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2441 posts

Evil & 9/11

9/11 is a painful and disturbing memory. It is also a stark reminder that evil exists. There is no law, no executive decree, no military action, no speech, no earthly power that can defeat evil. There is only one thing that can hold back the armies of evil – the hand of the Living God, the ruler of the universe!   I have no idea what this anniversary of 9/11 will bring. Perhaps nothing dramatic will occur.  Yet, once again, we have seen vivid, horrific reminders of man’s capacity for evil these recent days. It is foolish to think that evil can be restrained by political boundaries or deep oceans. But I do know where evil originates and I do […]

Authority

Our culture is suspicious of authority in general and of parental authority in particular. After all, who is a parent to tell a child how he should live? In contrast, the Bible teaches all people are accountable to and answerable to a holy God. Apart from this reality, even the gospel itself has no meaning.  If you and I are not accountable to God then we have no need of the gospel. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” This truth does not ring true with our world. If man is only the result of a random series of bio-chemical events, then the idea of being responsible to divine authority has no validity–in fact, it is […]

Flee and Pursue

Indulging sensual desires has become an entitlement for young people.  The message is loud and persistent: You can have it. You can have it now. You deserve it. Advertising that targets our nation’s youth is built on these three components of youthful desires or lusts. A cultural shift has occurred. It is one that is based on gratifying youthful desire. Having sex outside of marriage is the new social normal. Virginity is an indication of a dysfunctional personality.  The notion of drinking responsibly doesn’t mean restraint, it means finding a designated driver. Products from hamburgers to whatever are sold with one message – you deserve this. Against this rising tide, a plea that says “don’t do that!”, comes across as […]

Thought for the Lord’s Day

Your hope depends on God.   All of your worries, all of your weaknesses, all of your sins, all of the wrong actions of others, in no way change God’s faithfulness to you. Your experience will not always confirm this truth. But no matter your experience, the testimony of the Holy Spirit through his word stands firm for eternity.   Your God is your refuge. He has secured your freedom.  Therefore, let nothing hold back your praise. Pour out your heart to the One upon whom your salvation and your glory depend!     Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him.   He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not […]

The Heart Matters

by Tedd Tripp   Solomon describes the importance of the heart in Proverbs 4:23:   “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”   The heart is like an artesian spring. All our hopes, dreams, and desires gush from the heart. Every drive for meaning and significance originates in the heart. Our behavior flows from the heart—it isn’t caused by circumstances or other people. The heart, with its passions and desires, is the wellspring of life.   Recently, Radio Shack had a sale on little matchbox-size remote control cars. “What a fun thing for the grandchildren to play with at grandpa’s house,” I thought. The next week they were all at our house for a […]

Your kids and social media

The world of cyberspace offers tempting delusions. Social media holds both great promise and great peril.  It appears to be personal and private, while being impersonal and dangerously public. It offers personal expression which often leads to personal exploitation. This world of virtual communication touts the latest in technological marvels, but it is often driven by millennia old curiosity, lust and gossip. As you are mostly likely reading this post electronically, I obviously believe that social media also has the capacity to do much good.   Electronic social media is bound by the same realities that have always governed human communication. If you commit anything to media, whether paper or electronic, it is never private. Private letters, such as Sigmund […]

Out of Darkness

Ruth lived in a land of darkness.  In some ways her world was not unlike ours. Babies were sacrificed in order to gain personal well-being. Moab was a godless country.  Despair reigned instead of hope.    The one bright spot in Ruth’s life was her mother-in-law, Naomi.  There is irony here. Naomi had lost her husband and two sons as a result of her husband’s ill-advised plan to find a better life in Moab. Yet, even in Naomi’s bitterness and sadness, she still retained her faith in the Lord of Hosts. This faith was observed by Ruth and began to grow within her.  Ruth embraced Naomi’s God, the God of Israel, as her own God with these famous words:   […]

Leading your children to maturity in Christ

  Children naturally determine goodness by their circumstances. Since children are also naturally self-centered, circumstances often become the focal points of conflict. Children frequently have a different view of what is or is not a good circumstance from what their parents have. So meals, bedtimes, chore responsibilities, playtimes, etc., can become battlegrounds.    Your mission as a parent is to help your child expand his natural understanding of goodness to also include what is behind the circumstances of his life. Reality is that God orders circumstances for his glory and not our for immediate pleasure. You must help your children understand that each circumstance brings the opportunity to serve God as opposed to serving themselves. In other words, the battle […]

Help your teenager to ask the right question

An unexpected temptation arises in the life of your teenager.  He or she was not planning to make a life-altering decision, but the moment arrived nonetheless.  When this moment occurs, your teenager will ask one of two questions:   “What am I going to do?”   “What does God want me to do?”   Joseph was confronted by a passionate and powerful woman demanding to have sex.  He was alone in a pagan land.  Rejecting the advances of this woman would surely bring unpleasant consequences. Yet he had just one question on his mind:   “How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”   So, Joseph literally ran from the temptation before him. He was more […]

Adam’s grandchildren could have traveled to the moon

You were made for work. God created the earth to be a challenge for mankind. The creation was good and challenging. God’s creation was not without difficulty.  The good creation had rough edges that needed to be smoothed. There was hard work to be done! Even though man was created sinless, he was still finite. Unlike God, Adam and Eve could not make things happen by force of will. God made them for work. Look again at the mandate given to Adam and Eve and to all mankind: God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky […]