Enjoying the Journey
Posts Tagged ‘conversation’
3 Talks To Have While You Are “Social Distancing”
Many of us are spending a little more time at home these days! The worldwide pandemic and resulting restrictions have cut down on travel, meetings, school, and a host of other “normal” activities. Most are suffering some degree of withdrawal from the lack of sporting events and simultaneous overexposure to news media. Now we are to keep six feet away from one another! Like many things in life, every negative can be a positive. After terrible circumstances Joseph declared, “…ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good” (Genesis 50:20). Paul explained it this way: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to…
Read MoreALL NATURAL???
In our day of cheap facades, strange additives, and generic substitutes it is appealing when anyone offers something that is completely natural. Entire brands are now built on the idea of being “all natural.” But in this fallen world of ours even that which is “natural” is so often tainted by sin and the curse. This was not the case with Christ. He was the most natural person to have ever lived, and yet the most supernatural. The Lord Jesus was all man and all God at the same time – deity clothed with humanity. As surely as His deity was perfect deity, His humanity was perfect humanity. The “second Adam” was the perfect Man. I have been reflecting recently…
Read MoreHave A Conversation!
The Christian witness should not be awkward. A rigid recitation of facts will never effectively introduce unbelievers to “the way, the truth, and the life.” Early on in my witnessing I was taught to use key Scriptures from the book of John and the book of Romans. While this is very helpful, we must never remove the leading of the Holy Spirit from our witness. Every person is different and every situation is different. The Lord Jesus approached each individual as an individual, and so should we. Read the conversations of Christ. They were real conversations! Person to person. Full of compassion and interest. Don’t give a presentation – have a conversation. Begin where they are. People can tell if…
Read MoreCliche Christianity
So much of our Christianity has become trite and cliche. Words often overused and under-appreciated are common place. Do we even think about the things we are saying? I hear this cliche Christianity in my own prayers. It is easy to criticize the “vain repetition” of other groups and false religions, but what about MY vain repetition? The same words used again and again. Without heart. Without thought. Without meaning. I hear this cliche Christianity in so much preaching. All of us who speak frequently are guilty of it. We fall back on words and fillers that are comfortable. Easy. But are they true? Do they express God’s meaning to the hearers? I hear this cliche Christianity in every day…
Read MoreCan You Go One Day Without It?
Relax. I’m not going to ask you to give up something important like chocolate or coffee. I want to ask you to give up something far more destructive. A few days ago I started to say something in casual conversation to a family member. It was a thoughtless comment. A negative word about someone I did not even know. At that moment the Holy Spirit convicted me. Now, as a general rule, I am a fairly positive person. But those who know me best would tell you that when I get overly tired I can also get irritable. We all must guard ourselves at such times. One careless, critical word can do such damage. And so back to my story……
Read More3 Things I Am Praying for My Words
Words are powerful things. Spoken, written, typed, or texted – they are vehicles of communication that tend to last. If not on paper, in the hearts and minds of others. With our words we build up, and with our words we tear down. Solomon declared, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). James said that with the same tongue we “bless” and “curse” (James 3:19-20). Many a marriage bears the wounds of a word that never should have been spoken. Children carry the powerful words of their parents with them their entire life. Churches are often divided, fellow children of God alienated from one another, because of senseless words. There are three things I have…
Read MoreThink First!
As children we were always instructed to think before we speak. Now, with children of my own, I realize that this is good advice for adults too. This simple rule would transform relationships and the very atmosphere in most homes! God’s Book of Wisdom cautions us not to be “hasty” with our words (Prov. 29:20). In the Proverbs of the New Testament the Holy Spirit counsels us to be “slow to speak” (James 1:19). We are all too quick to share our mind before we truly examine it! My dad has said through the years that there is a difference in responding and reacting. When we react we are operating in the flesh. When we respond with grace we are operating…
Read MoreSarcasm is Not a Spiritual Gift!
The wisest man who ever lived wrote, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). Death is mentioned first because it is what naturally comes out. Only the grace of God can enable us to speak life. Those of us that basically talk for a living are always in danger. I was recently reminded of yet another of Solomon’s proverbs, “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin” (Proverbs 10:19). The more we speak, the more apt we are to say something that is hurtful to God, to others, and to ourselves. Perhaps one of the most cutting types of language is the use of sarcasm. Some of us have perfected it and assumed that…
Read MoreFor Married Couples: Dealing with Difficult Days
Marriage is fun. But not all the time. Newlyweds rarely think of this when they say, “for better or for worse.” Every young couple need this understanding and preferably before they get married! Pastor Sexton has taught our young families that marriage is much more than the wedding. And so it is. Troubles come. Difficulties arise. Arguments (“discussions!”) happen. The question is: how do we respond on tough days? I have the privilege of teaching a class each Sunday of young married couples. It is such a joy to invest in the lives of couples what others have invested in us. We are all working through the tests of life and growing in our understanding of the Lord’s way for…
Read More
