Blog

Through The Pain

Romans 5:3 “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
Pain is a part of life.
None of us like to think about it but we know
this is true. In a world where comfort is valued above all else we can often ask ourselves “What did I do?” When we experience pain. Now, it is true that sometimes we experience pain because of our own choices.
Tags:  Through The Pain, Romans, God Is For You, Paul, Suffering

A Faith That Saves

Romans 10:9 “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Sometimes I feel sorry for people who are learning English, because we have words that sound the same but have different meanings. For example: None and nun. Are you talking about a quantity of zero or a religious sister? That’s confusing! Clicks and cliques. Are you referring to a type of sound or an exclusive group?
Tags:  A Faith That Saves, Romans, Paul, Trust, God Is For You

Good News . . .Bad News

Romans 3:23-24: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 
 
When someone says “I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news, which would you like first?” I always choose to hear the bad news first, for two reasons: One, because if I hear the good news first I won’t fully enjoy it knowing that there is bad news coming.  And two, maybe the bad news will cancel out the good news. So I want to hear the bad news first.
Tags:  Good News Bad News, Romans, Paul, God Is For You

DIY Religion

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast.”
I wish I were a better handyman. Often when things break around my house I go through a process of nervously trying to fix the item before eventually calling a professional to do the job right. Maybe you can relate to the struggle of doing it yourself. Home repair is not the only area where people try to DYI. Some even take a DIY approach to God. 
In Roman
Tags:  DIY, DIY Religion, Ephesians, Paul, Handyman, God Is For You

What’s Gotten into You?

Ephesians 6:12 “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
A few years ago my computer got a virus. I don’t know where or how I got it, but the effects were evident. It ran slower, windows would randomly open, and it was almost non functional. Luckily, I was able to take my system to our IT manager who was able to diagnose the unseen problem and remove it from my system. 
Tags:  Ephesians, Mark, Virus

Go For It!

Philippians 3:8  “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.”

 

A number of years ago I went cliff jumping with a couple of friends.  To be clear they had done this before and it was my first time!  I remember walking up to edge of the cliff, looking over, and stepping back.  I did this a number of times until eventually I decided to “go for it!”  What a rush. 

 

Tags:  Go For It, Paul, Philippians, Step of Faith, Faith

Humbling

Matthew 18:3 “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

Pride makes us do silly things. I was consulting with a company a number of years ago when one employee discovered that another employee was making a little more than him. He requested that his salary be raised to one dollar higher than his co-worker. The marginal increase made virtually no impact on his standard of living so I asked him why he made this request. He said that it was a matter of pride. 

 

Tags:  Humbling, Matthew, Pride

Give Thanks

1 Thessalonians 5:18  “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s Will for you in Christ Jesus.”

My daughter has worked at Chick-fil-a for the past year and truly loves her job.  One of the many things I admire about this company is its corporate culture and one of my favorite things they do is say “My Pleasure” to almost any request.  “Can I have another ice tea?”  “My Pleasure.”  “Can I have some extra sauce?”  “My Pleasure” I only wish my daughter would say “My Pleasure” when I ask her to clean her room!

Tags:  Paul, Thessalonians, Thankfulness, Give Thanks, My Pleasure

Finding God’s Will: Pray Continually

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”

Finding God’s will sounds mystical and complicated.  And often we are only concerned with the will of God when we feel stuck or confused.  But in 1 Thessalonians 5 we see three practical steps what will allow us to live in the will of God.  

Tags:  Finding Gods Will, Pray Continually, 1 Thessalonians, Ephesians, Mark

Tags