“We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Lyman Stone is an advisor for Demographic Intelligence. He highlights something which made Christians stand out from the crowd in centuries past: “Probably a disease related to Ebola, the Plague of Cyrpian helped set off the Crisis of the Third Century in the Roman world. … Continue reading Being compassionately different
helping others
What do you have to give?
John 6:9 says: “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Good question. Turns out, they went a very long way! Jesus took them and miraculously fed thousands of people! Let’s focus on some of the details. In the ancient world … Continue reading What do you have to give?
What can I do to help the team today?
Last year, Robbie Ray was one of the pitchers for the Toronto Blue Jays. He had a prolific year and won the Cy Young award. He spoke about becoming a Christian and how that turned his life around. He went from being self-centred to others-centred. What changed? “Having a servant mentality of, ‘How I can … Continue reading What can I do to help the team today?
The feels
Have you ever heard someone say that something gives them “the feels”? It means that something has given then a really really good feeling. Maybe it’s an emotional song, receiving a heart-felt compliment, or a soul-satisfying conversation with a best friend. Today I’m here to notify you about the feel of all feels. Here it … Continue reading The feels
True greatness
Servant-hood lies at the heart of true greatness. What? Hold on a second. Didn’t you mean to say bravado, courage or super-sized intelligence lie at the heart of true greatness? As good as those things can be, no. Jesus’ disciples were jockeying for positions of prestige. Seeing what was going on, he gave them a … Continue reading True greatness
Your intentions, not theirs
“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done” (Proverbs 19:17). There are times when we talk ourselves out of helping others because we think they’re not deserving of our help. Or maybe we simply assume they’ll squander our generosity on something they shouldn’t. … Continue reading Your intentions, not theirs
A helping hand
All this week we’ve been thinking about Jesus’ words in Luke 6:31: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” This verse takes a second to say, and a life-time to try to live out. But since these worthy words are from the lips of King Jesus, it’s definitely a noble and … Continue reading A helping hand
Invisible visible beliefs
“That person is so heavenly minded that they’re of no earthly use.” Have you ever heard that expression? It’s a put down. Why? Because the opposite should be true for us as followers of Jesus. Seeking to learn and do God's will should translate into usefulness and helpfulness in the here and now. James was … Continue reading Invisible visible beliefs
Collateral goodness
Collateral damage is damage that is considered to be secondary or incidental. For example, if civilians are killed by a bomb that was meant to hit a military target that is sometimes called “collateral damage.” A less severe example might be getting hit with a foul ball at a baseball game. Someone might also call … Continue reading Collateral goodness
Not everything, but something
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Tony Campolo was doing work for an organization that does amazing things over the world, including Haiti. One night he was going into his hotel in Port-au-Prince when he was approached by three girls in their early teens. They indicated that he … Continue reading Not everything, but something
The Up Devotional 