Parents, when your children sin and they are not respectful to you, how do you want to respond? If you make the matter primarily a personal offense against yourself and respond in anger and frustration, you will do what any ordinary parent might do. You might get angry at them. You might just let your children know how painful this is for you. You might yell. You might walk around in silent pain. You might tell your kids they have gone too far this time. All these responses would be ordinary and totally understandable. In this way you would associate God with the ordinary actions of ordinary people. When you give in to anger, resentment or self-pity at your children’s […]
Yearly Archives: 2013
380 posts
“Millions of Christians suffer from depression and bipolar disorder. Unfortunately, many of them suffer in silence because of the stigma mental illness often carries in Christian circles. I’m tremendously grateful for Good Mood, Bad Mood, a book that compassionately offers medical and theological insights for those affected by mental disorders. Dr. Hodges is equally at home parsing the relevant biblical texts as he is dispensing medical advice. Throughout the book he intersperses stories of real people struggling to find freedom; this is a must-read book.” –Drew Dyck, Managing Editor, Leadership Journal Click on the image below for more information.
Today we have a front row seat as we watch redemptive history unfold before our eyes. America will inaugurate Barack Obama as its President. Lest we forget this is God’s doing, not ours. God has reserved for himself the right to establish governments. Leaders and governments serve at God’s pleasure, not our desires. A hebrew prophet and a Babylonian king provide insight on how to view this Inauguration Day: He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner […]
In the context of our various trials we need wisdom to know how to function in those trials and circumstances; it is available from a giving God, and we are to ask for it (James 1:5). Our need is no different from Israel’s. We need not only the power of God to overwhelm our obvious enemies but also the wisdom of God to detect our subtle enemies. Unfortunately, the church too often craves God’s power while it ignores God’s wisdom. Dale Ralph Davis
Americans are fascinated by fame, either for themselves or by watching others in hot pursuit of fame. This attraction can be fatal. There is a fundamental reason for this attention to fame – we were designed to worship greatness. We were designed to be consumed with the glory of God, to whom there is no equal. Then came the fall of man in garden. Satan successfully persuaded Adam to question God’s greatness. Ever since then, humans have looking for fame in all the wrong places. Romans teaches us that a great exchange has taken place. God’s truth has been exchanged for a lie. Man now worships and serves things which are created instead of the One who creates: […]
Lance Armstrong’s admission of doping after years of vehement denials is just latest indication that the worship of fame dominates modern America. Manti Te’o is another star who had to invent a reason for fame. Romans 1 warns that the natural man will worship the created thing over the Creator. Fame has become a human convention that our culture craves. America ignores gross immoral behavior in her stars just as long as the stars blow us away with performance. There is only one cure for this fatal attraction – living for the exclusive glory of God. More about this later today. For now as you hear about Armstrong and others ask God for a heart of compassion for […]
What hope does a country have that has no fear of God? There is only one – repentance. Over time, unrepentant sin may lead to arrogance and self-importance. Ancient Nineveh was considered an important city. It was large and proud. And like today, bringing honor to God was not a priority. Honoring man was the priority. In other words the city was evil. Yet, when the King of Nineveh was confronted by God’s prophet, he did something extraordinary – he repented! When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: […]
Man was made for stories. We remember stories. We laugh at stories. We cry over stories. We are motivated by stories. Why? Because God made us to love stories. The legacy of a culture is told by narratives, not by encyclopedias. Even in a culture as bent on moving away from God as our current one is, there are still biblical stories etched into the minds of people in our culture. These biblical narratives transcend ideological barriers. The Prodigal Son, The Good Samaritan, the Christmas Story, and others speak of a God who may not be as easily dismissed as cultural elitists believe. While these narratives are often marred and confused in the culture, they still remain, and they still bring conviction […]
Christians have played a more vital role in history than is often thought. It is good to be reminded of those who have gone before. It is good for our children to learn of the courage, accomplishments and prayers of those who have trusted Christ. One such example is English navigator and seaman Sir Francis Drake (circa 1542 – 1598). Drake was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and was instrumental in defeating the Spanish Armada. Drake was the son of a Protestant preacher. Drake, like all figures of history, had strengths and weakness. But, as you can see from the prayer below, he was passionate about his faith in Christ. In 1577, while on his voyage around the […]
Last night Jodie Foster was a awarded a life-time achievement award at the annual Golden Globe Awards. Parents, her acceptance speech is a Proverbs 7 moment that must not be missed. Jodie Foster is an acclaimed actress. She is a skilled artist who has won numerous prestigious awards. She is also 50 and has two sons. In her acceptance speech she alluded to her homosexuality. For many, Ms. Foster, has lived out the American Dream. She is at the top of her profession, attractive, and appears to live as she pleases. She has children but is not restricted by marriage. But if you read her acceptance speech, a different picture emerges. (The speech can be easily located by a Google […]