Category: Spiritual Growth
Leaving the Work Undone
One of the saddest notes in biblical history is found in the book of Joshua. The children of Israel were coming into the land that had been promised to them after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. God had set everything up. He put dread into...
Learning to Pray from the Praying Jesus
“Steeeeve, come in here! It’s time to praaayyy!” I heard those words from Pastor Floyd Baker often during the summer I served as his church’s youth pastor. I couldn’t go to the office without his invitation to the throne of grace. He never prayed briefly, though...
Ignoring Obedience
We love worship. It’s almost trendy to throw your head back, lift your hands, close your eyes and sway to a glorious song about God. We can sing for hours. But do we obey? King Saul thought he could cover his lack of obedience with a...
Identity Theft: Losing Our Christian Self-Consciousness
When whimpering Gideon hid himself from the Midianites in the winepress while threshing his wheat, the angel of the Lord appeared to him with this striking greeting: “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Man of valor? In Gideon’s mind, nothing could be...
How to “Go and Do Likewise”
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the...
Holiness or Hell?
The definition of holiness includes the concept of being distinct, set apart from everything (or everyone) else. Christians are holy people in two ways. First, believers are holy in God’s sight in terms of their position. Through faith in Christ, they are uniquely set apart by...
GPS for the Soul
Admiral Byrd spent a six month night alone on his first Antarctic Expedition. Each day he shoveled to the surface for exercise. There was just enough light to see a dozen yards or so. In that light he walked a few steps then turned back into...
Giving In: Just Haggling Over the Price
In his probing book called The Grand Weaver, well-known apologist and author Ravi Zacharias records a story he once read. Let me give it to you in his own words: The writer described a man aboard a plane who propositioned a woman sitting next to him...
God is With Us: His Best Promise
On the way to the Promised Land, he wasn’t the only one who was angry. God was ready to wipe out the entire lot of them and start again. One of Moses’ most significant acts was to intercede for the foolish tribes of Israel so that...
Frazzled Yet Faithful
One way believers demonstrate their faithfulness to God is by remaining consistent in personal spiritual disciplines like prayer and Bible study. These practices not only edify the believer, they also say to God, “I enjoy You and I want to spend time with You.” I am...
