Sooner or later everything falls apart. Well, maybe not everything—but some things; and sometimes, a lot of things. …a relationship, a job, a dream, health, peace of mind… And when that happens you’ll need to lean on God. Big time. But that will be hard to do if your connection is weak, lax and sporadic. … Continue reading When things fall apart
daily devotional
The Devil’s Achilles heel
Imagine we’re playing a football game, but we can’t see an opponent. So we obviously think the game is going to be pretty easy. But as it begins we keep running into invisible roadblocks and frustrations. This makes us scratch our heads. Why isn’t this easier? But then someone tells us that we’ve been misinformed: … Continue reading The Devil’s Achilles heel
Dragged away
Unfortunately, temptation is often a part of life. Some people are tempted to over-spend or worry too much. Some are tempted to engage in habits they know dishonour God. Some people are tempted to laziness or excessive screen time. It really just depends on the person. Recently I was reading the book of James and … Continue reading Dragged away
How’d you get to be so wonderful?
There’s an old story about a father and his three-year-old daughter. The father asked her, “How did you get to be so wonderful?” Immediately she replied, “Because I married you!” The dad and daughter were obviously not married. The daughter was simply repeating what she had heard someone else say in response to the same … Continue reading How’d you get to be so wonderful?
Love boldly. But when you miss the mark…
James 2:8 says, “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.” With that in mind, let me tell you a story. In 1993 a well-known theologian from Croatia named Miroslav Volf was doing a talk on loving your neighbour. Afterward someone asked him, “But … Continue reading Love boldly. But when you miss the mark…
Being loyal… to God
Yesterday I said that we can misunderstand what Jesus meant when he used the word “love.” I suggested that the word he used for “love” was close in meaning to “loyalty.” It is to have a kind of committed attachment to someone as a fellow child of God, and to seek God’s best for them. … Continue reading Being loyal… to God
Love by being… loyal
It’s easy to misunderstand what the Bible means by “love.” In today’s world, we use that word for so many different things. We say we “love” basketball, or we “love” someone’s new outfit, or we “love” the new Avengers movie. In this sense, “love” is just REALLY liking something. It’s like “like” on steroids. But … Continue reading Love by being… loyal
The cardinal virtue
The cardinal virtue is humility. It stands opposite pride and ego. So the more you cultivate humility, with God’s help, the more you prepare yourself to be a more loving person. In fact, and just in case you need some extra motivation to cultivate humility in your life, check out James 4:6: “God opposes the … Continue reading The cardinal virtue
Christ-centred or self-centred
Jesus defined the greatest command like this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Mark 12:29-31). Obviously, love is massively important. But many of us don’t love like we … Continue reading Christ-centred or self-centred
The difference between information and wisdom
Have you heard of data overload? Researchers at the University of Southern California found that the average person in 1986 was exposed to the equivalent of 40 newspapers worth of information each day. By 2006 that number had increased to an equivalent of 174 newspapers a day. And that was way back in 2006! Can … Continue reading The difference between information and wisdom
