Most of us get it backwards. We think the key to the life we’ve always wanted is to believe the right things and behave the right way. Just take a look at social media. Facebook Philosophers regularly post one-liners, pics and quotes intended to inspire, challenge, convict and guilt people into changing what they believe [...]
Have you ever watched a child on a swing? Not when they use the swing as it was designed, but when they sit on the swing and twist it in circles. It can be fun. The chains that hold up the swing become more and more twisted until the child simply isn’t strong enough to [...]
James 3 “Am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been, has, have, had, do, does, did, shall, will, should, would, may, might, must, can, could.” Those are verbs of being. I learned the list in 5th grade from a teacher named Mrs. Hoggard. She was a teacher from the old school. I’ll confess. There are times I [...]
Starting the book of James today. Five chapters, five days. Another entire book of the Bible! Keep reading! James 1 I like chocolate. Ice cream is my desert of choice. Me and cookies and milk, we get along. I have an appetite for these things. I find them tempting. When I’m the least bit hungry, [...]
1 John 4 This week my church hosted an event called the Passion Week Experience. It’s a fresh look at an ancient practice. People experience eight stations of the cross and interact with the elements and events that led to Jesus’ crucifixion. The experience is deeply personal, emotional and meaningful. As a Believer it’s a story with which [...]
1 John 3 I don’t like pain. Who does? It hurts. It’s inconvenient. It puts in me in a bad mood. It slows me down. Pain changes the way I interact with others. It causes me to focus on myself rather than see the needs of the people around me. People in pain don’t react the [...]
1 John 2 I have a topic that’s heavy on my heart and related to 1 John 2, but I’m not ready to address it directly. It’s not enough to speak the truth. You should speak it well. The way you deliver the truth is as important as the truth being delivered. So here are a few [...]
1 John has 5 chapters. Let’s read one chapter each day. In 5 days you will have read an entire book of the Bible! 1 John 1 I like good people. The world is full of good people. The problem is that good is not the standard. Jesus is the standard. Following him isn’t about [...]
1 Peter 4 Shame doesn’t seem to have much influence these days. Reality TV, YouTube, even the nightly news prove that people are willing to do almost anything for 15 minutes of fame. In spite of this fact our culture still likes to use shame to try to motivate people to do things their way. “You smoke!? [...]
1 Peter 2 I placed my faith in Christ when I was 9 years old. I grew up in church, so I’ve been around information about Jesus and what it means to follow Christ for a long time. There’s so much about following Jesus that is counter-cultural. It’s backwards from what the world says to do. It’s [...]