Discerning the will of God isn’t hard; the Bible is clear what we are to do As Paul wraps up his first letter to the Thessalonian church, he slips in three quick instructions. These concise commands seem like soundbites. And once he delivers them, he concludes that doing these things is the will of God […]
Through Jesus We Can Discover Our Response to Violence and Oppression Seldom a day goes by when we don’t hear of terrorists who commit violence and murder in the name of their faith. These religious zealots believe a higher calling gives them the right to kill others in order to elevate their beliefs. This seems […]
Jesus Provides a Simple Solution For Us to Follow When We Face Opposition Recently a friend asked for some assistance at a writers conference, for help in modeling a writer critique process. I and several others were happy to volunteer. We arrived at the session and disbursed ourselves throughout the room, each sitting at a […]
Supernatural Conversations With the Divine Can Happen If We’re Ready to Listen For much of my life I believed what well-meaning people taught me. They said I could talk to God through prayer, and he would talk to me through the Bible, but that I couldn’t directly hear from God. Though both methods provided one-way […]
Daniel Reads the Scriptures, Fasts, and Prays, Confessing the Sins of His People When I think of praying, confessing my faults to God is not the first thing that comes to mind. And when I am convicted of the need to admit to an errant act or a missed opportunity, I don’t linger there. I […]
Emulate the Man Who Drove Merchants from the Temple and Denounced Hypocrisy When I blogged about the need for a male role model, I wondered if the life of Jesus might stand as an example for men to follow. Is he the perfect blend of godly power and God-intended masculinity? Indeed the character and actions […]
When Paul writes to the church in the city of Colossi, he says he always gives God thanks when he prays for them. He doesn’t just give God thanks for them occasionally but always. This is because of their faith in Jesus and their love for all God’s people—not some of them or the ones […]
Pray with Intension As a kid I took seriously the warning in the Bible to avoid vain repetition when we pray. Even at a young age I knew that reciting a memorized prayer over and over did not impress God. In fact I suspected it sorely vexed him. Given this I was highly critical of […]
Be Careful What We Sing at Church The tempo was upbeat and the song was inviting. Though new to me, I picked it up quickly. On the third time through the chorus, I started really contemplating the words—and I stopped singing. Really, I did—right in midsentence. The words were wrong. Though it’s technically illegal for […]
Don’t Celebrate Your Successes and Hide Your Shortcomings A friend once told how he gave his TV away; he didn’t want one anymore. It was a spiritual act, a voluntary fast from television and the distractions it provided, in order to give him more time for God and family. He reveled in his decision and […]