Maybe we should confess that one reason we find it so hard to set selfishness aside and adopt the spirit of a servant is that we’re driven by dreams of success. We want to be winners.
Read MoreTag Archives: First Peter
Take Heed Lest You Fall
OURS IS A DAY OF SUPERFICIALITY. If you can fake it, you’re often admired as being clever, not criticized for being phony. Mediocrity can mark the ministry just as overtly as it marks many of those who work for the government and are employed in industry. I’ve also noticed that staying longer in the same place can only perpetuate the problem. People tend to let seniority excuse the erosion of excellence.
Read MoreCrowns God Sets Aside for His Servants, Part 2
Yesterday, we began our look at five eternal “crowns” set aside for God’s servants. After listing the first three crowns again, I’ll add the final two and offer a brief explanation of each.
Read MoreSuffering for Doing What Is Right
As you serve people in ministry, you will give, forgive, forget, release your own will, obey God to the maximum, and wash dirty feet with an attitude of gentleness and humility.
Read MoreA Realistic Appraisal of Serving Others
We Americans like things to be logical and fair. We not only like that, we operate our lives on that basis. Logic and fairness are big guns in our society. Meaning this: if I do what is right, good will come to me.
Read MoreThree Realms of True Success
Yesterday, we looked at the apostle Peter’s three crucial realms related to true success: authority, attitude, and anxiety. Let’s translate those realms into practical principles. You could think of them in steps.
Read MoreThe Weight of Worry
How wonderful that God personally cares about those things that worry us and prey upon our thoughts. He cares about them more than we care about them. Not a single nagging, aching, worrisome, stomach-tensing, blood-pressure-raising thought escapes His notice.
Read MoreReading, Part One
The three Rs have stood the test of time as reliable criteria for a dependable education. They are poised like disciplined sentinels against one of man’s greatest enemies: ignorance. The original blocks of granite, unimpressed by educational styles, unmoved by change, these three solid friends are trustworthy to the end. Like salve on an open sore, they reduce the fever of panic, giving stability when so many voices demand obedience.
Read MoreThe Problem with Progress, Part Two
Though in time we may laud their boldness and radical qualities, in their day most progressive dreamers are seen as permissive, wild-eyed extremists. I came across a rather remarkable letter purportedly written over one hundred and fifty years ago by Martin Van Buren to President Andrew Jackson. The contents? A strong, critical warning that the “evil” new railroads would disrupt business, boost unemployment, and weaken our nation’s defense.
Read MoreQuestions
Gifted evangelist Tom Skinner penned a book with a title that won’t let me go: If Christ Is the Answer, What Are the Questions? I like that . . . not only because it’s creative, but because it strikes a chord in my soul that harmonizes well with the voices of many searchers in society. Far too many sheep in the fold have turned a deaf ear to the questions of goats outside the gate.
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