DO YOU RECALL JESUS’ RADICAL philosophy of servanthood? It’s found tucked away in His now immortal words: He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” LUKE 9:23 Following Christ as His disciple is a costly, unselfish decision. It calls for a radical examination of our self-centered life.
Read MoreTag Archives: Luke
Surrendering Your Will
THE PSALMIST WAS CORRECT: the heavens do indeed proclaim the glory of God. The skies do indeed display his craftsmanship (see Psalm 19:1). And when you mix that unfathomable fact with the incredible reality that He cares for each one of us right down to the last, tiniest detail, the psalmist is, again, correct: “such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand” (Psalm 139:6).
Read MorePersistence, Part Two
Yesterday, we focused on Philippians 1:6, noting that God “who began a good work . . . will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” And, since we are to be “imitators of God” (Ephesians 5:1), it seems to me we oughta be about the business of persistence. It sure is easy to bail out theologically. You know, the age-old sovereignty cop-out. “If God wants such-and-such to happen, He’s gonna have to do it all.
Read MoreSheep, Not Cattle
EVER GET THAT cattle-in-the-corral feeling? Sure you have. Whether it’s sitting in morning traffic or standing in a long check-out line at Walmart-it’s easy to feel as if you’re only a blip on the radar of some cosmic force, herding people like cattle to their inevitable ends. Aside from the physical and emotional discomfort of being shoved around like thick-skinned creatures with horns, there’s a subtle signal that goes off inside us with damaging results.
Read MoreEchoes
A YOUNG BOY LIVED WITH his grandfather on the top of a mountain in the Swiss Alps. Often, just to hear his voice echoing back to him, he would go outside, cup his hands around his mouth, and shout, “HELLO!” Up from the canyons it reverberated over and over, “HELLO . . . HELLO . . . hello . . . hello . . . hello . . .”
Read MoreOperation Arrival
For the longest time I didn’t understand the new-car industry. I had always thought it worked like this. When a guy wanted a car, he dropped by the local dealership, kicked a few tires, slammed some doors, and fiddled around with radios, hoods, and trunk lids.
Read MoreOne Long Extended Gift
It’s not too late to give some things away this Christmas. Not just on Christmas Day, but during the days after December 25. We could call these daily gifts “our Christmas projects.” Maybe one per day from now ’til the end of the year.
Read MoreWhy Drop Everything?
Why should we be willing to drop everything and follow Jesus Christ? And what happens when we do? I can think of at least six reasons.
Read MoreRisen, Indeed!
No need to prolong the story. Or complicate it. Or embellish it. Or try to explain it. Or defend it. Just declare it. The facts speak for themselves. Jesus of Nazareth said He would “suffer . . . be killed, and be raised up on the third day.”
Read MoreRefuge Wanted
People don’t want to listen to a recording of some sermon when the bottom drops out. They want a place to cry, a person to care, someone to bind up their wounds, someone to listen, the security of a few close, intimate friends.
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