Perhaps you’ve heard of the older gentleman being tested for hearing aids? As the audiologist prepares for the test, he hears the wife telling her husband, “It’s not going to help. You’re not hard of hearing; you’re hard of listening.” I’m sure you’ve met people like that.

“Copycat!” “Mom, make him stop! He’s copying me!” Do you remember when your little brother tried to do everything just like you? Or maybe you were the little girl who wanted to be just like your big sister.

Whatever your LINWTLs your Lessons I Never Wanted To Learn know that God never gives us burdens without sufficient grace, and that we can always trust Him with the outcome.

I awoke this morning from my usual sound sleep, and made my way into the kitchen for a glass of cold water. I stumbled over the kitchen garbage can—which had been filled almost to overflowing when I last saw it—now completely empty and lying on its side.

An old song – the kind that used to be called a “negro spiritual,” but nobody knows what they’re called in our “kinder, gentler” day – appropriately reminded us that “everybody talkin’ ’bout Heaven ain’t a-going there.” Lately, I’ve been wondering how lots of people who talk about Heaven would respond if they actually ended […]

Many well-meaning Christians think that any possibility that God speaks to His people today is dangerous—and it certainly can be! But the failure to hear God, if God is in fact attempting to communicate with us, can also be dangerous.

I invite you to read Matthew 5:3-12 for a better understanding of the remarks below. Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount by describing the kind of people God can bless. Nine times Jesus promises blessings for those who demonstrate certain qualities. A quick overview of these qualities shows a clear progression that begins within […]

Do you ever have one of those days? Maybe the alarm clock failed to alarm, or the power went off before the coffee was made? The driver in front of you is so slow; it seems he’s actually trying to wait for the light to turn red?

A feature that you quickly notice in almost every neighborhood in almost every third-world country is rebar—steel rods poking into the sky from the top of countless houses.

An old spiritual said it pretty well: “Everybody talkin’ ’bout Heaven ain’t goin’ there…” So who is? Am I?

The average church today has far more members than Jesus’ small band of disciples. Even at the peak of ministry, Jesus never spoke to an audience as large as that in any one of the several mega-churches around the country. Forty days after his resurrection, after the excitement of learning he was alive, the faithful […]

Jesus had a lot to say about life. He went everywhere inviting people to have life, to enjoy life, and to begin living what he called an eternal life. Certainly, the people he addressed thought they had life; they walked and talked and ate. But, many of those who heard him certainly did not have […]

Many—perhaps most—professing Christians think of Christianity in terms of justice. God is just; God must judge sin. Consequently, life comes to be viewed as a series of blessings and judgments from the hand of God; everything is about the carrot and the stick; the reward and the punishment. Do right, and experience God’s blessing; do […]

1 “As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.” See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of […]