One of my favorite stories from the Bible is about Joseph. His good attitude in times of difficulty is outstanding…and such an example for us. As you remember, Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery…and his good attitude brought him up the ladder until he was in charge of over all the household maintenance for his master. He was wrongly accused, and then thrown in prison…and again his good attitude brought him up the ladder until he was in charge of all the other prisoners. Eventually, every step brought Joseph closer to the purpose God had for his life…as he became second in command next to Pharaoh. God used Joseph to…
-
-
You Only Live Once
How peculiar to say “you only live once” as an excuse to throw it away. Living for the moment…and what makes me happy right now…makes my life about me. Living for the future where I’ll spend eternity… and working to gain a faithful crown makes my life about Christ. Paul said, “Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” It’s not about me. It’s not about you. Remember my world and your world should revolve around Christ. Yes, you only live once…so choose very carefully. Hollywood produces movies where characters throw caution to the wind and they live only for the moment. They party now, enjoying things that feed their…
-
How to Get a Big Appetite for the Things of God
Revival doesn’t simply start in the church…it starts in each of our hearts. The preacher can preach God’s Word until he’s blue in the face…but there’s no revival unless we yield ourselves and truly want a change. Monday night was the first night of our fall revival. Pastor Rick Dawson, our guest speaker from Arkansas, preached an outstanding message to challenge us to separate ourselves from the world and say, “I want to be in the presence of God.” You see, we can’t have both. Many Christians aren’t closer to God because they want too much to be close to the things of the world. But how do we start…
-
I Was Afraid… And What Happened Next Was Unforgettable
When my husband was in Bible college, we had two sweet little boys. (I have three sons now — one in Bible college.) My oldest at the time was a wobbly, little toddler, who was just learning to walk. My other sweet one was just a few months old who totally relied on mommy to tote him about everywhere we went. My husband went to Bible college during the day and afterwards worked from mid-afternoon until 2 a.m. in the morning. No, we didn’t see “daddy” much during that time in our life. Because we had only one reliable car, I walked to church services on Wednesday evenings and church…
-
I’m a Peculiar Person…and Why You Should be One Too
In today’s society we have millions of people walking around showing off their “individuality”… multicolored hair, rings in their nose and eyebrows, and clothes that are so unusual (um…more like really STRANGE)…we’re not even sure where they found such items to wear (is there really a store that sells that stuff?). Yet, Christians are often scoffed at for being so “peculiar”. Sadly, many Christians would rather “mix” into the worldly crowd….rather than be different. Jesus bore so much suffering on the cross for each of us, and sadly we’re often ashamed to be a little different. We’re to be a light to the world… In order to be a light…
