Posts by Gene (Page 13)

Posts by Gene (Page 13)

God’s Motive in Our Obedience

I think it’s always instructive to look back to the life and teachings of the early church – to draw inspiration from them and, perhaps, to see whether or not we’ve wandered from some of the values that were important to the first Christians. Obedience to God was very important to believers of the first century. We never find them giving themselves a pass, even though…

Prayer Changes the Man

“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14). In all our praying, however, it is important that we keep in mind that God will not alter His eternal purposes at the word of a man. We do not pray in order to persuade God to change His mind. Prayer is not an assault…

Not Asking for Anything

“I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live” (Psalm 116:1-2). I think that some of the greatest prayer is prayer where you don’t say one single word or ask for anything. Now God does answer and He does give us what we ask for. That’s plain; nobody can deny that…

Overcome Distractions

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6). Among the enemies to devotion none is so harmful as distractions. Whatever excites the curiosity, scatters the thoughts, disquiets the heart, absorbs the interests or shifts our life focus from the kingdom of…

A Closed Mouth and a Silent Heart

“My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue” (Psalm 39:3). Prayer among evangelical Christians is always in danger of degenerating into a glorified gold rush. Almost every book on prayer deals with the “get” element mainly. How to get things we want from God occupies most of the space. Now, we gladly admit that we may ask for…

Hope is Waiting, Confidently

The Hebrew and Greek words that underlie the English word hope in our Bibles combine two important ideas: waiting and confidence. Biblical hope, as has been said many times, is more than a wish for how things could be. Biblical hope is an absolute confidence that things really are the way God says they are. Hope is confidence that nothing that happens on the world stage…

When God Makes Everything Right

Dream with me. Dream of the day when God will make everything right. Isaiah 9 looks forward to the true Christmas day, the day the Savior of the world would be born in Bethlehem. He would come to remove gloom from those who were in anguish. “The people who walked in darkness,” he said, “have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light…

A Lamp Lit

Tertullian was an early Christian apologist who lived in ancient Carthage, what is now Tunisia. Mary and I spent a few weeks in Tunisia a while back taking in the history and beauty of this important center of early Christianity. Tertullian lived from about A.D. 155 to A.D 240, but his influence continues to reverberate among believers some 2000 years later. Tertullian…

Sisyphus and the One Name

I can think of no darker words than these two: no hope. Craig Biehl called them the two unbearable words. He writes: “Two small words. When heard on the battlefield, in the hospital waiting room, or in our darkest thoughts, they bring despair. Two words that carry such anguish that no one can withstand their power … where no hope exists—we are undone.” Have you ever…

Peace & Violence

True peace can never exist where violence is present.  Like the word ‘peace’ itself, the word ‘violence’ is also multidimensional. When a nation’s safety is threatened by some rogue regime, it’s often left with no option but to fight. And so, we have war. Eventually, one nation’s force overwhelms the force of the other nation and the war ends. But the peace that results…

Peace Work

Biblical peace is not only the absence of bad; it’s also the presence of good. It means more than just ‘not’ fighting with my neighbor, but its actively working for his good. John the Baptist came with a powerful message of warning. Watch it carefully: “He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from…

Approaching Bethlehem, Yawning

In the introduction to his Advent devotional, Come, Let Us Adore Him, Paul David Tripp illustrates how familiarity leaves us underwhelmed by the Christmas story. He asks us to imagine that we’ve moved into a new area and decide to take our dog for a walk. On the way, we encounter a beautiful community garden filled with roses. We’re blown away, exhilarated by its beauty.…

A Love Explosion Called YOU!

We all strive for purity as believers, right? We want to be like our Lord and our Lord is pure in every way. In Him, John tells us, “is no darkness at all.” That, he says, “is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you!” To walk with Jesus is to “walk in the light.” That place – the sphere of light – is where we must be if we want to have fellowship with him.…

Sarah’s Dandelion

Sometimes the smallest act of kindness (which is, of course, one of the fruits of the Spirit working in us), can have a profound and lasting impact upon others. In Serving, the Biggest Honor in Life, Milt Culver retells a story written by pediatrician David Cerqueira. David’s wife was a Sunday school teacher at Church and she’d prepared a lesson on being useful. He…

What Have You Been Preaching Lately?

Yesterday’s blog considered the leper that Jesus healed with a word and with a touch. As I mentioned, touching lepers was just not done. It was unhealthy, risky, socially unacceptable. But Jesus chose that path to bring healing to this outcast. I think it says something about Jesus’ idea of preaching. One morning, very early, Jesus rose and went to a desolate place to…