A familiar parable Jesus told is found in the gospel of Luke. It is usually referred to as the parable of the prodigal son, but I think a better name would be the parable of the unknown father. Why give it a new name? Because the main point of the story is actually about the …
Years ago in the church we sang Scripture songs, happy clappy little tunes featuring Scripture verses. One I remember well went like this:
Fear not, for I am with you!
Fear not, for I am with you!
Fear not, for I am with you, says the Lord!
If you’ve been around the church a few decades, you can probably hear the tune in your head right now.
Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
John 14:21
What does that actually mean for a born-again believer and disciple of Christ today? How does Jesus show himself?
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.
Matthew 22:37-38
I had been a Christian about three years when I became terribly convicted about one particular thing: I did not love God.
I was grateful to Him, so very thankful for my salvation and the positive changes in my life because of Jesus Christ. But I kept stumbling over what Jesus said to the teacher who asked Him to name the greatest commandment of all.
I later learned that many Christians struggle with loving God, much less keeping the Ten Commandments and being “a good Christian.”
A few years ago I spent our short South Texas winter of two months updating our scrapbooks. I struggled at first with figuring how whether to separate out the professional and the personal, because Ron and I have been in Christian ministry together since we married in 1982. The lines between personal and professional are …
No human being can understand all there is to know about God. However, God’s Word is chock full of admonitions for us to seek understanding! The book of Proverbs alone is like a broken record on the subject. I could write many pages listing all God’s complaints in the Bible about how His people don’t understand Him and His ways, to their own harm.
So the better question is not “Is it possible?” but “How shall I respond to what God desires of me?”
It’s 6 a.m., and I have settled into a chair near the wide open back door where I can feel the coastal breezes waft in, and hear the first bird songs of the morning. As usual, I have my creamy tea in hand. After greeting the Lord with “Good morning,” I ask, “What do you …
I once had a dear friend who loved “to keep Christmas.” As the season drew near she would begin preparing — cleaning house, rearranging things to make room for a display of her huge nativity collection, shopping for gifts, writing cards, setting her December schedule around activities with friends and at church. By the time December …
They Will All Know Me is the fourth book I’ve written. While I obviously believe the first three books are very valuable for any Christian who wants to grow in knowing the Lord, I am most excited about this one.
The response to this book has surprised even me. Some of the team who helped me edit the book ordered it by the case when it was published so they could give a copy to everyone they love or mentor. And even though they had each read it, they couldn’t wait to read it again!
The longer I live the Christian life, the more certain I am that knowing God personally is the key to everything we ever hoped would come of a decision to follow Christ.
Experience tells me the enduring joy, strength, wisdom, abundant life, and peace Jesus promised cannot be produced by human effort. At least, I could never manufacture those things. When I grew tired of striving for these things I finally gave up trying, and in desperation cried to God,
