The tongue is a slippery tool of the heart. The humble heart uses the tongue for blessing. The proud heart uses the tongue for cursing. It’s the same tongue, yet controlled by the heart. James does a brilliant job of addressing the tongue in James 3:1-12.
As I was reading through Scripture a couple months ago, my eyes jumped out looking at Job 42. Continue reading
A friend recently sent me this verse, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD. (Isa 54:17) This is certainly a promise given to Israel. Presently, Israel walks through her own valley, scattered around the world and waiting for the return of Messiah. Yet, there is great application to those who will trust in Jehovah, El – Shaddai (the All powerful One). Continue reading
I love hearing stories of people who have risen out of the ash heaps of life. They suffered terribly and through true grit, and/or miracles of God, they took on great opportunities to serve the Lord. I often get weary of people complaining about how difficult life is. Life is difficult! Normally, it’s from those of us who live in America. I get it. I know even in America where air conditioning is not an option, cell phones are standard equipment that comes with newborns (it seems), and it’s not a question of whether there is a chicken in every pot, but how many televisions every household has. We have stores that are loaded with food and merchandise. We have a medical system that surpasses everywhere on earth. Yet, we grow weary of life. It reminds me of the great passage in Jeremiah, Continue reading
Superbowl XLIX was one of the best that I’ve ever seen. I enjoyed the back and forth instead of a lop-sided rout. Many people are ripping Pete Carroll for the last Seahawk play call of a pass rather than a Marshawn Lynch run. And considering the odds, it would seem that a run would have been a better choice. But if New England’s Butler had been a tenth of a second later to the ball, the Seahawks would have been victorious. Continue reading
To skip over the shortest Psalm would be foolishness. Psalm 117, the shortest psalm, surrounds Psalm 118 with Psalm 119, the longest one. Psalm 117 is directive, hopeful and praise worthy. In all the joys and druthers of life, God is worthy of praise. Considering the redemption found only in the Lord Jesus motivates thankfulness to praise Him. Worshipping Him motivates your heart to lift your eyes heavenward for hope. Singing transforms your life to praise instead of self-pity. Then we slide into Psalm 118 with so many wonderful life-transforming principles. The middle verse of the Bible Continue reading
We celebrate birthdays as a way to acknowledge the Lord’s grace in our lives for each year of life. This life on earth is just a rehearsal for the real life to come in heaven for those who accept the Lord’s free gift of salvation. Moses wrote in his Psalm, Continue reading
Discipleship is THE important decision once a person is saved. It is the most important activity in life after the point of salvation. It has been taught and directed by many authors and pastors. One of the main ingredients is “counting the cost.” In order to pursue discipleship, Jesus said, Continue reading
The terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical publisher is just that – a terrorist attack. Whether Islam calls for killing those who demean an Islamic prophet (Koran), or not, highly planned attacks are not the solution. Then when a Muslim cleric defends the slaughter in Paris, there are obvious problems with the religion of “peace.”1 That would be like an evangelical pastor who believed someone on death row was innocent and the pastor openly declared an assault on the prison and killing of the guards would be appropriate. Fortunately masses in France are rising up against the attacks, but will the government have the “will” to stand up to the terrorists to not just capture them, but to remove them from being a threat? Continue reading
“The Voice” is one of those reality television shows involving singing competition. It apparently includes coaching competition between the four judges who mentors contestants they have chosen. The winner gets 100,000 dollars and recording studio opportunities. There have been seven successful seasons according to NBC. People love to hear others sing. The voice is a strong force. Continue reading
We’ve been looking at Edmund Burke’s statement, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” We saw that that approach to life was not a recent phenomenon, but began with Adam in the Garden of Eden. We saw that the good work a Christian is to disciple others to Christ. However, he first needs to be discipled. People often are not humble enough to go through the process of discipleship, and therefore do not learn how to disciple others. They think they are too busy, or too old, or they’ve been a Christian long enough and they just keep doing what they’ve been doing. What prevents people from starting the process? It is easy, because it is just helping another person grow spiritually. However, it is genuinely difficult, because every Christian has so many distractions away from that good work. Continue reading
Shepherding Truth 