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

Experiencing the Presence of God, Part 1

Experiencing the Presence of God, Part 1

Did you know Paul compared the married and the unmarried? Let me come back to that. Have you heard of Brother Lawrence? He was an unmarried man who practiced the presence of God. For example, . . . he went to his work appointed in the kitchen (for he was cook to the society). . . . That, when he began his business, he said to GOD, with a filial trust in Him, “O my GOD, since Thou art with me, and I must now, in obedience to Thy commands, apply my mind to these outward things, I beseech Thee to grant me the grace to continue in Thy Presence; and to this end do Thou prosper me with Thy assistance, receive all my works, and possess all my affections."

Do the Prayers of a Person Make a Difference in Their War Room?

Do the Prayers of a Person Make a Difference in Their War Room?

In the movie War Room, a godly, wise, and aged woman enters her private room to intercede for others through prayer. In her “war room,” a metaphor for the prayer closet to which Jesus refers in Matthew 6:6, she seeks the Living and Loving Christ on behalf of others. Such a woman prayed for me, and I never knew it until I was older and she had already died. In fact, I never met her because she died five years before I was even born. She was my grandmother on my dad’s side. Pearl Eggerichs.The story has it from my dad that she prayed for her future grandchildren, before they were born.

Why Do Some People Hang Onto Bitterness? [Video]

Why Do Some People Hang Onto Bitterness? [Video]

Why do some people hang onto bitterness? They think that to forgive means letting the other person off the hook. To forgive means they must remove all consequences from the other person. That, of course, is mistaken thinking. For example, one can have a forgiving spirit while bringing the full weight of the law to bear against the other person.

Why Do I Struggle To Forgive Myself? [Video]

Why Do I Struggle To Forgive Myself? [Video]

All of us do wrong. Who among us is perfect? When we fail God’s standard, some of us not only feel badly, we hate ourselves. We enter self-loathing. To cope, we self-medicate, indulge a lust, lie to ourselves about the wrong, or inflict pain on ourselves to pay for the sin. However, the Apostle of love penned in 1 John 1:7, "If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light... the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."