Tag: Bible

Help Me Reach These Goals in 2014

j0439558I have been all over the map concerning resolutions or goals (I prefer the word goals) for a New Year. Some years, I set very concrete goals; others, I had no goals. And some years I had very generic goals (which are quite hard to measure). Closing out 2013 and charging into 2014, I have pondered the subject of setting goals for the New Year.

When I think of great men and women of the Bible, I cannot help but think that goals were a major part of the life of many of these people. Take Joseph, for instance. He had to be able to set goals and see those goals through to fruition as the second in command of Egypt while gathering grain and corn during the seven years of plenty. Solomon set goals for both the building of the temple of God and his own house. I am absolutely convinced that the apostle Paul was a goal-setter. He did not wander aimlessly going wherever his journeys led him. He was a man of passion for the Lord Jesus Christ and set high goals in starting churches and visiting the churches he started during the various missionary journeys he took. Philippians 3:14 is often quoted in support of setting a goal –  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

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A Bad Man Takes a Good Turn

Charles Colson recently died and went to heaven. For those of you not familiar with Mr. Colson, he was famous (or infamous) for being a Watergate operative under Richard Nixon, served time in prison for his part in Watergate, and then founded Prison Fellowship shortly after his stint in prison (see recent story published by World Magazine here).

What a great tale of a life that was headed one direction and then turned about-face and headed completely the other direction! It reminds me of a person who is unsaved. He is heading one direction (hell) and then meets Jesus and is born again. He is now saved and heading the other direction (heaven).

The Word of God plainly states that if a person is truly a Christian, their life will change:

Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 

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His Enemy, His Life

When does one know when you should fight against someone or for  someone? Well, too often, we fight against those whom we should not – our spouses, our children, our parents, our co-workers, fellow church members, and so on.

Under the Old Testament law, God had established what we call the “eye for an eye”  law. In other words, if someone has wronged you, then they deserve the same thing back. And then Jesus Christ (God in the flesh) came and upped the ante. He taught something contrary to what our old nature wants to do. Read below:

Matthew 5:43-44
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.

What Jesus taught here is what I call “graduate-level” Christianity. Continue reading “His Enemy, His Life”

A Burning Bridge To Safety

I recently read that great verse in Proverbs 24 which states, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again:…” One of the thoughts that my wife and I strive to ingrain in our children is that of not giving up.

Our two youngest boys have been playing baseball this summer. Due to the generosity of some people at our church, they are able to play in a summer league for most of the summer. Although our boys have never played baseball in a team setting and are learning many fundamentals of the game, one thing they have been learning all of their life is to not give up. Whether it be in a wrestling match, a baseball game, or that of the most challenging class they are taking at school, I want them to learn to give it their all right through to the end. So many young people today will not run as hard as they can to first base when they hit the ball to the pitcher – they give up. Too many young people when falling behind in a certain class or in a certain grade – they give up.

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Embrace the Trials!

Tried by Fire

Nobody that I know of likes trials. And when I speak of trials, I am not particularly referring to that which happens in a court of law (although it could be). I am speaking of any type of situation that “tries” you. Yes – you are put on trial and examined to see if you pass the test. As I pondered trials in my own life, I decided to look up the definition of the word ‘trial’ in Webster’s 1828 Dictionary of the English Language. The definition helps us to learn exactly what a trial is…

Trial
TRI’AL
[from try.] Any effort or exertion of strength for the purpose of ascertaining its effect, or what can be done.

1. Examination by a test; experiment; as in chemistry and metallurgy.

2. Experiment; act of examining by experience.

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Spirit, Soul, & Body – part II

In Spirit, Soul, & Body – part 1, we looked at the idea of balance and order.  Balanced lives are what many of us strive for. And although that is the goal many of us have, we don’t even know (or realize) that we are triune beings. That is, we are comprised of spirit, soul, and body (see part 1 in this series). Without that knowledge, we lead imbalanced and far too often, frustrated lives.

Let’s again look at the key verse in the Bible that lays out the triune makeup of mankind:

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I Thessalonians 5:23

Now, remember how I stated at the start of the series how important order is? It is just as important in this verse. God states everything with a purpose and HOW He states it is with a purpose. Spirit…soul…body – this order shows me an order of importance.

Perhaps you are thinking to yourself, “Does that mean my body is not important?” No, that is not what I am saying at all; what I am saying though is that as we strive to be blameless in these areas, we ought to be balanced in the order God has placed emphasis on.

 

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The Importance of Reading

I like to read. In matter of fact, I really enjoy reading. That did not happen by accident. There are several factors that led to my enjoyment of reading. First, my parents put me in a good school where I learned to read at an early age. Second, they supplied me with books that were fun to read for a young boy. Books like the Hardy Boys, The Call of the Wild, Irish Red, and Big Red were just a few of the types of books that were given to me. In addition, my Pops (some of you call him dad…I call him Pa or Pops) provided me with exciting missionary stories that piqued my interest about spiritual adventure in far away lands.

The subject of reading reminds me of the first quality Bible that my parents gave to me on my 14th birthday. The Bible was a leather, Scofield Reference edition. Inscribed on the front cover was I Timothy 4:13, “Til I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.”

 

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Definition of “spiritual”

Hello there! I would like to begin this blog with the definition of the word, spiritual. Although many deny it, we live in a spiritual world. The Word of God states that “God is a spirit,” (Jn. 4:24) and mankind was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). I plan on exploring spirituality throughout this blog.

While exploring spiritual things, I also want the subjects shared to be relevant to your life. The word relevant means “pertinent or applicable.” So much of the subject of spirituality is not applicable to people’s lives. My desire is for these postings to be applicable to your life.

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