Posts Tagged with "grace"

I was recently reminded of how much power God’s promises wield. “Do not be anxious.” Remember that verse from Philippians 4:6? I hate to point out the obvious, but that’s a command. A law. It’s what we call an “imperative” in the academic world. Those have teeth. The command is to STOP doing something. In this case, stop being anxious. Cease and desist. D...

Author Philip Yancey describes himself as, “a pilgrim, still 'in recovery' from a bad church upbringing, searching for the possibility of a faith rooted in grace instead of fear.”...

Righteousness. What comes into your mind when you hear that word? If you’re like most people, something religious probably surfaces, which is understandable. But righteousness is not simply a religious term. Everyone is on a quest for righteousness, whether they’re religious or not...

When I was a teenager growing up in the south, adults often warned us about the satanic dangers lurking around us. Everything was suspect. Heavy metal music. Role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. Dolls and action figures. Even Saturday morning cartoons like Thundercats, He-man, and The Smurfs were considered demonic. A satanic panic took over the culture. People we...

Recently, I tried for a moment to imagine whom 2020 would be if it were a person. I couldn’t settle on one, though. Consciously avoiding being too political, I figured 2020 might be a mix of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tom Buchanan, Shakespeare’s Iago, the Thomas brothers’ Predator, and probably the Zodiac Killer. You know, insecurity and power, cruel deception, and viol...

It’s been quite a month for America. Which means it’s been quite a month for Americans...

Have you ever felt surrounded? Pressure, trouble, enemies…hemming you in and backing you up—with nowhere to turn? That’s where King David found himself when his son Absalom betrayed his trust. In a gut-wrenching act of treachery Absalom staged a mutiny against his own father. ...

Grace is confusing. Have you noticed? It provokes two completely different reactions. In one sense, we find grace attractive. Our hearts long for the one-way, unconditional acceptance that grace delivers. Love, not judgment. Pardon, not punishment. Who wouldn’t sign up for that?...

A few years ago, TIME Magazine published an article listing the top ten commonly broken New Year’s Resolutions. Here’s three of them. ...

Years ago I caught my son breaking pencils. Little convict had a whole pile of splintered number 2’s hidden in a drawer. I confronted him. “Why are you breaking all my pencils, buddy?” His answer? “To show how powerful I am.” I haven’t forgotten his response. It’s comical. It’s human. It’s an opportunity to think more deeply about “power.” We prove ou...