Romans 1:21; For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. It is interesting that thankfulness is an important part of out spiritual lives. When we are not Romans 1 says a bad thing happens.Our thinking becomes […]
I love the story in Matthew 15:21-28, of the interaction of Jesus and a Canaanite woman. It is not your normal “Jesus does a miracle” story. Do not get me wrong, all of the miracles of Jesus were great, but this is unusual (if there is a “usual” for Jesus). We normally think of Jesus
Ignored, Denied, Insulted Read More »
I know I am boring. People tell me all of the time. Not with their words of course, but with their body language. The worst part is that they do not try to hide it. We may be walking together, or standing in a group and the bored person is looking around for something or
My Apologies for Boring You Read More »
In the US, we have established a 5 day work week. The Bible says that, “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work.” (Ex 23:12 et al.) If my work day is 8 hours, that means I should be working approximately 48 hours each week. Interestingly enough that is almost
Nobody should stay in abusive situations. We should not allow ourselves to be subjected to abuse. Interestingly enough, we should not allow ourselves to go to the opposite extreme either. Coming out of abuse can fling us into a place that we make absolutely sure that we do not get ourselves back into difficult circumstances
Growing In Difficulties Read More »
According to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, love is … Patient – longsuffering, puts up with a lot before it suffers Kind – gentle, affectionate Not envious – at peace and contentment with others Does not boast – does not talk of themselves Not proud – humble, does not need to be heard Does not dishonor others
God’s Love Lived Out Read More »
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” It is interesting that three out of the nine fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22-23 are very similar. The fifth in the list is gentleness (KJV; NIV & NASB, use “kindness”). The sixth in the list is goodness.
Fruit of Compassion Read More »
Galatians 5:22 lists the fruit of the Spirit. The forth in the list the KJV has “longsuffering”. The newer versions of the NIV have the word “forbearance” (and yes, there are revisions of the NIV). It is interesting that the most recent translations of the NIV use the antiquated word “forbearance”. Forbearance in legal terms
Freedom From the Negative Around Us Read More »
Colossians 3:15, Let the peace of God rule in your hearts. “Let” implies that if we do not stop something, it will occur automatically. To “rule” means to “umpire” or to make judgment on whether something is according to the rules. Paul is telling us to let the peace of God make the decisions about
Philippians 4:4, Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! This verse sounds like a command, because it is. God wants us to be joyful. Living in joy is a choice. It is allowing God to do His work in our hearts. It is the natural outworking of the Holy Spirit in us
Why Not Choose Joy? Read More »
