This spirit of humility is very rare in our day of strong-willed, proud-peacock attitudes. The clinched fist has replaced the bowed head. The big mouth and the surly stare now dominate the scene once occupied by the quiet godliness of the “poor in spirit.” How self-righteous we have become! How confident in and of ourselves! And with that attitude, how desperately unhappy we are!
Read MoreCategory Archives: Christian Living
The Beatitudes: Three Observations
The introduction to Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount is no doubt the most familiar section of His message (Matthew 5:1–12). Commonly called “The Beatitudes,” this section is the most descriptive word-portrait of a servant ever recorded. Let’s reread these immortal words slowly . . .
Read MoreJesus’ Command: “Be Different!”
The scriptural account of His “Sermon on the Mount” is found in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. If I were asked to suggest an overall theme of this grand sermon, it would be “Be different!” Time and again, Jesus states the way things were among the religious types of their day, and then He instructs them to be different.
Read MoreWhen You Grow Up
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” That’s a favorite question we enjoy asking children. And the answers we get usually are “a police officer” or “a nurse” or maybe “a fire fighter.” Some kids are visionary. They answer “a movie star” or “a singer” or “a doctor” or “a professional ball player.” One recently told me he wanted to be either a car mechanic or a garbage collector. When I asked why, he gave the classic answer for a nine-year-old: “So I can get dirty!” I smiled as I had a flashback to my own childhood. And I understood.
Read MoreServanthood Starts in the Mind
Wouldn’t you love to live courageously in spite of the odds? Doesn’t it sound exciting to be divinely powerful in day-to-day living? Aren’t you eager to become independently authentic in a day of copycat styles and horrendous peer pressure? Of course!
Read MoreSupernatural Ability of the “Renewed Mind,” Part 2
As we allow God’s truth to pierce the tough, hardened barriers we have erected in our minds, we receive surprising benefits. We saw yesterday that God gives us His divine power (2 Corinthians 10:4). He also grants us what I call authentic independence.
Read MoreSupernatural Ability of the “Renewed Mind,” Part 1
As the truth of God’s Word penetrates our hearts, it displaces those secular mental barriers we have erected over the years. In fact, we receive several very exciting benefits. Paul names two of them in 2 Corinthians 10—divine power (10:4) and authentic independence (10:11–12).
Read MoreMental Barriers to God’s Voice, Part 3
Along with the mental wall of habitual resistance, the humanistic reasonings that give it strength, and the proud, lofty reactions that keep the truths of Scripture at arm’s length, there are actual thoughts, techniques, and devices we employ that push away God’s Word and His promptings. Let me be specific.
Read MoreMental Barriers to God’s Voice, Part 2
As the Spirit of God attempts to communicate His truth to us, He runs up against the “wall” of our overall mental attitude, our natural mind-set. Along with the wall-like fortresses, we have natural, humanistic reasonings that give the wall additional strength.
Read MoreMental Barriers to God’s Voice, Part 1
As the Spirit of God attempts to communicate His truth to us (biblical information on servanthood, for example), He runs up against our “wall,” our overall mental attitude, our natural mind-set. For some, it’s prejudice. With others, it’s limited thinking or a negative mentality.
Read More