Posts about Christian Living (2)

It’s Holy Week! That means Christians the world over are remembering Jesus’ humble entry into Jerusalem, His last supper with his disciples, His substitutionary suffering and death on a Roman cross, and His triumphal resurrection. What a week!

The marks of death that God chose never to erase

[As previously seen in iBelieve] Let’s play a little game. It’s called Two Truths and a Lie. You know, the one where someone says three things about themselves and then people have to guess which one isn’t true. Here goes:

[As originally seen in the Christian Post] For much of my life, I have spoken to, and heard from, the Lord. This communication is called “prayer”, of course, but over the years it’s felt far more comfortable than the formality that word contrives in my mind. At its height, it has felt like breathing, as if I only needed to think of God and there He was, talking with me as one might with a friend.

[Also seen in Crosswalk] Often, we think of stewardship in terms of finances or time, but the concept of stewardship extends beyond our bank accounts and calendars. If we view our entire lives – past included – as a gift from God, it changes the way we view stewardship.

Though the word “bully” doesn’t appear in the Bible, the idea of treating others in a brutish and insolent manner does. The Bible is full of examples of bullying: Saul’s persecution of David in I Samuel, Ahab’s and Jezebel’s threatening of Elijah in the Book of Kings, Saul (also called Paul) and his relentless bullying and persecution of Christians, and, finally, Jesus himself—being bullied, scorned, and persecuted by the religious leaders of the day.

From childhood, most of us are taught to express gratitude in response to a kindness. That’s an act of politeness. But when we can express kindness in response to gratitude – that’s an act that creates ripple effects that extend beyond ourselves.

[As originally seen at Crosswalk.com] The Bible tells us that God is love. It declares He loved us first. It calls Him our first love. But when pain or troubles come into our lives, we might, in the deepest corners of our heart, wonder, “Is that really true? Does God really love me?” (1 John 4:8-19, Isa. 63:7-14)