Category: Life Issues

The Tamed Tongue

Your tongue may be the most dangerous weapon you possess. When unleashed (or unsheathed) without restraint, it can cut more deeply than a sword (Ps. 52:2; Ps. 57:4; Ps. 64:3; Prov. 12:18). But the tongue can also be used for encouragement and healing—for blessing rather than...

The Tongue and What It Tells Us

The tongue is perhaps your most powerful tool of influence. James tells us that it is “a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things” (James 3:5). It is like the tiny rudder that steers a great ship, or the small spark...

The Usefulness of Failure

Considering the failures of others can promote your success. For example, do you not tend to slow down when you see the flashing red and blue lights of a police officer issuing a speeding ticket? Would you not walk more carefully if someone walking ahead of...

The Value of Physical Fitness for the Christian

In any discussion about Christians and physical fitness, we should begin with Paul’s comparison in 1 Timothy 4:7-8—“On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds...

The Price, and Reward, of Faithfulness

Three young men were faced with the ultimate choice: deny God by worshiping a graven image, or be burned alive. This was the decree and threat from the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar recorded in Daniel 3, and it compelled the following response from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego:...

The Knife on the Table: A Brockton Dialogue

James, always questioning: Mr. Brockton, how do Satan or his demons interplay with our lives? Is there such a thing? The wiser Mr. Brockton: The battle rages quite fiercely for believers in Christ who walk as they should. He opposes by distractions, obstructions, confusion and fear....

The Key to Christian Contentment

I once heard a comedian tell a joke about a pastor’s sermon series on contentment in the Christian life. His punch line was the title of the series: “Content or Discontent: Which Tent Do You Live In?” Everyone enjoys a good laugh, but contentment in the...

The Importance of Remembering

Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for Americans who have died in military service to our nation. To remember the sacrifices of those in our past is not only right and good, but essential. Without such sacrifices, we would have no present freedom, security, or...

The Garage Method

A former professor of mine, now a successful author of Christian fiction, used to dismiss his anxieties by repeating this mantra: “Oh well. It doesn’t eternally matter.” For him six words conquered all ills. He slew his worries with a phrase, with a mere wag of...

The Evil of Ungratefulness

Every year in late November, Americans are reminded to be thankful. Though some National Football League broadcasters have done their best to rename the day after the traditional main course of the meal (i.e., “Turkey Day”), thoughtful Americans persist in calling the day what it was...