'Christian Living' Tagged Posts (Page 3)
My First Unmistakable Answer to Prayer
My first clear and dramatic answer to prayer came in the early years of my ministry life. I was a college student at Ouachita Baptist University, attempting to pastor my first church in Washington, Arkansas, the historic Civil War capital of Arkansas. There were four hundred people in this town which is now a beautiful State park. Shortly after I began pastoring I read a small book in my dorm room called The Power of Positive Praying by John Bisagno,…
The Cross: the Character of Our Christianity
The cross is the character of Christianity. As the self-appointed spokesman for Jesus’ handpicked coterie, Peter says the right thing at the right time: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” But Peter cannot leave good enough alone. As Jesus goes on to explain for the first time that He will go to Jerusalem, suffer, die, and be raised again, Peter rebukes Him for such an outlandish notion. “Never! Not you! God forbid it, Lord!” Within moments…
God Doesn’t Need You
“He is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.” Acts 17 Paul on Mars Hill in Athens proclaimed the entire self-sufficiency of God. We are his body, it is true, which is the fullness or completion of the Head. He uses us. But he needs nothing from us. Let that sink in. We do not add to him in any way, but rather, he gives…
Getting John 1:12 Right: Should You Invite Jesus Into Your Heart?
Is it useful to critique any person’s or ministry’s method of evangelism? For one thing, there are not enough people calling on others to follow Christ. Should I attempt to cripple anyone’s efforts in the slightest way, even for the few who might listen to me? I hope I will not. I would rather think that I’m improving our evangelism. And it does need improving. The apparent results of the method of evangelistic appeal built upon the verse in question…
“I Forgive Him”: The Potency of Forgivness
The wife of Charlie Kirk, Erika, said with much emotion that she forgives her husband’s assassin. “I forgive him” were words which powerfully impacted the thousands in the arena and millions streaming during the memorial service for her husband. She meant, of course, that she would not personally avenge herself of her husband’s blood. That would be God’s business. Surely the following passage of Scripture was in her mind: Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.…
The Story of a Boy Who Couldn’t Learn and then Died for His Friends
Don McClure was a missionary in Eastern Africa from 1928 until 1977, when he was shot and killed by militants in eastern Ethiopia. While living in a particular village, he and his wife, Lyda, provided schooling and housing for boys. One year, they were expecting 80, but 150 appeared. They somehow managed to take in 120. Among those who stayed was a boy named Orop, known for his completely flat head on top. Though eager, Orop was unable to learn.…
The Love of Beauty
I know beauty when I see it. I am now out-of-doors in the morning on a spring day, drinking coffee with the right kind of cup, a light breeze flowing over my shoulder, the prospect of a useful day (which is the best day for me) and a sense of God’s hand planning all events. It is the convergence of likable things made even more desirable by all the days not so perfect. I have had other days, strung tight…
Your Favorite Famous Bible Teacher
Renowned Bible teachers are immediately accessible online. Thousands of their sermons are available at no charge. Some of these men speak at multiple conferences throughout the year and might even influence thousands daily. Do you have a favorite famous Bible teacher? Have you ever considered what place he should have in your life? Consider these three guiding principles: 1. Keep learning from him. God uses certain men in extraordinary ways for the growth of His kingdom. The Spirit is empowering…
Three Tragic Consequences of Falling Back in Love With This Present Age
One man often comes to my mind when I think about people I’ve seen fall away from the Lord. He was so zealous for Jesus when I baptized him. His fervor lasted for several years. But then he started hanging out with the wrong people and became enslaved to alcohol. As a school teacher, he would even show up for class “buzzed” from the night before. I crossed paths with this man once and pled with him to repent. I’m…
The Lord’s Prayer: Something is Missing
It turns out that the Lord’s Prayer does not model every aspect of prayer. Thanksgiving and intercession, two aspects of prayer which characterize both Christ’s and Paul’s prayers, are strangely missing. A key may be in Mt. 6:8 just before the model prayer: “FOR THE LORD KNOWS WHAT YOU HAVE NEED OF BEFORE YOU ASK HIM.” It appears that the model prayer demonstrates sincerity and brevity related to our prayers about our NEEDS. ——- “And when you pray, you must…
Audacious Prayer
Christians must be people who pray with audacity, not because we deserve an answer, but because God will give it. When one of Jesus’ followers requested of Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples,” Jesus’ response was two-fold. He first gave an example of how we ought to pray, and then he told a story about a man who desired bread from a friend. “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to…
Hard Work: The Spurgeon Way
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the renowned preacher of London in the 1800s, was not only a gifted leader, but was a hard worker. By the time most pastors write a few emails, wrestle with the dates for VBS and read the junk mail, Spurgeon would have completed a mountain of tasks. For instance, each week he preached several times (often 10), trained pastors in the pastor’s college, wrote several hundred letters (“I’m immersed to my chin in letters.”), led an elders’…
Watch the Wine: Being “Christ’s Nazarites”
Samson was a Nazirite. His hair was to be uncut and he was to drink no wine (even grape juice) or liquor. For him, the vow of the Nazirite was to last all his life. He didn’t carry out his vow, a commitment entered into by his parents prior to his birth, but he is perhaps the most colorful illustration of it. John the Baptist was made a Nazirite from his mother’s womb. Luke tells us: “For he will be…
Providence in Romania
After ministering just a few days in Romania in 1985 when the Iron Curtain was still up, I received a call that my mother was dying in a hospital room in Oklahoma City. “We think she is holding on until you get here,” my brother said. It took two days to leave. It was hard enough to get into Romania at Oradea a few days earlier. At the checkpoint, the border guards asked if we had “any guns, drugs, pornography…
Book Tribalism
A tribe was exposed to the Bible for the first time in its own language. For fifteen to twenty years, this was all they had. If there were questions about practices or beliefs, the Bible alone was studied by the elders until a clear view emerged. The people memorized it, read it aloud to each other, enjoyed its language and encouragement, and heeded its rebukes and challenges. They taught the Bible to their families and in their church as if…
Returning To Your First Love
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” Revelation 2:4-5 ESV Are you and those who are with you dangerously close to experiencing this judgment? Is the Light of God’s presence dim, almost imperceptible? Do you have form without power…