Imagine two mountain hikers trudging along, each carrying a backpack. The one on the left has a light pack that a child could carry. The poor soul on the right is so loaded down we can’t even see his head or body . . . just a couple of spindly legs wobbling under the burden […]
Read MoreCategory Archives: Love
Sins That Stifle Love and Unity
The specific sins in 1 Peter 2:1 are the most frequent barriers to mutual support, so they deserve a closer look. Malice: The Greek word kakia is a general word for “evil.”1 In this passage, it characterizes those who are entrenched in the world system. Deceit: The Greek word dolos means “cunning” or “treachery.”2 It […]
Read MoreLove without a Net
Anne Morrow was shy and delicate. Butterfly like. Not dull or stupid or incompetent, just a quiet specimen of timidity. Her dad was ambassador to Mexico when she met an adventurous young fellow who visited south of the border for the U.S. State Department. The man was flying from place to place promoting aviation. Everywhere […]
Read MoreThe Three Most Powerful Words
Almost always, the answer was the same. “How did your game go?” I’d ask. “Good,” he would reply. “How did you do?” . . . “Good.” The response wasn’t a curt put-off, nor was it a rote reaction. It was offered honestly, and almost always with enthusiasm. . . . It didn’t matter if the […]
Read MoreWhat Do You Look For?
Noise can distract us from the voice of the Spirit, but God often speaks in the silence. In a rare moment recently, my house was quiet. So I chose to sit and carefully observe the room I was in, and a number of emotions flooded my soul. My daughter’s art supplies rested by her canvas […]
Read MoreIt’s Time to Embrace Grace by Embracing the Unlovely
Is horizontal grace missing in your life? You may have embraced God’s vertical grace to you, but missed its all-important connection in your relationships. Allow me to probe under your skin with a few penetrating questions. Do you free people, or do you hold them hostage? Do you relieve them of guilt and shame, or […]
Read MoreTenderness
When I was just a kid, I got a bellyache that wouldn’t go away. It hurt so bad I couldn’t stand up straight or sit down without increasing the pain. Finally, my folks hauled me over to a big house in Houston, Texas where a surgeon lived. He had turned the back section of his […]
Read MoreA Month for Love
It is February. Overcast, chilly, bleak-and-barren February. If you’re not into skiing the slopes, skating on ice, or singin’ in the rain, there’s not a lot outside to excite you. Sure was gracious of God to make it last only twenty-eight days . . . well, sometimes twenty-nine. No wonder bears hibernate at this time […]
Read MoreThe Final Priority
Somebody copied the following paraphrase from a well-worn carbon in the billfold of a thirty-year veteran missionary. With her husband, she was on her way to another tour of duty at Khartoum, Sudan. No one seems to know who authored it, but whoever it was captured the essence of the greatest essay on love ever […]
Read MoreNeeded Today: A Ministry of Encouragement
Henry Drummond’s remark haunts me at times: . . . how many prodigals are kept out of the Kingdom of God by the unlovely character of those who profess to be inside?1 Will you allow me, in this private chat with you, to pick out one “unlovely characteristic” frequently found in Christian circles . . […]
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