I had to. The only thing I can compare it to is holding your firstborn for the first time. It’s not as significant as that. But it is almost as moving. What comes close to cradling your own flesh and blood? Standing in a bookstore and seeing your literary firstborn on a shelf. That happened […]
“He is really well off.” Who comes to mind when you hear that? Bill Gates, the man who’s Fort Knox rich? Tom Cruise, the charismatic star who’s still as bankable as anyone in Hollywood and as recognizable as anyone in the world? Or maybe Paul Finebaum’s pal Laura Rutledge, the woman who’s making waves in […]
When evil goes public as it did in Las Vegas last week—brazenly, tragically, and fatally—many Christians feel they need to do for God something God doesn’t feel the need to do for Himself. They become His Perry Mason’s. They make Him their client and seek to defend Him in the court of human opinion. That court’s […]
It happens to just about every Christian. For some reason, prayer flies standby in most of our lives. Something happens and it gets bumped from the day’s flight. So, family stresses or business demands or spiritual laziness make you skip prayer one day. And before you know it you’re on a slippery slope. And five […]
How do you stay optimistic about God in a painful situation that isn’t going to change? For example: arthritis that laughs at Aleve; singleness making you bluer than George Jones’s He Stopped Loving Her Today; a job so boring it makes watching someone else’s home movies seem like skydiving; a Pharaoh oppressive boss. You get the point. […]
Pessimism is to our spirit what kryptonite is to Superman. It weakens us as that green rock weakened the Man of Steel. Optimism about God—that grace-sired assurance that God is with us and for us—is to our spirit what momentum is to a football team, wind is to sails, and a tough-to-please dad’s “great job” […]
I can because Jesus can is a single sentence pep talk we ought to give ourselves whenever life makes us feel like a team in the locker room at halftime down by three touchdowns. Sometimes a command from God makes us feel this way doesn’t it? Orders from Him like forgive someone who’s wronged you […]
Michael Jordan was the “go-to” player for the Chicago Bulls. He was the one the Bulls went to when they needed a basket on offense or a stop of defense. Every Christian needs a Michael Jordan truth—a go-to sentence—to turn to at a moment’s notice. We need something that can energize, inspire, motivate, and strengthen […]
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 […]
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