Enjoying the Journey
Posts Tagged ‘Christian Life’
A Way To Escape
One of Satan’s lies is that the besetting sin in your life (you know the one) will always defeat you. “That’s just the way you are and it will never change.” Remember that the devil is a liar and the father of all lies (John 8:44). The God of truth says something quite different: There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13). A way to escape. There it is – God makes a way to live…
Read MoreConsumer Christianity
American Christianity (which is a far cry from Acts Christianity) has done much to develop consumerism in the minds of the average church member. People shop for a church today. “Where can I be happy? Who has the best music and programs? What will my family get out of it?” I have a suspicion that when we gather at the judgment seat of Christ many modern Christians are going to be terribly ashamed in the presence of the martyrs, and even more kneeling at the nail-pierced feet of the Lamb that was slain for us. Ours is a Christianity of convenience and comfort. We have become consumers. The early church had no such luxuries. They were depending on the only…
Read MoreLessons Learned on My Daily Run
Running has become for me many things. It is a means to stay in shape, a stress reliever, time to think. Recently it has become a classroom in which the Teacher has been showing me so many important lessons. It is not by accident that God refers frequently in the New Testament to our life as a race to be run. Henry Drummond wrote a great deal about how the physical world mirrors so many spiritual realities. This should be no surprise to us, for the creation simply reflects the Creator. This is why the Lord Jesus so often used parables – physical, earthly, every day things – to speak of much higher truth. In this way, running has begun…
Read MoreDaily Wisdom (Daily Living – Part 7)
In recent posts I have shared several thoughts concerning the daily Christian life. On the front of my calendar I have written: “Plan for the future, but live one week at a time, one day at a time, one meeting at a time.” It is a constant reminder to not get ahead of myself…or more importantly, not to get ahead of the Lord. In reality the Christian life is lived one moment at a time. Constantly depending on the Lord and His sufficiency at every twist and turn on the journey. The road of life is filled with intersections. Crossroads. Choices. Each traveler needs wisdom to know which way to take. Read Proverbs chapter 8. It is the testimony of…
Read MoreDaily Thanksgiving (Daily Living – Part 3)
I love Thanksgiving. (And, yes, I know this is not November!) For too many of us thanksgiving is a day of the year instead of a way of life. We have established a tradition without applying the truth. God never meant us to give thanks from time to time. He blesses us every day. This is why David wrote, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah” (Psalm 68:19). Daily benefits deserve daily blessing. Notice that the “blessing” mentioned here is not the Lord blessing us, but us blessing Him. His blessings upon us are constant. It is our blessing and praising of His name that seems to waver. He continues…
Read MoreDaily Confession (Daily Living – Part 2)
My second year in college I enrolled in a Greek class. It met at 7:00 in the morning. Now, I don’t think English well before 8:00 a.m., much less Greek! Nevertheless, it was a required course and one for which I am now truly grateful. There are many technical things about Greek that I do not remember, but I will never forget the first “word study” I was assigned. It came from a most familiar verse, 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” What a verse! What a principle and a promise! I have had to obey it and claim it thousands…
Read MoreDaily Worship (Daily Living – Part 1)
Some things must be done every day to sustain life. This is as true in the spiritual realm as it is in the physical. The Christian life cannot be lived on Sunday alone any more than the body could feed or rest only one day a week. It must be daily. Over the next few weeks I plan to share a series of articles on the daily disciplines of the Christian life. (Read the introductory post here.) I begin this new series of posts with one of the daily truths that God has deeply impressed on me in recent days – the necessity of Daily Worship. Worship is a most misunderstood thing in our world. Perhaps it has always been. Man…
Read MoreNew Blog Series!
The Christian life is not lived one day a week. It is lived every day. Walking with Jesus is not an event; it is a way of life. Far too much Christianity is reserved for the church house. Christ is relegated to “His day.” We must always remember that Sunday is the Lord’s day, but every day is a Lord’s day. And every day we are to follow Him. Scripture reveals a host of “daily” truths for the child of God. These are principles and promises which must be considered every day if we are to please the Lord. In the coming blog series I plan to share one of these each week. Here are 3 ways to get the most…
Read MoreToo Busy to Pray?
Aunt Goldie is with the Lord now. I rode my bike past her house hundreds of times as a boy. In the summer she was almost always sitting on the front porch in the swing. Life was simple. There were few material possessions and yet she was a happy woman. One afternoon she said to me, “You know, Scott, sometimes I like to just get down on my knees and look at Him.” I thought maybe she was losing her mind! Now I understand that her mind was clearer than most. Life revolved around fellowship with Christ. She was living for another world. The last few months have been some of the busiest of my life. At times like these…
Read MoreBrief Thoughts on How to Make Prayer More Meaningful
The new year brings with it fresh thoughts about our devotional life. We all need to give more time and attention to prayer. To God. Recently a fine young man sent me a message to ask for a few pointers on prayer. I felt ashamed to speak on the subject in so many ways. There is so much more to learn about true communion with God. My answer to him was simple: 1. Learn to pray by doing it. We do not learn to pray by listening to lectures on prayer or reading books about the subject. Prayer is fellowship with God. It is deepened only by time spent in His presence. Find a place. Make time. Pray. 2. Spend…
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