Ever since I became a Christian it was my desire to reflect the character and image of God. I saw it was His desire too, for He said, “Be holy as I am holy”. Unfortunately, I failed miserably. Year after frustrating year I tried, but still saw very ugly fruit in my life.
Wouldn’t my constant reading and praying lead to obeying? It did not. No, something entirely different finally brought the transformation I desperately longed for. Continue reading
The message is all around us…it’s heard from pulpits, written about in books, and voiced in song. Be like God.
The message is within us….a constant voice in our head, keeping us forever conscious.Continue reading
I have this tendency. I think we all do. I think more about goodness than grace, and it always leaves me feeling condemned, not clean…and my life reflects it. But shouldn’t thinking about the ‘shoulds’ make us more obedient? Well, that’s where we miss it.
We constantly miss it because…Continue reading
One of the greatest challenges of life is to be satisfied and peaceful in the midst of the ordinary, everyday routine of life. It seems we’re always looking for the extraordinary, as though our life doesn’t count for much unless something out of the ordinary is happening.
Two weeks ago when I posted the Bible Identity Quiz for Five Minute Friday I said I would reveal the answer to the quiz along with a personal story concerning the liberating truth I discovered from my Bible study encounter with this “she” of the Bible. Here’s the story…well, the beginning of it anyway.
As someone who likes to write I’ve always been fascinated by Baruch, the man spoken of in Jeremiah 36, who was given the job of writing on a scroll every word of prophetic warning the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah to His people concerning their impending judgment. I’m intrigued by this faithful scribe Baruch, but there’s more to the story…
Difficult as it was to accept, I had to admit there were things that were true about me that were very tough to face. I was having a hard time getting past them….a very hard time. Even though I read that in Christ I was new, to look at my life it didn’t seem to be true. For years I tried to change what was true to what was new, but with no success. Exhausted and depleted from constant struggle, I finally realized… There is something greater than true.Continue reading
I’ve so enjoyed spending time studying and exploring God’s Word, and lately I’ve begun to discover something about myself. In one way or another, I seem to always attempt to encourage others to spend time in it too. To me it’s like a treasure hunt….there’s always some hidden gem to uncover. Continue reading
We say we love mercy, but do we? Really? We do…for our own sins, but what about the sins of others? Even worse, what about the sins of others…against us…against someone we love?
Betrayal, theft, slander, abuse, abandonment…and untold other offenses too horrendous to fathom.
Love mercy? Really?Continue reading
Maybe worship isn’t what we’ve thought. Maybe it’s more than singing and lifting our hands. Maybe, like the Israelites of old, we’ve settled for a shallow counterfeit of the real thing.
God’s people began to settle for the outward rituals of worship that God required, and thought it was enough. They were going through the motions. Are we?