For the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible. (Leviticus 17:11) In ancient days, when a sinner found himself or herself […]
Read MoreCategory Archives: Forgiveness
Crucial Questions about Salvation
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Ephesians 2:8–9) Seems to me there are three crucial questions we must answer. […]
Read MoreThe Blessings of Forgiveness
I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. (Psalm 40:1–2) When I mention the name […]
Read MoreMutual Concern
“If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three […]
Read MoreContradictory Truths, Part One
Tom Landry, the late head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, was once quoted as saying something like this: “I have a job to do that is not very complicated, but it is often difficult: to get a group of men to do what they don’t want to do so they can achieve the one thing they have wanted all their lives.” Coach Landry, in that seemingly contradictory statement, described what discipline is all about . . .
Read MoreThe Fine Art of Blowing It
It happens to every one of us. Teachers as well as students. Cops as well as criminals. Bosses as well as secretaries. Parents as well as kids. The diligent as well as the lazy. Not even presidents are immune. Or corporation heads who earn six-figure salaries. The same is true of well-meaning architects and hard-working builders and clear-thinking engineers . . . not to mention pro ball players, politicians, and preachers.
Read MoreDetermination
I love the apostle Paul’s attitude revealed in his words: “I press on toward the goal” (Philippians 3:14). Those men and women who refuse to get bogged down in and anchored to the past are those who pursue the objectives of the future.
Read MoreResentment
Leo Held was a paragon of respectability. He was a middle-aged, hard-working lab technician who had worked at the same Pennsylvania paper mill for nineteen years. Having been a Boy Scout leader, an affectionate father, a member of the local fire brigade, and a regular church-goer, he was admired as a model in his community. Until . . .
Read MoreThe Pain of Resentment
LEONARD WAS A PARAGON OF RESPECTABILITY. The middle-aged, hardworking lab technician had worked at the same Pennsylvania paper mill for nineteen years. Having been a Boy Scout leader, an affectionate father, a member of the local fire brigade, and a regular churchgoer, he was admired as a model in his community. Until Leonard decided to mount a one-man revolt against the world he inwardly resented.
Read MoreTwo Questions
Comparing the acts of forgiving and forgetting, I think forgetting is the tougher assignment. Why? Because forgetting is something shared with no other person. It’s a solo flight.
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