A Wise Life

He (the devil) was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies- John 8:44b NASB  Lies. There are a million of them out there and for whatever reason human beings are more prone to believe lies than truth. Some lies are relatively innocuous in…

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you- Ephesians 4:30-32 NASB Hebrews chapters twelve and thirteen are home to some of the most practical bits…

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings- 1st Peter 1:8-9 Resist.  It’s a word that gets thrown around a lot these days by all sorts of folks who really only understand…

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour- 1st Peter 5:8 NASB The devil or Satan (his proper name) is an oddly divisive subject in some Christian circles. There are Christians who deny the existence of an actual being who is the enemy of God called Satan or the devil. Expectedly, these same folks are not sold on…

When he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was untrue to the Lord his God, for he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense- 2nd Chronicles 26:15 NASB Every once in a while, a concept comes along and takes popular culture by storm. The concept (whatever it may be) quickly becomes the thing everyone talks about. Inevitably, many…

Foolish children are a grief to their father and bitterness to her who bore them- Proverbs 17:25 NRSVUE  There is a worldwide epidemic of adult children raised in Christian homes who have defected from the Christian faith their parents devotedly sowed into them.  Many of these adult children have deconstructed loudly and proudly. This group is openly critical of all things Christian and…

Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven- Matthew 18:3 NASB Transformation and growth are non-negotiables of the Christian life. Christians are saved by faith for the sole purpose of being transformed into the image of Jesus (Romans 3:20, Ephesians 2:8-9). Passages like Romans 12:1-2, 2nd Peter 1:3-11, 2nd Corinthians 3:18,…

 Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude- Colossians 2:6-7 NASB  Faith is the biggest of deals to God.  Faith in Jesus and His resurrection saves sinful humans from the wages of their sin (John 3:16, John 11:25-26,…

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven- Matthew 5:14 and 16 NASB  Secular culture has always had an element of toxicity to it.  This is unavoidable because anything (or anyone) that isn’t actively for Christ will always be anti-Christ in…

Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me,    for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long- Psalm 25:4-5 NKJV We live in an age of crazy pants lies. There are so many lies told concerning so many issues, it can be tricky sorting out truth from fiction. This should come as no surprise to Christians.  Scripture predicts an age of widespread…

Listen to my words, Lord, Consider my sighing.Listen to the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, For to You I pray. In the morning, Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will present my prayer to You and be on the watch-Psalm 5:1-3 NASB  Christians are instructed to pray about everything all the time, whether we feel like it or not (Luke 6:38, Ephesians 6:18, Philippians 4:6,…

We proclaim Him, admonishing every person and teaching every person with all wisdom, so that we may present every person complete in Christ- Colossians 1:28 NASB  Fourteen-ish years ago when I began writing this blog, I wrote ad nauseum about problems I saw in Church world. Nearly every week I wrote about some church peeve or irritant I had with how church was being done.  Then I did this thing…

Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, and like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord- 1st Peter 2:1-3 NASB We all have them in our lives.  People we love and care about who started the race of faith with a lot of hullabaloo and determination.…