Living by faith means that I take God at his word and live my life accordingly. But how can I trust God when I don’t understand? What does it mean when bad things happen? How can I know what God wants from me? Join me in exploring what it means to live by faith…
Freedom: Claiming Your Freedom
[Continued from Freedom: Are You Free?] In the beginning, God gave to mankind the freedom to choose their own thoughts, actions and attitudes. We were never free to choose the thoughts, actions or attitudes of others. Freedom never meant freedom from responsibility or to choose the consequences of our actions; external laws and circumstances will affect us whether we want them to or not. For example, if I choose to jump out of a tree, [...]
Freedom: Are You Free?
Freedom is a concept that is often misunderstood. In America, we consider freedom, or liberty, to be one of the defining attributes of our nation and we fight vehemently to keep the hard-earned freedoms that our founding fathers provided for us. We hear references in the news to the many civil rights we enjoy in this country, and sometimes we argue over exactly how far those rights reach. But as cherished and dearly purchased as [...]
Let It Go!
If you have children in your life, there is a good chance you have seen the movie, Frozen. In fact, if your household is anything like mine, you may have seen it many times. What is it about the movie that has had such an impact? For those not familiar with the story, Elsa is born with the ability to manipulate ice and snow. Early in the tale, Elsa accidently injures her little sister Anna [...]
The Hardening of a Heart
There is a unique interplay between our choices and actions and those of the Lord God. Sometimes I get hints from Scripture that the “consequences of our actions” may be more interactive than we believe. The story of Moses and Pharaoh is a good example (Exodus 7-11). God sends Moses to plead with Pharaoh for the release of His people, but He warns Moses, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that I may multiply My signs [...]
Your Source of Joy
For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? For you are our glory and joy. 1 Thess. 2:19-20 What will be your source of joy when the Lord Jesus appears in His glory? Barry McGuire recorded a song in 1973 titled “Enter In.” In it, he tells of three men who each come to stand before the [...]
Whatever is Not From Faith
In Romans chapter 14 (see also 1 Corinthians 8), Paul talks to the believers about their differing convictions. Because the meat they could purchase in the marketplace often had been sacrificed in pagan temples, some of the believers had chosen to avoid meat altogether and eat only vegetables. Others chose to eat the meat, knowing the many “gods” were not real gods and that there is only One True God and therefore meat is just meat. [...]
Whose Fruit Are You Bearing?
At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry was John the Baptist. We read in the gospel of Matthew that he was the one referred to by the prophet Isaiah, sent as a forerunner of the Messiah to prepare the way for His coming. (Matt 3:1-3) When John saw that many of the Pharisees and Sadducees were coming to him for baptism, he declared, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to [...]
Hindered by Unbelief
And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. Matthew 13:58 Matthew tells us that when Jesus visited His hometown, He went into the synagogue to teach, as He often did. We read that the people were astonished at His wisdom. They recognized there was something different about Him. But it ended up that “they took offense at Him (13:57).” Why? Because they thought they knew Him. They remembered Him as a [...]
A Measure of Faith
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 Jesus talked a lot about faith. In fact, He frequently made comments like, “Your faith has made you well” when He healed someone, or “You of little faith…” when His disciples came to Him in fear or failure. When we talk about faith, we often use the word “faith” to refer to “my religious beliefs.” Sometimes we [...]
New Year – New Beginnings
We celebrate the New Year with hope. The New Year gives us hope because it offers new possibilities and a chance to start fresh. New Year’s resolutions express our determination to do it better this time and not make the same mistakes. We are attracted to the new. Advertisers know it. They stamp “New and Improved!” on their products because they know it is sure to grab our attention. Kittens, puppies, newborn babies, and flowers [...]
The Opportune Moment
There are two Greek words used in the New Testament for time. The one we hear most often is chronos, which generally refers to chronological time. The other is kairos, which refers to “the right or opportune moment.” An ancient Greek poem inquires of Kairos, the Greek god of “the fleeting moment”, “And why does your hair hang over your face? For him who meets me to take me by the forelock. And why, [...]
Paradox
Look carefully at this triangle. It is called a Penrose Triangle and illustrates the concept of a paradox. A paradox is something that seems absurd or contradictory. Our common sense tells us it should be one way, but in truth it is something else. If you are familiar with the artwork of M.C. Escher, he created several works that illustrate visual paradox. [You can view Escher’s work online at www.mcescher.com. See especially: Belvedere (1958), Ascending [...]