I like informality. I love working from my home office in flip-flops and bermudas. Ceremony is not my bailiwick. Most people today are non-traditional as well. The laid-back approach has won the day in our time.
That kind of approach, however, does not work well with God, not even having gained the right to call him Father. Continue reading
Jesus is no more a newborn king,
But now, exalted in heaven, is reining,
To the Son of Man the virgin Mary gave birth,
He came to save mankind from sin, in death. Continue reading
Why do poets off themselves
Five times more than others do?
Besides the fact that no one reads
Their work, though every soul approves?
To their own self they seek to be true.
On praise alone no poet feeds.
With finer gauge his brain is wired
(Though his is not a greater heart),
With words he seeks to order the world;
In lines and meter is he inspired
To repair what sin has torn apart,
To smooth the Fall that left him gnarled.
What hopeless task! His words lack force
For such a work — No man can win! —
This power can God alone provide.
What poet will seek in God his source?
With spoken light will he begin?
No wonder he choses suicide!
Adopting an infinite mindset in a world consumed by the finite can absolutely cost a leader their job. —Simon Sinek
CVS bucked the financial bottom line in order to look out for the health of their clients. They stopped selling cigarettes. They adopted what Sinek calls, above, an infinite mindset. Against all predictions, it paid off big for them.
There’s a spiritual principle here. We’re not talking about business or leadership, but rather the Kingdom of God and service to the Lord Jesus Christ. But the quote splashes over into heavenly realities.
In spiritual terms, how is the finite view identified? What does it look like? How does it act? Here are some points. Continue reading
People who believe that God wants to enrich their bank accounts and solve all their health issues engage in materialistic thinking. The health-and-wealth gospel gets just about everything wrong about God and the Good News. In the New Testament, there is no promise of exterior change. On the contrary, Paul tells us to remain where we are, in the condition we find ourselves, 1 Corinthians 7. The Good News is about transformation of the interior and the destiny of our eternal soul.
Closer to home, people who believe that, in order to be a viable congregation, it must have its own building, a full-time paid preacher, and some sort of association with an organized, official school also engage in materialistic thinking. (I see and hear this all the time in missions.) That’s a modern-day formula for church growth and health that many of our people have bought into. Not to mention even the denominational groups who are into professional shows, massaged messages, and mega-everything. You’ll not find any of that anywhere in the New Testament. Continue reading
The longer on earth a saint remains,
The stronger grows desire for heaven;
The body feels its aging pains,
And more to God’s own side he’s driven.
The heavier load of life directs
The sight of faith to things above;
To Jesus’ cross my trial connects,
To service the Holy Spirit drove.
Oh, Lord Messiah, come for me!
Break open the clouds with angels’ shout!
The humble soul would soon see
The end of Satan’s and saints’ dispute!
Describe how your difficulties have increased your desire for eternal things.
For the children. Can be sung to the tune of “Jesus Loves Me.”
Jesus changes everything!
Now with him my heart can sing.
He gives me a peaceful mind.
Love and happiness I find. Continue reading
God created man and woman and joined them in marriage. Needs are met mutually as each serves the other. The family is the basis of all good society. Marriage holds many blessings. Bless the Lord for his gift of uniting man and woman together!
Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease, because it robs a person of his memory. People have had mates or parents ask, “Who are you?” Such loss of memory robs one of his life.
Normal people forget, too. Sometimes forgetting is a coping mechanism. Victims of accidents and other trauma often cannot remember the moments surrounding the event.
Sometimes it’s just natural for facts, truths, and ideas to get crowded out. Sometimes it’s lack of attention. At other times, it’s deliberate, such as when false teachers “forgot” the flood as evidence of the non-continuity of creation, in 2 Pt 3.5. Continue reading
NOTE: This article uses simple English for the widest possible audience.
In ancient times, a powerful man named Naaman caught a horrible skin disease. The disease eats away the body’s limbs. It would eventually kill him.
Naaman was commander of the armies of Syria. He was a pagan. He did not worship the one true God.
Naaman heard that he could be cured of his disease in Israel. Israel was God’s people before Jesus arrived on the earth. The Syrian commander was directed to Elisha, a man of God. Continue reading
