Last night 12 Dallas police officers were targeted and ambushed. At least 5 are dead. This morning thousands of law enforcement officers will go to work knowing that they too are potential targets of ambush. Why? Because they are committed to something more than their own good. As Paul says in Romans 13, those in law enforcement are “God’s servants for your good”. It is important to pray for the broken and hurting in Dallas. Indeed, pray for the safety of all of those in law enforcement. But it is equally important that we do more than pray. Christians must have the courage to be salt and light. We must stand for truth. We must not be part of the […]
Monthly Archives: July 2016
27 posts
You introduce your children to a new friend. With a big smile you say, “Here is my collection of living, breathing trials. I can’t wait for you to meet them.” Your friend says, “Did you just call your children trials?!?” You reply, “Yes, yes I did. Honesty is the best policy and honestly, trials are exactly what they are, all three of them. Care for lunch?” I know, sort of a bizarre conversation, isn’t it. Or is it? When things are challenging with your children, it is easier to think of them as trials rather than gifts from God. The reality is that both descriptors, trials and gifts, are accurate biblical terms to describe your children. In places like Deuteronomy […]
If discipline is to be effective it must contain at least 3 three qualities. Otherwise the discipline will not result in growth but frustration. It is vital that you, as a parent, see discipline as something that is positive and not punitive. Discipline is not about retribution or getting even. Discipline has the goal of producing peace. Without that goal, discipline becomes a manipulate tool that will drive your children far from you. Hebrews 12:11 provides this positive view of discipline: For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. There are three important parts to this verse. Discipline is painful rather […]
How can you love life and not be disappointed? How can you love life and not run the risk of being hurt? How can you love life when life is hard? Are there answers to these questions that you can trust? David, the warrior king, has those answers. In Psalm 34 David makes a passionate call to God’s people. His entreaty is tender, full of hope. Like his son, Solomon, he knows the seductive voice of the woman folly also calls out to Israel. In response, David says this in verse 11: “Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” The king does not demand or scold. He reaches out his hand, as […]
If your view of reality is limited to what you can see, your worship will be ill-informed. The power of God is not limited to what you can see. Faith is what expands your vision to see what is really real. There is great comfort in the unseen reality. The unseen armies of God provide hope that you can speak of the gospel with power. You have no need to panic or despair. In order to be salt and light you must first be confident of the reality that you cannot see. It is foolish to live only for what is seen. If you worship a god you can see, you worship an idol. The Bible opens the eyes of […]
Jesus tells the story of a father and his two sons. The father asks his first son to go work in the vineyard. The first son responds with a defiant no. So, the father asks his other son the same question. This son, in sharp contrast, respectfully says that he will do what his father asked. So, on the surface of things, it appears one son is rebellious and one is obedient. This much is true, but not in the way it appears. In the story Jesus quickly adds that the first son changed his mind and actually did as he was asked. The other son never went to the vineyard. After telling this story, Jesus asked his listeners which […]
On July 4th, two hundred forty years ago, Americans declared their independence from England. England was not pleased with this declaration and went to war. But in the end, America had her desire—she was won her war for independence. But in what sense are people and countries ever independent? It is an enticing idea that a people or a country can independently forge their own destiny, write their own history. However, this idea is just as deadly as it is enticing. Reality is this: no country is free from the rule of the Great Sovereign of the Universe. Each person owes his next breath, and each country its next day of freedom, to the God of heaven and earth. Nebuchadnezzar […]