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Overcoming Accusation Through Boldness
Accusation is more than name calling or slander. In fact, it is one of Satan’s favorite tools. Accusation is employed so often that most of us barely recognize it. Even as Christians we’re used to feeling less-than, dealing with bouts of discouragement, and carrying the weight of guilt or shame around with us. It can be normal to criticize one’s self, to criticize others, to be reminded of missed opportunities (again and again) and so often to see the future as nothing more than a potential disappointment.
The Triumph of Failure
Underneath the gilded exterior of the social media persona lies the ugly truth of failure. In an age where an otherwise average and even broken life can be so easily hidden beneath the flimsy veneer of a filtered and ultra-modified snapshot, the truth is that behind the smile, the milestone achievements, and the sculpted timeline, there exists the frailty of the human condition.
Remembering the Flannel-graph Storyboard
I can vividly remember the flannelgraph storyboard. When I was a boy my Sunday School classrooms were always furnished with what I can only describe as a felt-covered whiteboard - sometimes attached to the wall and sometimes perched atop a flimsy easel. Cut-out characters and objects from popular Bible stories could be stuck and un-stuck from these storyboards and arranged in a seemingly infinite number of ways to help illustrate whatever story-point the teacher was trying to make.
America’s Gone Crazy
Interestingly, the Bible addresses just this sort of question. Hidden within the written history of Israel’s kings lies this text. “…the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do…” (1 Chron. 12:32). A bit of a niche passage for some, this text is actually quite relevant to our political turmoil today.
Why We Pray
Growing in the knowledge of God allows us to pray the will of God and it is His will that God is committed to. We pray because He is our life-source. We pray because He is gracious. We pray because He is willing and able. We pray because He is worthy.
Exalting Christ in An Age of Epidemic Denial
The apostle Paul, one of the most important Christian leaders of the first century and probably the greatest Christian missionary in church history came under verbal attack from some of the very people he was helping to disciple.