Yesterday, April 29th, Jameis Winston was suspended from the FSU Baseball team because he allegedly shoplifted $32.72 worth of groceries from a Publix in Tallahassee, Florida. This is the same Jameis Winston who is the quarterback of the national champion FSU football team. This is the same man who freely admitted that he had consensual sex with another FSU student while two of his friends watched the encounter. Even though there are serious questions about how the investigation of this event was handled by authorities, Winston was found not to have committed a crime. Therefore, no suspension for the Heisman Trophy winner. Why? Because there is no stigma associated with what the Bible clearly calls sexual immorality. Apparently this […]
Monthly Archives: April 2014
27 posts
Should you prepare your children for war? The short answer is yes. War is brutal, ugly, devastating. Yet, war continues to be a primary means of settling human disputes, public or private. The reason is obvious if you have a biblical view of man. All humans are born as Satan’s allies at war with God (Eph. 2:1-3). For Christians, who have been changed by the grace of God, this war then shifts as a battle between the flesh and the Spirit (Gal. 5). Governments are made of people. Everyone who is in a position of leadership is also someone involved in war. They are at war with themselves, they are at war with God and their fellow man. Even countries […]
The Privilege of Corporate Worship Coming before the Living God in corporate worship is a blessing secured for you by Christ. Participation in corporate worship is a profound privilege. Renew your mind in worship as your encounter the power of the trinity. Pray that you will be blown away that you stand before God in the righteous robes of Christ. Don’t hide this wonder from your children. Have the courage to be transformed as your mind, your heart rejoices in the beauty of God’s holiness! Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing […]
Biblically, self-control is not a behavior issue, as in “get control of yourself.” Rather, it is an issue of the gospel. Self-control is actively following what God wants via the instruction of the Spirit in his word. This makes self-control an issue of walking by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:13-23) Therefore, self-control is not about changing behavior. Self-control is the good yield of the Holy Spirit’s work producing his fruit. It is helpful to describe self-control this way: Self-control is the ability to say no to my wrong desires and yes to what God wants me to do. Prayer for Self-Control: Father, please help me to say no to sin and yes to obedience and pleasing you. I really want to […]
Winning the lottery offers an immediate cure for all of our worries. Or for those of us not into gambling, a close friend or relative winning the lottery and giving us a nice piece of the lottery pie would work just as well. These thoughts are subtle temptations to doubt the value of God’s word. The truth is you already have a gift that is literally worth more than millions dollars! That gift is the Bible. I know this sounds idealistic, spiritual, but not practical. However, it is vital not to miss the obvious illustrations that the Bible provides to show how practical it is. For example look at Psalm 119:72: “The law from your mouth is more […]
It is tempting to think we can avoid the difficult times of life. But Jesus told us in Matthew 7 that regardless of whether one is rich or poor, wise or unwise, prepared or unprepared, young or old, the storms will come. Still, when they do come we are often surprised. “Why is this happening?” We forget that we live in a sin-cursed world. We are told we can be safe. We believe we can protect ourselves. We believe that we are entitled to safety and peace. We believe that the purpose of human relationships is to make us happy and fulfilled. The truth is all assurances of safety on earth ended at the fall. Don’t […]
Humans by nature have a tendency to spiritually judge situations according to the way they feel to us. If something feels bad, we tend to adopt a critical attitude and point fingers at Satan. If something feels good, we praise God for the great thing he has done. Rather than arguing over who caused what to happen, it is better to focus on which perspective or lens we will view it through—the eternal or the temporal. Through the eternal lens we are reminded that “in all things [good and bad] God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). I’m not saying that there isn’t a Devil or that […]
Confidence for you and your children comes from desiring God. Proverbs 3:5&6 is a familiar passage that warns against trusting yourself and your own understanding. Verse six links trusting God with acknowledging God in every thing you do. Here are the verses: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. The depth of the word translated “acknowledge” is lost in many translations. One respected commentator translates verse 6 this way: in all your ways desire his presence, and he will make your paths straight and smooth. Note that “desire his presence” replaces “acknowledge”. The root […]
Three former NASA astronauts will present evidence on Earth Day, April 22, that it is only blind luck that has prevented a city from being wiped out by an asteroid impact. The astronauts report that since 2001 26 asteroids have impacted the earth with the force of a nuclear weapon. So far these impacts have occurred over remote areas of the planet. Thus the astronauts claim that it is only blind luck that a catastrophic event has not impacted a city. No doubt your children will hear about these dire warnings in a school setting or from some other source. Your kids need to know that it is not blind luck that cities have been spared from an asteroid […]
The stone was rolled away for you! Matthew tells us that an angel from heaven came down in plain view of the soldiers who were guarding the sealed tomb. The soldiers watched in shock as the angel rolled away the stone from the tomb and sat on it. If we were there we would have expected to see Jesus walk out into the morning light. There was just one problem. The tomb was already empty. Just as he could not be hindered from entering in a locked room, he could not be contained by the sealed tomb. The stone was not rolled away so that Jesus could escape. It was rolled away so that you would […]