Christian Life

Is God Judging Us or Disciplining Us? - Part 1

To Embrace All of Christ, Steer Clear of Quashing Him and Cherry-Picking His Teachings

To Embrace All of Christ, Steer Clear of Quashing Him and Cherry-Picking His Teachings

During young adulthood, Mark, who was uninterested in Christ, worked as a laborer painting houses. He often worked alongside another young man, who was a strong believer in Christ.

Is God Judging Us or Disciplining Us? - Part 2

Is God Judging Us or Disciplining Us? - Part 2

In part 1, we discussed the first of two erroneous ideas many Christ-followers have: I must pay for certain sins in spite of what the Bible says to the contrary. In part 2, we will look at the opposite side of the spectrum, where many do not fully understand the full weightiness of their sins, and in return make an equally dangerous mistake.

Is God Judging Us or Disciplining Us? - Part 1

Is God Judging Us or Disciplining Us? - Part 1

Do you remember the old village stocks? They were wooden structures positioned in the village square. Many had a hole through which the head was placed, and two holes for the left and right hands. Some had holes for the feet.

Does Your Self-Image Match God’s Image of You?

Does Your Self-Image Match God’s Image of You?

For those who follow Christ, believing in “God’s image” of us means we stand on this truth: God sees us as those He loves, accepts, and values. In fact, this is why He sent Christ to die for us—to demonstrate His unconditional love, to enable absolute acceptance forever, and to reveal thereby our intrinsic worth to Him.

Embracing Optimistic Realism: Finding Middle Ground Between Naive Optimism and Cynical Pessimism

Embracing Optimistic Realism: Finding Middle Ground Between Naive Optimism and Cynical Pessimism

Have you ever met someone so optimistic that you considered them more naive than realistic? Because they believe everything to be hunky dory, they blind themselves to the red flags leading to bad decisions and painful consequences.

Does Your Self-Image Match God’s Image of You?

Embracing Optimistic Realism: Finding Middle Ground Between Naive Optimism and Cynical Pessimism

The Four Step Game Plan to Apologize and Make It Right

The Four Step Game Plan to Apologize and Make It Right

When we miscommunicate, most people readily forgive us when we ask them to do so. After all, they themselves have misspoken and have little interest in throwing stones. This is especially so when they see us making an honest mistake. What drives people nuts is when they feel that we spoke or wrote something that was designed to hurt or offend them, and we have no intentions of owning up to it, apologizing, and correcting our error.

You Are Not Predestined to Argue the Same Way Your Parents Did

You Are Not Predestined to Argue the Same Way Your Parents Did

A teenage boy was feeling sorry for himself, feeling as though his mother didn't love him. He said to her, "If you don't love me, why'd you have me?" The mother shot back, "Well, we didn't know it was going to be you." All of us came into this world by way of two parents. There are no exceptions to this. Regardless, there are no perfect parents. In fact, there was once a convention held for adult children of normal parents. No one attended. Because we have imperfect parents, not only do we have to deal with their issues but we also inherit many of them.

Why We Should Confess Our Unloving and Disrespectful Comments

Why We Should Confess Our Unloving and Disrespectful Comments

If the roles were reversed, we'd expect another to confess to us. If another was mean to us, blamed us for their unkind reactions, made light of their unkindnesses since they meant no harm, and justified or denied their personal unresolved issues contributing to their hostilities and contempt toward us, we'd be up in arms. We'd be saying, "Wow, can't you at least humbly apologize for your part?"We need to apply the same medicine to ourselves that we recommend to others.

Do We Want to Look Better Than We Are?

Do We Want to Look Better Than We Are?

One of the most common reasons people lie is to impress others. If we succeed at impressing them, they will feel good about us and we will feel good about ourselves. What better reasons than to hedge on the truth or flat out lie? Everybody feels good, so how can that be bad? A woman told me, "My dad came over one day and my daughter was crazy, like her wheels came off. He asked, 'So, are you putting that on Facebook?' Of course not. I have an image to project that I’m perfect, I have this great job, and I have this great daughter. I don't put the unfavorable truth out there because this doesn't fit the image I seek to project."