Category: Culture

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Portending Apocalypse

apocalypseAs I read through various news articles related to the current anti-prayer culture war, my mind raced to memories of words I learned from the Biblical book of Revelation many years ago. The Apostle John relayed his vision of the future as given to him by God. He told of a day when the world would be in turmoil and people would stubbornly resist the call of God.

The refusal to repent is nothing new. We see it with Cain who failed to master his sinful thoughts before following through and murdering his brother Abel. The builders of the tower of Babel thought they could reach God without His help, and were scattered because of it. Noah preached the whole time he was building the ark. God didn’t want to bring the flood, but people continued in their anarchy and destruction. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah resisted the visitation of Angels and sought to harm them instead of receiving the grace that was available.

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Will This Be A Happy New Year?

happynewyear1We are now fully engaged in 2016. As I have prayed and contemplated all that is happening in the earth, I believe that God would have us be prepared for a year of contrasts and apparent contradictions.

Up front, and for the record, I am NOT offering a “Thus saith the Lord”. That kind of thing got people killed in the Old Testament and I would prefer to avoid a rock concert given in my honor.

At the same time, however, God has been faithful over the years to reveal many things to me – and others I have known – ahead of time. Have I ever missed it? Yes I have. Have I learned and grown from my mistakes? I hope so. The Apostle Paul illustrated our current understanding of God’s truth by the word picture of a dark mirror:

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Stressed Out! Part 2

stressedoutpt2In “Stressed Out! Part 1”, we talked about the effects of unhealthy stress in your life. If you haven’t read it yet, or need a review, you may want to take a minute to do so. You may find it here:

Stressed Out! Part 1

Go ahead, I’ll wait….

Finished? Great!

Today let’s begin talking about some things you can do to manage your stress levels, lower dangerous Cortisol levels and enjoy a more fulfilling life. I will break these down over the next three blogs for a few reasons:

● Learning is usually more effective over time. By breaking the blog into multiple parts, it has a greater chance of impacting your life positively.

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Stressed Out! Part 1

stressedoutpt1Many modern folk wear stress like a badge of honor. They appear proud of the fact that their lives are too hectic and they stay stressed all the time. Even when they complain about feeling overtaxed, they appear to be looking for affirmation – as if constant stress is something to be admired.

Like so many things in our lives, stress has its benefits. It can push us to complete important deadlines and motivate us to make important life changes. It can provide the physiological factors needed to help us fight or escape when confronted with danger.

A surplus of stress however can be disastrous. The stress-associated hormone, Cortisol, causes serious harm when kept at high levels.

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Finding Happiness – Part 2

happiness2In part 1 of “Finding Happiness,” we talked about how the conventional (worldly) approaches to happiness are falling far short of their promises. I provided four practices that lead to happiness. If you haven’t had an opportunity to read the first part or need a quick review, you can find it here:

Finding Happiness – Part 1

Today we will conclude with four more ways you can discover more happiness in your life. Here they are:

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Finding Happiness- Part 1

happiness1As we discussed in “Diagnosing Unhappiness,” people are more unhappy and unfulfilled than ever, despite all of the supposed reasons why that should not be the case. For students of the Word of God, this is not at all surprising.

Over and over again in the Bible we see what I like to call, the law of opposite actions. For example, Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) He also said, “…whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25) Jesus also tells us to, bless those who curse us and to pray for those who spitefully use us. (Matthew 5:44)

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The Non Sequitur Logic of Cheap Grace

cheapgraceIs modern religious teaching correct? Should we simply give up on the idea of holiness and pursue happiness without concern for consequences?

There is a message coming out of churches today that God’s Grace is all that matters. There are a lot of reasons for this message, but none are scriptural. In fact, for all the buzz about new revelation and understanding of the Bible, the truth is, it is not even new. Paul confronted this idea in his letters. He warned them that claiming salvation was not enough. They needed to live right. (Gal 5:18-21, Eph 4:17-19, 1 Co 9:27, 2 Co 12:21)

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Has God Changed?

GodChangedFrom pulpits to news shows they cry, “God has changed!” Okay, they don’t say it quite that way, but that is the bottom-line. Most people simply accept this at face value and move on, but is it true? Are the pundits on-track? Has God really changed?

The premise typically goes something like this, “God was a God of Judgment in the Old Testament and a God of Grace in the New Testament.” Though often repeated, it is simply not true. God is neither capricious nor single-minded. We were created in His image and we clearly understand that judgment and mercy are not antithetical concepts. There are times when justice demands judgment, and other times when mercy is right and proper.

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Is Repentance Passe’?

repentanceI recently read a well-worded article written by a pastor about why he didn’t preach repentance. He pontificated eloquently about how such sermons place our focus in the wrong place and how thoughts concerning our failures diminish God’s marvelous work of grace.

I don’t know if this particular reasoning is the consensus of everyone in the modern grace camp, but there certainly appears to be a large number of Pastors and teachers who are avoiding the topic of repentance. I understand how appealing it can be to take our eyes off our short-comings and focus instead on the wonderful mercy and grace of God. Indeed, we should all spend more time reflecting and demonstrating our thankfulness for what the old song calls, “grace that is greater than all our sins.”

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Let’s Pray!

letsprayBack in January I attended a prayer conference with leaders from multiple denominations. It was a powerful life-changing event. Unlike so many prayer meetings where most of the time is spent in teaching or even idle chit-chat we did something amazing – we prayed! We prayed individually, we prayed in small groups and we prayed together corporately.

We spent time in prayer asking forgiveness for our short-comings, we spent time praying for each other and we spent time asking God to prepare us for the days ahead. It was during this conference that I had the tremendous opportunity to see an early screening of the movie War Room and learned that it would be released in the fall.

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