'Christian Living' Tagged Posts

'Christian Living' Tagged Posts

God Above All Governments

You may disagree, but I believe biblical history and subsequent Christian history demonstrates that radical internal holiness, godly enthusiasm to follow Christ, and courageous truth-inspired faith in him regardless of the societal externals or the diffidence and even hatred of those around us, do more to accomplish the will of God in the world than the seating of any government over the people. The government may or may not support the Christian viewpoint. It did not in New Testament days…

Worth A Lot of Sparrows

Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? And yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12:6-7 At two cents per five sparrows, one dollar’s worth would buy two hundred and fifty of them. Imagine that! I once saw a stack of chicken heads in a Bolivian marketplace numbering about that many, all staring one way, eyes…

Losses of a Prayerless Christian

Though God is sovereign over all things, He ordains the means of prayer. There are some things He will not do unless we pray, though He always does all He purposes (Psalm 135:6). The mystery does not change this truth: You do not have because you do not ask (James 4:2). If you do not ask . . . 1. Evangelistic work will be hindered. “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of…

Rational Forgiveness

According to the ESV calculation for a talent (“a monetary unit worth about 20 years wages for a laborer”), the master in Jesus Mt 18 parable forgave a debt of ten thousand talents equal to 200,000 years of labor, which is equal to 73,000,000 days of labor. The forgiven man however would not forgive a debt owed him worth 100 days of labor (100 denarii) which is 730,000 times less that he was forgiven. Jesus intends for his listeners to…

The Spirit Moves Us Around—Some Reflections

“And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and…

Fences

It had not occurred to me that the fences in view on our back porch were so much in the style of colonial America. Such fences always impressed me when visiting Williamsburg in Virginia. The very wealthy might have wrought iron or stone, but the common fence 250 years ago was four feet high and wooden, sometimes painted but often not, just like ours. There is a warmth to that, as I look out over the fences here among neighbors,…

Paul and Prayer: Colossians 4:12-13

Colossians 4:12-13 “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis.” Epaphras was, according to the Apostle Paul, the person who started the church at Colossae. This was his hometown, situated about 100 miles…

George Muller on Prevailing Prayer

My life and ministry has been guided significantly by the insights God gave George Muller in the 1800s. Here is his answer concerning what is necessary in prayer. He stated that he had seen over 50,000 answers to prayer, 30,000 in the day or hour they had been requested. Let’s take his counsel. Note: I’m unable to connect this graphic to its source.

Powerfully Kept

I’ve seen a few extremely powerful things. I once watched a tornado whirling debris on the lawn as it rose up and passed just beside our house. I know that it was insane to be outside watching, but power is intriguing. I’ve been in a tropical storm on the Florida coast, packed and ready to leave in an instant if it accelerated to a hurricane. I’ve felt the ground rumbling while watching a space shuttle launch, and I’ve circled three…

The Guarantee of Holiness

“Say not that thou hast royal blood in thy veins and art born of God,” said puritan William Gurnall, “unless thou canst prove thy pedigree by daring to be holy.” There is no such thing as an unholy Christian (at least in any ongoing sense.) Can Christians commit any sort of sin? Yes. Can Christians repeatedly commit sin? Yes. Can Christians commit the worst of sins? Yes. But it is inconceivable that a person could be a Christian without holiness…

The Cause Is Still As Dear

There are a some followers of Christ who laid it all down in the battlefield. Most of them are unknown. Not all had the same opportunities. But God knows who they are. Among them was my indefatigable grandfather, A. P. Elliff, who was still teaching the Bible until he died at 93. I want to be like him. Here is a short poem to call us to that kind of life. The Cause Is Still As DearJim Elliff The body…

The Fear of Death and God’s Grip

Whatever hard thing you are facing may turn out to be more frightful in the projection than the reality of it. Like all things that bring us fear, there is truth behind that fear, however. The truth that chokes us is that all of us will die (unless escaping at the coming of Christ). It is only a matter of time. We’re sure, as well, that our lives could end in an unexpected way. And, beyond this, most of mankind…

DO Something When You Are Maligned

When stressed through the ill-will or stinging insults and persistent opposition by someone who wants to cause you trouble, we know there is something to think. We are to think the truth about God and ourselves. We don’t take their evaluation as true, but only God’s. Also, we are to think of God’s loving and purposeful sovereignty over his children, meaning that difficulties can bring about good results in character and progress for the gospel. But there is also something…

The Carter Home

I can smell the house with its iron water staining the sink and commode, the slightly musty unused bedrooms, and the lazy hydrangeas along the porch. A swing with its feather-pillow pad hung on the porch. For a small boy it was just right, if you propped your feet on the arm and the dirt daubers didn’t pester you. Inside, the Victrola, which I was allowed to use, sat behind the oak table in the dining room. It played “Forty…

The Book Alive

The husband had fallen asleep as his wife finished reading her Bible in bed. Suddenly she threw her hand on to the chest of the sleeping spouse, screaming out, “There’s a man in this book!” There is, indeed! In one sense, the Bible is simply a book, with rows of words in order, telling a story, informing or instructing. Yet, when the eyes of the person reading it are opened to its truth, and that God himself authored it, those…