... battle between freedom and terrorism. Jesus said that part of his mission was “to proclaim freedom for the prisoners.” (Luke 4:18) St. Paul declared that “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Cor. 3:17) We Christians ... am not a quitter. I saw it through.” Jesus said the same thing on the cross just before he died, “It is finished.” (John 19:30). He was saying, “I have completed my appointed task.” In the inspirational movie, “Facing the Giants,” a high school coach ...
... that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18). If Paul as a Jew had first experienced the seen things of power, recognition, success, a sense of achievement and widespread acclamation ... do-my-thing-while-I-have-a-chance." But, the pursuit of pleasure for pleasure's sake is often disappointing. Philosopher John Stuart Mill once observed that pleasure and happiness are often a by-product of devotion to a higher cause. The melancholy ...
... fortress; for your name's sake lead me and guide me, take me out of the net that is hidden for me, for you are my refuge" (Psalm 18:3-4). In Psalm 62:5-8 we hear: "For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. He alone is my rock ... : "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (John 8:31b-32). Anything but the truth is a masquerade, but God sees through the disguise. God's truth will protect us. Next, Paul says ...
... , is made on the foreheads of those who are baptized. That means that the baptized are given something extra for their lives. In John 2:1-11 we read that Jesus turned water into wine. Water is ordinary; wine extraordinary. This was the first of his signs ... ): “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations ...” (Matthew 28:18-19). He also said, “... You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses ...
... is made on the foreheads of those who are baptized. That means that the baptized are given something extra for their lives. In John 2:1-11 we read that Jesus turned water into wine. Water is ordinary; wine extraordinary. This was the first of his signs ... Christians): "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations ..." (Matthew 28:18-19). He also said, "... You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in ...
... wild animals cry to you because the watercourses are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness" (Joel 1:18, 20). Instead of celebration and revelry at this year's harvest time, there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth ... to the believers gathered in Jerusalem at Pentecost that Joel's prophecy has been fulfilled. Following in the footsteps of Joel, author John Steinbeck was a contemporary prophet in his own right, taking up the plight of those living off the land. In his Nobel ...
... the scope and depth of God's sacrificial love, not just for humanity, but for the vast complex of all the cosmos. As John 3:16 is best translated: "For God so loved the cosmos ..." Let us start this year's Lenten journey by recognizing God's ... that God re-establishes an enduring covenantal relationship, unmindful of the sins and shortcomings this life brings with it. 1 Peter 3:18-22 reminds us of the miraculous continuation of God's commitment to this covenant through the redeeming nature of Christ's death ...
... his humility before God when he failed, established him as Israel's greatest ruler. Look at the resurrection account in Luke 24:18. Here is the most incredible event in all of history - the rejected, crucified Jesus is, by the power of God, raised ... as obvious as a marching band. Some people seem to expect that God's presence in the world should be a march orchestrated by John Philip Sousa. They think that God's presence should be like the Statue of Liberty, its torch lighting the darkness for miles around. ...
... increasing need for compassion. Vivid Tangerine - Joy. Count how many times Jesus uses this word at the Last Supper in John's Gospel. Cold Colors: Cerulean - Reconciliation. As Christ has reconciled the world to God, we must practice reconciling ourselves to ... the raging storm was his sense of oneness with all of the natural world. Dandelion - Humility. Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 5: 18-6:2 stress that while his ministry is one of reconciliation he is still reliant upon those who hear his message freely ...
... published the full roster of responses ("from the Dalai Lama to Rosa Parks, from Richard Nixon to George Lucas, from John Updike to Desmond Tutu, from Timothy Leary to Maya Angelou, from poets to scientists to religious leaders to everyday sages ... Chaneys endured those days by singing hymns together, quoting all the Bible verses they could recall, and praying. Still no one came. On March 18 Jean Chaney made the following entry in their diary: "Dad went to the Lord at 7:30 this evening...It was so peaceful I ...
... by his needing them. Jesus affirmed people by demonstrating and acknowledging his need of them (the disciples, Peter, James and John especially, the Bethany family, etc.); he depended on them; he counted on them. Jesus demonstrated that we all need to ... proclaim: "Look, I, too, am living on the earth. See, I can buzz, too, buzz about anything" (as quoted in Times Literary Supplement, 18 May 1991, 14). Our biggest problem now is that we are running out of horses, and the flies are getting thick. You can ...
... give us a good excuse to over-eat and take a day off from work. The greatest rituals are those capable of propping us up when we cannot stand on our own. New Testament scholar John Knox once called the church "the (family) people who remember Jesus." You and I have a family of people who remember Jesus even when we can't. Bishop Kenneth Carder recently told of some ... ." I will remove disaster from you.... I will save the lame and gather the outcast .... At that time I will bring you home. Zephaniah 3:18-20
... 185-254) called Jesus “the kingdom in person” or more technically, the “auto-basileia.” (See Origen In Matt.24:7; on Matthew 18:23.) So where does that put the kingdom of God today? Jesus’ first act in public ministry was to start calling a ... cross as a decoration rather than a devotion and a discipline. When Jesus called his first disciples, Simon, Andrew, James, and John, he didn’t call them to a life of thoughtful contemplation, days of mystic musing, or holy habitations. Jesus called them ...
