Posts Tagged ‘Christian Life’
Immaturity in American Evangelical Churches
Has it struck you in recent years that there seems to be a growing trend of spiritual immaturity in churches today? I know that is a rather broad-brush stroke, but I just want to pose this idea for consideration from a few angles. Immature Beliefs Consider the various views about God: God is the “big…
Read MoreThirsting
Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6). It is normal to eat when we are hungry and drink when we are thirsty, but how hungry and thirsty are we after righteousness? Let’s be honest here: There are some Christians we know who definitely are not…
Read MoreFace to Face
And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend (Exodus 33:11). And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face (Deuteronomy 34:10). Coram Deo are two Latin words. The word coram means, before or in the presence of,…
Read MoreThe Misuse of Biblical Knowledge
Some years ago, I read this humorous but real account from a Presbyterian layman whose article lamented that too often the churches in his denomination preoccupied themselves with peripheral issues. What he described could be any denomination or church that takes theology and learning seriously: I remember my first visit to a Reformed church all…
Read MoreHow Spiritual Health Can Be Achieved
It was the day of my dad’s open heart surgery when I received a prophecy that would come true 12 years later. The heart surgeon met with my brother and me and described the surgery. He then said something that I will never forget. “You boys are next!” That is exactly what every young man…
Read MoreWarped Living
Sitting in my study chair reading Isaiah 47, the following arrested my attention. For you have trusted in your wickedness; You have said, ‘No one sees me’; Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; And you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’ God, speaking through…
Read MoreTake a Breath!
As I entered the hair shop where my wife and I have gone for almost 20 years, two ladies were engaged in a gleeful “1,000 words-a-minute” conversation! With my loud voice, I interrupted this exchange and said, “Ladies! Take a breath!!” The room was filled with laughter, and I have since gained a friend in…
Read MoreReview: Alcohol Explained
Alcohol Explained, by William Porter manufactured by Amazon.ca, Bolton, ON, n.d. William Porter is, by his own description, “a middle-aged lawyer” who gave up drinking after 25 years. On his website (Alcohol Explained) he says he began drinking and smoking at the age of 14, first giving up smoking and later giving up drinking. He…
Read MoreI Can… Except I Can’t
I know few better ways to understand myself than being a father. Because kids are, after all, just little humans with all of the wonderful capacities, funny quirks, and deep brokenness that makes people what we are. “I can’t!” One of my children recently showed a pattern of facing hard tasks, reaching the frustrating part…
Read MoreFading Joy: Am I Seeking an Experience or a Relationship?
The lights dim as the music begins to play. The energy in the crowd seems to almost crackle audibly. You feel a surge of anticipation for the songs you know, the empowering words you always hear, and the inspirational, larger-than-life people you see standing before you. At a well-designed worship service, Bible conference, or summer…
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