Motivational speakers tell us that we need to know how to be our own coach and give ourselves a pep talk when necessary. They advocate cultivating a crisp sentence we can speak to our hearts when we need a boost. A stimulant to get our psychological adrenaline flowing. Wind in which to spread our emotional […]
In the death-defeating language of the Bible, last week Andrew James Chase—beloved son and grandson—fell asleep in Jesus. He was 4½ days young. He came into the world early. He entered by C-Section three months before his due date. Weight: 1 lb. 12 oz. Length: 12 inches. He entered wounded and gutsy. Wounded because he […]
1 Kings 8:19: Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name. I find this verse a vase of beautiful and fragrant flowers. The flowers are so beautiful and so fragrant that I want to share them with you by placing […]
In our previous post, we saw that Barnabas was the kind of Christian each of us should want to be. That’s because he was an encourager. Please understand something. This post is personal. It expresses what I want my life to be. One of my ambitions. Something I want more than a politician wants the […]
There are many people in the Bible we can’t be like. They cast a Himalayan shadow over us. Their shoes are just too big to fill. You put them on and you trip. Take just a single example. I read about Paul and his exploits and think, “I can sooner play golf like Tiger Woods […]
In “Living Prayer” Robert Benson tells about visiting the Kentucky Abbey, Gethsemani. He learns there that its monks aren’t like him. What makes them different is what they do when the bell rings. The bell rings at specific times during the day with metronomic monotony. It does this every day of the year. When the […]
In our three previous posts on Hebrews 12:5-13 we’ve seen that trials are as certain as rain in Seattle; as potentially profitable as a big day on Wall Street; yet as easily mishandled as a poisonous snake in the hands of a frightened faith healer. The Truth About Optimism So, the question: How do we […]
To paraphrase Paul, before God saved me, “for me to live was basketball.” I was so dedicated that after I became a Christian an older minister friend told me, “Charley, if you follow Jesus the way you followed basketball you’ll be someone God really uses.” God says something similar to us about our trials. As […]
Too many of us find our troubles Bear instead of Bull Markets. Why? Because we don’t face them as Grace Focused Optimists. Why not? Because we don’t listen to what God tells us about them. The point is not that we don’t listen to some of what God says about our troubles. It’s worse. We […]
The late Jack Miller once asked his wife Rose Marie, “If you could change any one thing about me, what would it be?” She said, “Jack, you don’t listen.” Jack answered, “No, no, no” and repeated his question, demonstrating that Rose Marie was spot on. The writer of Hebrews emphasizes too many of us aren’t […]
