'Christian Living' Tagged Posts
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…
Is the “Rebellious Teen Phase” to be Expected?
What do you hope your children become when they are teenagers? Top athletes? Academic overachievers? Those wishes are not necessarily bad. Most importantly, I trust that you really hope your teenage children will love and follow Jesus. The Bible gives us some hope that this might happen, though it’s not guaranteed. I would put it like this: Christian parents should not be surprised if they have teenagers who are believers, or who are at least submissive and respectful. This immediately confronts…
We Need the Spirit
We Need the Spirit The Holy Spirit “came upon” individual disciples in the New Testament, giving them great power most notably in the effectiveness of their speech. The Spirit also “filled” believers multiple times with the same effect. This is especially seen in the repeated experience of Peter in Acts. These are two ways of saying the same thing. We should think of “filled” as being overcome or dominated by the Spirit. Paul instructed the Ephesians like this: “Do not…
Here’s the Skinny on Fat Tuesday
Fat Tuesday is another name for Mardis Gras, the raucous annual parade and party held in the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana. The tradition is many centuries old and was originally known as Carnival. It is held in various places around the world under different names. Mardis Gras (or Fat Tuesday) is the American version. Carnival comes from a combination of Latin words meaning “farewell to the flesh.” There is a great deal of irony in that name because Fat…
Check Your Guns at the Door: Responding Like Christians to Social Media, Blogs and Web Forums
Those of us who have a ministry of writing are usually pretty tough folks. Many of us have been in the combat zone for quite a while and can take almost anything that is said by readers of our articles. This short is more about my embarrassment for all of us who are web-interactive Christians than it is for my own hide. In short, I’m appealing for etiquette characteristic of believers in reader’s responses to articles, blog entries, and social…
The “I Pray That” Prayer
What are we saying when we pray like this — “I pray that you will make yourself known to us in this meeting”? We intend to ask the Lord for something, but we are actually telling the Lord what we are asking. Perhaps it is hard even to catch this problem because it so ingrained in our methodology. It would be wise to correct this. There is a difference between prayer which is direct from believers’ hearts to the Father…
Why Should I Join a Church? — Christ Fellowship Elders
The title of this introduction raises a good question, doesn’t it? Even among those who support the idea of church membership, there are valid reasons to wonder why most churches have established membership roles as well as procedures for welcoming people into membership. For example, we cannot overlook the fact that the word “membership” is not used anywhere in the Bible. No matter how hard you look, you will never find a verse or passage in the New Testament that…
My Father Said to Me
My father tried to teach each of his children those great lessons he learned in his long life, some from the crucible of failure. Here is one. His mother, an exemplary Christian, had a weakness in the area of worry. She fought it and worked to turn her worries into prayer. It was a besetting sin, often showing up to hassle her. My father fought against worry also. He considered worry to be a true battleground in his life. I…
The Cupcake Transgression
After we moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where my father would become the pastor of Bethany Baptist Church (1952-60), I began my school career. Kindergarten to MDiv degree took 17 years. At the beginning of that first year I was chosen, along with JoAnn, my classmate, to pull the wagon full of sleeping mats leading the way for the rest of the class into the brand new kindergarten addition. Miss Taylor, one of my favorites, was our teacher. My years…
Spiritual Adultery and the Grace to be Restored
Are you sinning often but professing to love the Lord? Though the fruit of constant sin against God can indicate a lost condition, true believers can also sin in awful ways. James has a helpful word for us in James 4:4-10. On the one hand the solution is difficult but on the other hopeful. Here it is: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” Let’s look closer at what James is teaching here. It’s too important to…
Identity Theft: Losing Our Christian Self-Consciousness
When whimpering Gideon hid himself from the Midianites in the winepress while threshing his wheat, the angel of the Lord appeared to him with this striking greeting: “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Man of valor? In Gideon’s mind, nothing could be further from the truth. But the angel continued, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites.” Gideon squeaked out a lame response, “O my Lord,…
Yes Lord, I Believe: The Affirmation of Faith in John 11
Jesus told Martha [when Lazarus had died], “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (John 11:25-27)___ FIRST, THE FACTS Jesus is “the resurrection and the life.” It is in our union…