Do you know someone who has faith in Jesus but believes that the changing culture defines sin? Jesus asked a group of Pharisees and religious leaders… “Why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?” Matthew 15:3 God defined sin, and Jesus said the following about its power in our lives… “I…
When we talk about God’s heart, we typically talk about His grace, mercy, and perfect love. We don’t like to consider the things that break His heart. When I traveled to Bolivia with a group blogging for World Vision, I learned the following quote… “Let my heart be broken for the things that break the…
What is sin? We typically think of sin as not obeying God’s Commandments, but James added… Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. James 4:17 It’s challenging when culture’s view of what we ought to do differs from what God’s Word tells us to do. I…
Last Friday’s prayer post gave us 5 verses to prayerfully start the day with hope and today we’re focusing on our evening prayers… I’ve learned that as thankful as I am for the blessing of a fresh start each morning and hopeful about the day ahead, I’m well aware at the end of the day…
Christians have been told for years that forgiveness includes forgetting. Henry Ward Beecher said, “I can forgive, but I cannot forget,” is only another way of saying, “I will not forgive.” But… What is the truth from the Bible about the phrase “forgive and forget”? I decided to do some digging to find the Biblical…
As I’ve been thinking about God’s discipline this week, I’ve wondered … how can we know if our difficult circumstances are the result of God’s discipline or something else? And then a reader commented that she was wondering, too. How do we know if our circumstances are God’s discipline? What do we do when we…
We all want to live in victory. Because when we’re living in victory life feels easy. So, we can be tempted to take that ease for granted and simply enjoy each day’s comfortable routine. But when life is hard—when our enemies attack us and we’re faced with defeat, when we struggle with pain, when we’re…
David was guilty of pride, sexual sin, and murder. He was guilty and he knew he was guilty. Psalm 51 shares David’s words of repentance. No excuses. No blame. Just a sorrowful confession of guilt and a plea for forgiveness. Have mercy on me, O God, because of Your unfailing love.Because of Your great compassion, blot out…
So you’ve kept every New Year’s resolution perfectly, right? You… lost weight. exercised faithfully. managed your budget. organized your house. perfected your planner. volunteered regularly. faithfully spent time each day in Bible Study and Prayer. spent time with friends and family. Or maybe you didn’t. Maybe you need a mid-year re-resolution party, a do-over ….
The battle against life’s temptation is constant. There is a daily battle between selfishness and love. Today we’re turning to the only One who can help us. #Faith #Forgiveness #Godsgrace #Blessings
Have you ever heard someone blame Adam and Eve for the pain and problems of this sinful world? It’s what we do, isn’t it? We blame. Eve blamed the “serpent” and Adam blamed “the woman [God] gave [him].” (Genesis 3:12–13) We’re always tempted to play the blame game saying, “I’m not guilty. I’m a victim….
Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not Suzie Sunshine every day. I know, shocking right?! But like you, I have days when I’m… Frustrated. Annoyed. Upset. Tired. Discouraged. _________. And even on a good day, it only takes one or two interactions with difficult people to make my sunny day gloomy. So,…
It’s hard not to judge others, isn’t it? When I did an online search of the psychology of judging others . . . the general consensus was that judging others is a good thing because it helps us evaluate right and wrong behavior. The problem is we confuse judging behavior for our own benefit with…
I ask God faithfully to make me “childlike.” Unfortunately, too often I give in to childish rather than childlike. Why do I ask to be childlike? Because Jesus said: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to…
When I tell you I’m a mess, I’m admitting I’m a sinner … I’m not saying it’s okay. When I say that my life is a mess, I’m recognizing that I am living out the consequences of my sin and the sins of the people around me … every single day. When I talk about…
I have a hard time getting my brain around all that this day we call “Good Friday” embraces. When I think about the betrayals and denials, trials and lashes, a crown of thorns and crowds shouting “crucify Him” … all pieces of the day that Jesus suffered and died. How can we call it ……
Wow, I’ve wrestled with this post… I shouldn’t be surprised, this forgiveness thing is hard. Something the Lord laid on my heart as I was working on this is the thought that many of us forgive from a “Law” perspective … one that believes “you have to forgive or God won’t forgive you.” And although,…
Almost everyone has a double standard when it comes to forgiveness. If you and I are being honest, we’d admit we want to be forgiven but often find it hard to forgive. And that’s especially true, when the offense has been life-changing or the offender continues to do things that cause us pain. But then…
It’s not easy is it? I hate admitting where I’ve fallen short. I try hard to honor and obey God’s will … to love Him with my whole heart, mind, soul, and strength and love others as I love myself. But the truth is I don’t even come close. So, would you join me today…
As I worked on Monday’s post, Jesus’ Commandments and Why You Need to Know Them, I can honestly tell you I found myself squirming a little. Let me explain… I think it’s possible when you and I use the original Ten Commandments as our guide for right and wrong, to come to the conclusion that…
Guilt. Everyone has it. We all have something, maybe multiple somethings, that makes us cringe and want to hide. I thought about putting a list of examples here but that then I decided it would be a distraction because all that really matters is … what’s on your list. I know what’s on my list….
