“Redemption promises to transform us…Once broken, we become whole again; once selfish and insecure, we become stately and serene and self-giving; once rabid sinners, we become glorious saints…He wants to restore us to a right relationship with him and to remake us according to the image of Jesus Christ, which will ultimately lead to the
“The mature Christians I have met along the way are those who have failed and have learned to live gracefully with their failure. Faithfulness requires the courage to risk everything on Jesus, the willingness to keep growing, and the readiness to risk failure throughout our lives…” (Brennan Manning, “Ragamuffin Gospel”, p. 192)
“It takes roots, stubborn, deep, powerful roots, to keep us standing. That explains why the Savior said what He did about the plant that withered. It had a root problem (Mark 4:6), so it couldn’t handle the blistering rays of the sun. And why Paul’s prayer for those young, energetic Ephesian believers included the thought
“Comparisons are odious. Odious=disgusting, detestable. If you want to be a miserable mortal, then compare…God, our wise and creative Maker, has been pleased to make everyone different and no one perfect. The sooner we appreciate and accept that fact, the deeper we will appreciate and accept one another, just as our Designer planned us…” (Charles
One of the ways we can build community whether in our family of origin, our church family, or the places we live is by affirming one another’s strengths, abilities, and gifts. Consider these words of encouragement from the Bible: “Honor one another” (Romans 12:10). “Don’t grumble against each other” (James 5:9). “Confirm the gifts of
“The first service that one owes to others…consists in listening to them. Just as love to God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for (others) is learning to listen to them…Listening can be greater service than speaking…” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Life Together”, p. 97-98)
If you are going through trying times today consider this: “God can bear the full weight of our pain and give us strength and life even when we feel only weakness and death. Here’s an amazing truth: ‘Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.’ (I Peter 5:7) God, the creator of
“For some reason, religious people tend to confuse the means with the actual goal. In the beginning, you tend to think that God actually really cares about you exact posture, the exact day of the week for public prayer (and worship), the authorship and wordings of your prayers, and other such things. Once your life
Many in our congregation appreciate the wisdom of Philip Yancey, we suggest visiting his blog for recent musings and reflections.
