-
Who’s in Control?
Ah, control. We all like being in control, but so often we lose it. It could be your mouth with the words that spill out of it, your appetite with how much you keep eating, your thoughts such as giving in to worry, or your time management with how much you spend on your phone, watching TV, etc instead of other needed things. Sometimes we seem to be in control of ourselves while other times we might look like an erupting volcano. Lack of control is sin. Very often people want to blame the devil for their sin problems. While he certainly knows our weaknesses and how to tempt us…
-
Daily Gratitude
At the end of October the ladies ministry at our church had a fall event with the theme, “In Everything Give Thanks.” With us entering the Thanksgiving season (for those who don’t skip it and move on to Christmas as soon as the calendar flips to November 😂), I wanted our hearts and minds to start focusing on gratitude and thanksgiving. I don’t know about you, but I love to hear my family tell me “thank you” whether it’s something I have done for them or when I cook a meal or whatever. It’s one of those things that makes my face and heart smile. Know what I mean? 💜…
-
Equal in His Eyes
As Christians we aren’t supposed to judge, are we? Yet, we are human and make mistakes DAILY. In particular I have found a group of people I have judged quite a bit. You see this group on street corners holding signs. I have avoided eye contact. I don’t want them to see me reading their signs; I want to be in denial about their needs. The judging begins immediately. “Why don’t they get a job?” my mind says. “If I give them money, will they really spend it on food OR drugs and alcohol?” Several years ago a friend and I volunteered for a homeless charity in our area to…
-
The Lost Fruit of Meekness
Meekness seems like weakness to most, because it goes against everything in our human nature. It is nearly a lost attribute in the world today. In our human nature, we are prideful people, full of ourselves – our self-worth, our abilities, and our potential. Today’s culture teaches it loud and clear with “believe in yourself” and “you can do anything.” It’s all about your own inner strength and power. Meekness is NOT seen as a virtue. As believers in Jesus Christ, is this a wrong way to think? Let’s see what the Bible teaches about meekness which is a fruit of the Spirit (and the eighth in our series from…
-
Moral Superiority
As humans, we like to be right. It often shows in our conversations with others. Most of us like to think well of ourselves too, and in the event we do something wrong, then we usually have an excuse to justify our actions. I believe our single biggest proponent for sinning is pride. Self-righteousness is a form of pride. We believe we are thinking right, doing right, saying the right things, etc. We see ourselves as good. “Behold how idolaters disagree: one adores righteous self, and another worships sinful self; but both idols must be utterly abolished.” Charles Spurgeon We do not read the words “self-righteousness” in the Bible, yet…
-
Living by Faith
“God makes a promise.Faith believes it.Hope anticipates it.Patience quietly awaits it.” D. L. Moody What is faith? It is the seventh fruit of the Spirit in our series. Hebrews chapter 11 known as the “Hall of Faith” gives a list of men and women from the Old Testament who lived by faith despite obstacles or the unknown or other things that would normally make a person doubt. The chapter opens in verse one with a definition or description of faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith and hope go together; when we have faith in God, we have…
-
Being Good Isn’t Good Enough
You may have heard the phrase “a good man” or “a good woman” as I have. When you think of a good person, what qualities do you think of? As a believer of Jesus Christ, we are to have the quality of “goodness” which is the sixth fruit of the Spirit in our series (Galatians 5:22-23). As I mentioned before, I think the order of the characteristics in this list are important. The characteristics listed in the fruit of the Spirit cannot be achieved until we are growing the first in the list – love. We can do good works such as serve at church or a local charity, but…
-
Consider Your Ways
Lessons Learned from Haggai When reading through the Bible you will get to books you normally may not have chosen to read, but as you do, the Lord encourages, convicts, and opens your eyes to truths you never saw before. The book of the minor prophet Haggai is a short two chapters, but several truths were brought out in my reading last week. The book begins in the year of 520 BC when the Israelites, God’s chosen people, were released from captivity and allowed to go back to their homeland which still lay in ruin from the many years of invasions. Those who returned begin to rebuild (Ezra 1-6), and…
-
Be Gentle!
When I gave birth to my son, Andrew, Elizabeth was only 18 months old so when my parents brought her to the hospital to meet her new brother, she thought he was a baby doll. She sat on the hospital bed beside me while I held my sleeping newborn. We told her to “Be gentle!” as she carefully patted his head. Her idea that he was a baby doll was soon to change. 😉 “Be gentle!” is a phrase you often hear around young children when they are “petting” a dog or “loving” on a new baby. We want them to contain their uninhibited energy. While growing up, our neighbor…