Love Your Enemies

But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those […]

Gold in the Making

The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way? Proverbs 20:24 You and I could name things, specific things we’ve gone through in the last several years, that make no logical sense whatsoever . . . but that’s okay. We can’t figure them out. But let me assure you, God […]

Acquainted with All Our Ways

For the LORD sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. Proverbs 5:21 In the mystery of God’s will we sometimes come to a place where we cannot explain why things turned out as they did; yet, amazingly, we are still right in the middle of His will. It’s not that you […]

Entrusting Our Souls to God

If the righteous are rewarded here on earth, what will happen to wicked sinners? Proverbs 11:31 For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? And also, “If the righteous are barely […]

Hope Beyond Bitterness

Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Hebrews 12:15 If God has called you to be a Job—a rare calling—remember that the Lord is not only full of compassion, He is […]

God’s Sense of Humor

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. Proverbs 17:22 God’s sense of humor has intrigued me for years. What amazes me, however, is the number of people who don’t think He has one. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why they can’t see it. He […]

Guidance

God offers instruction, but then it’s our move. We must accept His instruction and apply it to our lives. Then, and only then, can we expect to cash in on the benefits of His instruction. So you see, application is the essential link between instruction and change.

Labels

Let’s Label. That’s a favorite parlor game among Christians. The rules are easy to remember. Any number can play. But it’s especially appealing to those who are given to oversimplification and making categorical comments. Name-droppers thrive on this game. And it helps if you speak with a measure of authority . . . looking somewhat pious and pronouncing your words very distinctly, very dogmatically.

Think with Discernment, Part Two

Discernment is essential. Undiscerning love spawns and invites more heresy than any of us are ready to believe. One of the tactics of survival when facing “the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16) is to make certain we have cinched up the belt of truth rather tightly around ourselves. And what helps us do battle with the enemy also strengthens us in relationships with friends.

Lifelines

I’m writing these words [originally] soon after my birthday. No big deal . . . just another stabbing realization that I’m not getting any younger. I know that because the cake won’t hold all the candles. Even if it could the frosting would melt before I’d be able to blow all of them out. My kind and thoughtful secretary reminded me of another approach I could take.

Tag Archives: Proverbs