OUTLINE: “seek”from zeteo – means to run through with the eyes any series or succession of men or things, and so to seek out, search through, make diligent search; to seek in order to find (Thayer). Jas 1:17Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, […]
Part 67 – The Deceitfulness of Sin Read More »
A woman says to her young daughter, “My dear, to find happiness in this world, you must find a good man to marry, preferably one that makes decent money, so you’ll never have to worry about things.” If I’ve heard this once, I’ve heard it a hundred times described to me by jaded women, including
Preoccupation With Being Happy Read More »
OUTLINE: Sin’s DeviceSin deceives us away from giving gratitude to God for whatever good things we DO have (e.g. whatever good health we enjoy). “Is there anything that is actually “unfair” in our lives???”The Spirit of Christ Says:– Be grateful– Pray within the sphere of this gratitude– Love– Rest, and take comfort in His promises PerspectivePeace, freedom,
Part 28 – The Deceitfulness of Sin Read More »
OUTLINE: Sin deceives us away from giving gratitude to God for whatever good things we DO have, including whatever health we DO have. Sin, he is a liar remember… Sin wants to coax you into thinking God is unfaithful… that your Deliverer has left you or forgotten about you… or even worse, that your Deliverer
Part 1 – Sin Deceives Us Away From Our Healer/Deliverer Read More »
Every year, my congregation and I celebrate our Lord’s birth with a special Christmas message. Over the years, it has varied quite a bit. Thinking back, I can remember messages that were focused on the supreme nature of the One who became a man to die for our sins. I also remember deeply heartfelt messages
“So, what do you want to be when you grow up?” Did you ever get sick of being asked that question as a youngster? I did. As an adult, in retrospect, I see it as a loaded question. What I mean is that the implications are twofold. First, at what age is it appropriate to stop asking
Embracing Your God-Given Niche Read More »
We have all heard the phrase “Heaven on Earth” used to described immense pleasure, often associated with emotions such as peace and joy. What is it, really, though, according to the Bible??? If we hold fast to the tenets of peace and joy being the transcendent qualities, we are left with a discussion focused on
If you were to interview those who have been deemed the “greatest” in their respective sport, each of them would concede that perfection is impossible (except for maybe a bowler). They’d likely go on to tout incredible discipline, evidenced by long, tedious hours of practice, often over years, sometimes even decades. Still, perfection for them
Practice Makes Perfect Read More »
The most self-absorbed “person” I’ve ever known is my own flesh. If we’re being totally honest, we can all make the exact same proclamation without hesitation…not about me – LOL – about ourselves (nice try). I mean, whom do we know better than ourselves? Which “self”, the old or the new, have we spent more time with
The Practical Side to Self-Absorption Read More »
I’ve looked. I swear I have. And you know what? I can’t find anywhere in the Bible that describes true happiness in terms of belly laughs. To be fair, the Bible also doesn’t preclude hearty enjoyment. In fact, it may just be a function of the freedom a person already possesses. Happy people tend to laugh more,
Burned Out Happiness Read More »