“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:13-17, ESV) We can get a lot out of the passage above. If you don’t do what you know is right, … [Read more...]
Taming Our Tongue (Experiencing Wisdom from the Book of James, Part 2)
“How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My … [Read more...]
Count it All Joy, My Brothers (Experiencing Wisdom from the Book of James, Part 1)
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4, ESV) “Count it all joy.” Wow. These words are such a source of encouragement to me. We go through many ups and downs in our time on Earth. Some days we don’t know how we will make it through – emotionally, physically, spiritually, or mentally. Life is messy. But, count it all joy! For those who love and belong to the Lord, those trials … [Read more...]
Experience Friday: Concert Time! (The Table Tour with Nichole Nordeman, Brandon Heath, and Love and the Outcome) (or, Saying Yes When I Wanted to Say No)
The other day, I ran across an article on Facebook called Five Things Introverts Need to Stop Doing. While I knew I probably would not like what it had to say (i.e., the harsh truths that would slap me), I simply could not bypass my curiosity. What? What should I quit doing? ~Sigh~ Just as I suspected, it hit me between the eyes – especially the third point: “saying no too much.” As much as I love the study of personality and trying to understand why people behave the way they do, I know we can use our personalities as an excuse to avoid what we find unpleasant. “I’m an … [Read more...]
If You Had No Fear, Who Would You Be?
Do you know who you are? Deep down in your core? When you wake up in the morning, do you know exactly what you are meant to do that day – or do you still grapple with the question, “What is my purpose?” You know, I thought I would have found myself by the time I turned thirty. Though I have made huge recent strides in self-exploration, there are still days when I’m unsure of myself. As a child, my career aspirations changed with each grade. As a five-year-old, I wanted to be a teacher. A little while later, I wanted to be a nurse. I wanted to be a writer in the third grade and in the fourth … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 106
- 107
- 108
- 109
- 110
- …
- 286
- Next Page »