Worthy Words

It’s time Christ-followers start giving off some light because the darkness is closing in at a rapid pace. The killings that took place in Dallas and now in Baton Rouge are images of hate. Having hate in one’s heart is a sign, according to the Bible, that a person is walking or living in darkness. There are people who seem religious because they can speak the language of the church but they don’t really walk as Jesus walked—in the light. “Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.” (1 John 2:10-11) The apostle John makes this abundantly clear that if you hate your brother you do not know God and you are living in darkness, but if you love your brother your life is full of light. I wonder how much of our sin—greed, rage, deception, sexual immoralit...

This last week I listened to many voices providing reasons why Dallas Police officers were shot and killed along with solutions for what to do moving forward. Surely we will stop short of being nostalgic about the way things used to be and realize that the cat-is-out-of-the-bag and there is no going back. I offer the following to Christ-followers a reminder and a solution to move forward successfully. Christ-followers seem at times to make the Christian life far too complicated. Do you know what God wants from his people? “The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) He wants us to do right—to do justice. We have, deep within, an ingrained sense of what is fair and what is good and what is right. And he wants us to do it, to the best of our ability. He wants us to love mercy. That means he wants to give mercy to others when they need it. And he wan...

Do you remember playing with an Etch-A-Sketch when you were a kid? You try to sketch out your name or a house or stick figures — and when you mess up the masterpiece, you turn it over, shake it good and hard, and like magic you start over with a clean slate. 1 John 1:9 is the Etch-A-Sketch verse of scripture. John said in verse nine; “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” It's a simple no-nonsense promise stated in plain language for anyone to understand. The condition is that we confess our sins. The promise is that God wipes the slate clean. It sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? It can't be that easy. When we hear about God's generous attitude toward forgiveness, we often come back with the question—"If God guarantees my forgiveness, does that mean I can commit any sin I want, and God will forgive me?" It's like the bumper sticker I saw once that said, ...

What if I were to tell you that there is one specific quality that determines, more than anything else, whether or not you succeed in life? It determines your level of long-term happiness. It determines your ability to deal with adversity. It determines your ability to earn money and keep it, your ability to create meaningful relationships, and your ability to experience deep and abiding joy. What if I were to tell that there is this one quality on which all the good things of life turn — and this one quality is yours for the asking? The quality I'm talking about is wisdom. And it's yours for the asking. It's available to every Christ-follower. James said...If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. (James 1:5) The bottom line is that without wisdom, life simply doesn't work. If you don't have wisdom to make good decisions, you'll end up making bad decisions upon bad decisions. Bu...