyle of the Savior is nowhere more evident than in the account of John 13, where He washed the feet of His friends, the disciples. In that event, He left us some timeless principles we dare not ignore regarding serving God.

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A Self-Description of Jesus

I’ve been involved in a serious study of Scripture for more than fifty years of my life, and in all that time I have found only one place where Jesus Christ—in His own words—describes His own “inner man.” In doing so, He uses only two words. Unlike most celebrities, those words are not phenomenal and great. Jesus doesn’t even mention that He was sought after as a speaker.

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Three Timely Lessons for God’s Servants

In recent posts, I have written about God’s servants feeling used and unappreciated, experiencing undeserved disrespect and resentment, and having hidden greed—a desire to be rewarded. From these very real and common perils, there emerge at least three timely lessons for all of us to remember.

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Seven Impossibilities Jesus Made Possible

Impossible!                                Has this word crossed your lips lately as you peer at an unsolvable problem? The dictionary defines impossible as “incapable of being done, attained, or fulfilled: insuperably difficult.”1Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Ed., ed. Frederick C. Mish, (Springfield, Mass: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2008), s.v. “Impossible.” So, what’s your “insuperably difficult” circumstance? Perhaps an adult child […]

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