Saul responded to his crisis the same way that many of us response to ours: by digging in—to work harder, to eliminate distractions, and to deny ourselves any enjoyment until the final battle is won. Unfortunately, that strategy didn’t work then—and it still doesn’t work now.
Read MoreBut true blessings cannot be earned or purchased. They must be received. And many of us are on the verge of losing some great gifts because we have never learned to receive.
Read MoreOne of the deductions that we can safely make from this statement is that in order to have a relationship with God, you’ve got to think on an entirely new level. You've got to raise your thinking about yourself, other people, and your situation.
Read MoreLight is always used in the scriptures as a metaphor for God. 1 John 1:5 informs us that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” So it seems that one source of inferiority is who we allow to be our light! Whenever we allow others to stand between us and God, they block us from the true source of identity, satisfaction and meaning, and cause us to linger in the shadows.
Read MoreI remember that whenever we had a substitute teacher in school, we traumatized the poor creature. The sub didn’t know us, so my elementary school assassins and I used conceivable strategy to avoid learning. We tried stuff with the substitute that we would never try with the real teacher. To us, the equation was simple: sub=no work
Read MoreIn fact, there are many people who believe that the pandemic was one of the best things that could have happened to the Body of Christ, because it forced us to rediscover what the church really is and what the church is really about.
Read MoreIt is my prayer that you become more mission-minded than money minded. Because most of the important things in life, money can’t buy.
Read MoreYou can win not only if you can knock your opponent out. You can also win if your opponent doesn’t knock you out!
Read MoreA graceful exit is when you realize that what’s possible may not be beneficial, and you bow out—without regret or remorse
Read MoreOne reason (or two) why so many promising people fail to reach their potential is because we tend to underemphasize the advantages of disadvantages (or the disadvantages of advantages).
Read MoreGod always chooses the left out, the looked over, and the left out.
Read MoreIt seems that Jesus has an eye for underutilized assets. It is clear from the Gospels that he was always finding value in overlooked people, places and things.
Read MoreOne writer opined that “self pity is easily the most destructive of the non-pharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure, and separates the victim from reality. Along with resentment, it perhaps one of the most toxic emotions.”
Read More…we all have a tendency to think that success means going back to way things were (in whatever period of the past we had the most fun, experienced the most success, or had best adjusted to). But Jesus offers a radical (and necessary) corrective to that idea. He warns us not to cling to the past.
Read MoreAn unreasonable demand is a demand that the demandee doesn’t have the capacity to execute. Unreasonable demands set you up for disappointment, and introduce tension to otherwise healthy relationships.
Read MoreBut the best agenda to be on in life and in your prayer life is God’s agenda! This is why every Christian should end every prayer with the expression “not my will, but thine be done.”
Read MoreThere is a relationship between prayer and victory. When you pray, you set you and your family up to WIN.
Read MoreAs the 25 year old son of an elite Roman family, Caesar was an extremely valuable prize. He was captured, and was informed that the ransom price was 20 talents—which at the time was a very considerable sum. According to Plutarch, Caesar laughed and told them that their asking price was too low and suggested that they raise it to 50 talents! They did, and sold him back.
Read MoreIn his poem If, Rudyard Kipling suggests that one of the great challenges of life is dual ability to “walk with crowds and keep your virtue” and “walk with Kings and not lose the common touch.” Neither are easy, and the latter may be harder. But keeping the common touch will get your further faster.
Read MoreAfter being struck by what is arguably the most poisonous arrow in the human quiver, Jesus stayed focused and stayed grateful.
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