Examine Yourself

 

My Facebook friend and sister in Christ, Jackie Owens Bennett, recently shared a short post prompting some food for thought for today’s Facebook Friday.

Here’s the post, followed by some appropriate Bible passages and a few comments. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under facebook friday

Capital Punishment: A Biblical Perspective

Christa Pike, the Tennessee woman who survived a botched execution, has regained consciousness and is speaking, according to her attorneys. They have called her recovery “medically unprecedented.”

Pike was convicted in 1996 of luring a classmate into a wooded area near Knoxville in 1995 and then torturing and brutally murdering her. She was sentenced to death, but has been on death row for the past 30 years. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Culture, Discipleship

1 Peter 1:13-16, Holiness Begins With What God Has Done

 

“People do not drift toward holiness,” wrote Canadian theologian D. A. Carson.

He continues, “Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord.”

Carson elaborates on this point, saying: Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Holiness, Passage To Ponder

Who’s in Control—You or Your Phone?

“The average American checks his or her cell phone 205 times a day,” said social scientist Arthur Brooks in an interview on the Today show last week.

Norma Jean and I listened with interest because we expected to hear Brooks in person at the Florida College Impact Gala two days later. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Discipline, Discipleship, TIme

Love Always Trusts

It looked like an act of rebellion.

The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had helped their fellow Israelites conquer Canaan. When they returned to their homes east of the Jordan River, they built a large, imposing altar. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under Love More. Give More

Weekly Recap: September 28-October 2

Greetings from Beverly Hills, FL

The start of the fourth quarter reminds us how quickly time marches on.  Of course, retailers help remind us by already stocking both Halloween and Christmas items in stores!

Indeed, the Psalmist spoke a truth relevant to every generation: “The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away”  (Ps. 90:10).  So, rejoice in this, say God has given us.  And make it count. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Discipleship

More Than Consent

Today’s Facebook Friday draws on a serious post from my friend and preaching colleague, Mark McCrary.

Mark’s observations concern the sexual assault allegations at Cornell University currently in the news. I will spare you the disturbing details, but this link provides background.

Whether you’re familiar with the case or not, his admonitions deserve our attention. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under facebook friday, Morality

How To Look at Life’s Trials

Warren Wiersbe relates a time when he and his wife visited a world-famous weaver and watched his men and women work on the looms.

Wiersbe noticed the undersides of the rugs were not very pretty. The patterns were obscure. And the loose ends of the threads dangled. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under Trials

Genesis 5:21-24–Walking with God

“The man who walks with God always gets to his destination,” observed Christian educator Henrietta Mears.

Mears’s quote brings to mind the Old Testament character Enoch. Genesis 5:24 says, “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under Passage To Ponder

Who’s Moved?

A farmer, Jeb, and his wife, Mabel, were driving into town in their pickup truck. Jeb stared at the road, silently thinking about the work waiting for him.  Mabel sat on the other side of the cab, against the door.

It was a beautiful Fall day. The sun was shining.  The leaves were changing.  And Mabel began to reminisce about their younger days.  How they enjoyed long drives in the country.  Special time together.  And the intimacy of a young couple in love. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under Discipleship