... as he said, and all the shoppers survived the tornado without incident. Why did Larry Fore speak to the shoppers with such authority? Because 18 years before, Fore had survived a more devastating tornado. He had been through the danger before, and he knew how to bring others through ... . Dr. William P. Barker, Ed., Tarbell's Teacher's Guide (Elgin, IL. David C. Cook Co., 1990). 6. Uncle John’s Ahh-Inspiring Bathroom Reader (Ashland, OR: Bathroom Readers’ Press, 2002), pp. 509-510. 7. DeYoung 8. Day By ...
... and we believe Jesus Christ, who Himself said, "I am the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6, NASB) If you accept that premise and you hold to that belief and you therefore have an unquestioned assumption that missions is both a duty ... there are in Westchester County, New York. That's right, in a county of over 900,000 people, only 2%, or 18,313 people, claim to be evangelical believers in Jesus Christ. On the other hand, 29.5% of the population is not ...
... and we believe Jesus Christ, who Himself said, "I am the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6, NASB) If you accept that premise and you hold to that belief and you therefore have an unquestioned assumption that missions is both a duty ... there are in Westchester County, New York. That's right, in a county of over 900,000 people, only 2%, or 18,313 people, claim to be evangelical believers in Jesus Christ. On the other hand, 29.5% of the population is not ...
... for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart." (Colossians 3:18-21, NASB) Now if you were expecting an encyclopedia of truth, you are going to be greatly disappointed. When we learn how God ... God. How do you do that? Here is what Jesus said, "I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told Me to do." (John 17:4, NLT) When husbands do what God tells them to do as husbands and wives do what God tells them to do as wives and ...
... Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 1:18, NASB) At first sight, there seems to be some confusion, because verse eighteen tells us that he was, "betrothed" to Mary, then ... of a better term a "Jewish redneck". That is why Nathaniel once asked Philip this question, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46) Nazareth was a nothing city. It was a small town on a hillside, hemmed in by 15 hills in a remote, secluded ...
... much you say to God that causes Him to hear your prayer, but it is how you say, what you say, to God that gets His attention. John Bunyan, the great Christian once said, "When you pray it would be better to let your heart be without words, than to let your words be ... with hypocrisy. In the first four verses of this chapter he said, "Don't be hypocritical in your giving." In verses 10-18 He says, "Don't be hypocritical in your fasting," and here he tells us, "Don't be hypocritical in your praying." I cannot ...
... gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money." (vv.16-18) Every one of these servants were expected by the master to maximize the value of the gifts and the talents that had been given. ... gifted as someone else, does not mean you should not give your very best. I told you before that one of my heroes is John Wooden, who was the former head basketball coach at UCLA, who has won more national championships than any basketball coach in history. From an ...
... two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money." (Matthew 25: 16-18, NJKV) Every one of these servants was expected by the master to maximize the value of the gifts and the talents that had been ... gifted as someone else, does not mean you should not give your very best. I told you before that one of my heroes is John Wooden, who was the former head basketball coach at UCLA, who has won more national championships than any basketball coach in history. From an ...
... now know that you have two hours to keep your space ship from becoming a permanent tomb floating in outer space. Jim Lovell, John Swigert, and Fred Haise realized they were facing an elephant of a problem, but they kept their wits about them enough to realize ... he had spoken to me. So they said, "Let us rise up and build." Then they set their hands to this good work." (Nehemiah 2:18, NKJV) That could have been the end of the story and it would have simply read, "And they lived happily ever after", but that ...
... formed plants I've ever seen. The bonsai tree is small and it remains that way no matter how old it gets. As a matter of fact, the bonsai only grows 15 to 18 inches tall. How does this happen? When the bonsai peaks its head above the ground, the young sapling is pulled from the soil. The Japanese then tie off its tap root and some ... all of us that it will be a reality. [1] In Other Words, Winter 2000, p. 6. [2] John Maxwell, Be All You Can Be! p.28. [3] Executive Speechwriter Newsletter, Vol. 14, Col. No. 1
... though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse....Romans 1:18-20 But theology also tells us that such natural knowledge — things that can be observed through our five senses and concluded ... make us aware that we are in the presence of God and to cement our allegiance to him. You may have heard the story of John Newton, the author of such great hymns as "Amazing Grace" and "Glorious Things Of Thee Are Spoken." In his younger adult years, he was the ...
... of their ancestors in the desert when many had relations with Moab women leading to their worship of Baal (Numbers 25:1-18). Again, referring to the Israelites' sojourn in the desert (Numbers 16:41-49 and 21:5-6 as two examples) Paul tells the ... it is the only proper path. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me" (John 14:6). We must do what we can to lessen the burdens of the Lord. Jesus said it well to Satan during his temptation in the desert ...