Worthy Words

When I was kid I got a boomerang at the Texas State Fair or Six Flags (can’t remember for certain which place). I went home and tried it out but it never quite worked the way I wanted it to — like the way it worked at the fair. As a bonus, here is a simple life tip: boomerangs don't really work in the house, so I wouldn't try it if I were you. I had about as much luck with the boomerang as I had with paper airplanes and flying kites — it always seem to head straight down to the ground. But I remember that my dad was able to make it work. It has something to do with throwing it the right way, with a certain wrist action, and it was a learned skill. My boomerang eventually ended up on the top of a neighbor's house and stayed there. So I never really had a chance to master the boomerang. That doesn't mean that the boomerang doesn't work. It means that I didn't take the time to master the mechanics of it. The principle takeaway is the investment of time...

Have you ever felt like you can’t win for losing? As a believer, you know that God wants to bless you and that he wants to fill your life with meaningful relationships and meaningful work, and joy and happiness. Yet, it seems this isn’t happening to you. Your relationships flounder, your investments flounder, your dreams flounder and nothing seems to go your way. Every believer I’ve ever known has gone through a season of floundering at least once. It can be challenging but take an honest look at your heart and your motives. Are your priorities out of whack? Are you focused on secondary issues and letting the important things slide? When Christ-followers try to put God on the back burner, he does what he needs to do in order to get us back to where we need to be. Haggai delivered to God’s people an assessment of a similar situation. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, bu...

The person whose character would be described as meekness would be imagined a sissy by most folks. There are cultural biases toward this word that are hard to shake. But despite what people think, meekness is not a synonym for weakness. To be meek doesn’t mean to be weak, spineless and cowardly, effeminate and timid, or geeky! Jesus said of the meek that they will gain the earth. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5 Through the optics of Scripture and the language of the New Testament a meek person is one who has power and ability that is brought under the control of the Holy Spirit to be used in constructive and redemptive ways just as a wild horse is trained and broken and its power is harnessed and brought under control. Biblical meekness is an attitude of submission and humility before God which manifests itself in a spirit of gentleness and consideration toward others. Christ-follower how do you feel about being labeled ...

There's no denying the fact that our country and the world is filled with conflict and violence of every sort.   We watch the evening news in numb disbelief.   During this past year we not only discovered that we're not safe in the workplace, but we learned that our children are not safe at school, we're not safe in our cars driving down the road and one month ago on a Thursday evening in Dallas, Texas, senseless violence was taken to a disturbing new level as a deranged gunman walked into a parking garage and began shooting at police officers. It's not uncommon for us to think that this kind of violence is unique to our culture, but the reality is, there has always been violence and conflict.   The Society of International Law in London reports that during the last four millennia there have only been 268 years of peace.   There have been over 15,000 known wars from 36 BC to the present date.   Over 8,000 treaties have been made and broken.   D...