If I may select a well-known phrase from the cobwebs of the fourteenth century and wipe away the dust to garner your attention, it is: COMPARISONS ARE ODIOUS. Odious . . . disgusting, detestable. If you want to be a miserable mortal, then compare. You compare when you place someone beside someone else for the purpose of emphasizing the differences or showing the likenesses. This applies to places and things as well as people.
Read MoreTag Archives: Second Corinthians
Newborn
Two hours away from our own front door we traveled completely around the world. We didn’t miss a continent. From Paraguay to the Congo. From the Serengeti Plains of Tanzania into the tropical rain forests of Malagasy, across the Indian Ocean to mysterious Malaya. Then it was the tundra of the Arctic Circle, Scandinavia to Mesopotamia, Egypt to China, Manchuria to Siberia.
Read MoreMental Barriers to God’s Voice
DO YOU REALIZE THE POWER OF humanistic reasoning to block the power of Scripture? Let me be specific. Perhaps you’ve formed the habit of getting even rather than overlooking wrongs done against you. So, when you come across scriptural instruction that requires an alternative attitude, your inner reaction is “No way!”
Read MoreSticking with a Commitment
A full year before the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, they had begun a project. No doubt they were filled with enthusiasm, the thrill of a fresh beginning. But with the passing of time, the newness had worn off.
Read MoreMaking a Thorough Self-Evaluation
I’ll never forget an actual situation I heard about on the radio some years ago. A woman in West Palm Beach, Florida, died alone at the age of 71. The coroner’s report was tragic. “Cause of death: malnutrition.”
Read MoreWhen Actions Matter More than Words
THE CHRISTIANS IN THE Macedonian churches were servants who gave without any concern about receiving the credit for their generosity. But Paul reveals something else remarkable about the nature of their gift: Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor.
Read MoreA Gift That Overflows
THE CHRISTIANS IN THE Macedonian churches were servants who gave without any concern about receiving the credit for their generosity. But Paul reveals something else remarkable about the nature of their gift: Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia.
Read MoreA Nameless Giver
WHEN THE APOSTLE PAUL MADE his way through Europe, specifically the region of ancient Macedonia, he shared with those believers the financial need of the Jerusalem church. Macedonia was already an economically depressed area. Macedonia was to Paul what Bangladesh would be to the US. It would be like encouraging the poorest people of Appalachia to respond to those who are hurting in the ghetto of Harlem.
Read MoreHumility and Inferiority
Having “humility of mind” is really an attitude, isn’t it? It’s a preset mentality that determines ahead of time thoughts like this: “I care about those around me.” “Why do I always have to be first?”
Read MoreAbsolute Honesty
Let’s think about an essential mark of servanthood: integrity . . . or absolute honesty. Remember these words? “Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart . . .”
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