Happiness is something everybody wants. The Declaration of Independence goes so far as to call it an “unalienable” right. But when we read, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4), it seems unrealistic—even burdensome. How can we possibly rejoice after a child dies, war breaks out, or broken relationships tear up our family?
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Read Matthew 5:31-32. At this point in Jewish history, there was a debate raging between Pharisees and other teachers of the law. It concerned a foundational issue from God's Law: marriage and divorce. You see, Deuteronomy 24:1 describes a certain situation in which a man divorces his wife because she becomes "displeasing to him" because "he finds something indecent about her."
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Many have tried to create a friction between the concepts of grace and obedience. However, grace and obedience are related and beautifully compatible. Romans 6:17 states that we believers have become “obedient from the heart.” By grace, we have been gifted with a new, righteous heart that is obedient to God. This is why we can afford to live under grace and watch as God grows us up as obedient ...
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Servanthood isn’t typically synonymous with leadership. In the political and secular realms, leaders are generally people who spend their lives being served rather than serving others. The most visible segments of religion seem to reflect the same attitude as well. Popes and prosperity preachers spend their lives surrounded by an entourage of minions waiting upon their every whim.
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Have you ever noticed how often Jesus’ ministry was centered around meals? Among others, there was the wedding at Cana, a dinner with the reviled Zaccheus, and the beautiful symbolism of the Last Supper. Jesus was even criticized for eating with “tax collectors and sinners” (Matt. 9:11).
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The shortest verse in the Bible is John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” Even though this verse is simple, it’s packed with many truths that are deep and complex.
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Living free starts with overcoming spiritual complacency and focusing on the race before us. Our culture’s idea about freedom is often that we are set free to do whatever we want. The irony is that when we go through seasons of doing whatever we want, those turn out to be our least content seasons. We were not built to live for ourselves.
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Rising 29,029 feet into the clouds, Mount Everest is the tallest peak in the world. For years people tried to conquer Everest without success, but on May 29, 1953, mountaineers Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first explorers to scale Everest. Two years earlier, Hillary had tried and failed to reach the summit. He reportedly shook his fist at the mountain and said, “I will come again and conquer ...
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The certainty of death brings clarity to the living of life. For every single one of us, our days will soon be over, and the wise among us will take this reality to heart (Ecc. 7:2). Our mortality ought to awaken us to the truth that as we walk this earthly sod, we are all leaving a legacy.
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King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote, “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him” (Psalm 127:3 NLT). Our children are a gift to us from God.
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