Growth in grace does not mean exemption from temptation. As long as you live, you will be tempted. Jesus underwent a severe trial in the wilderness as He was tempted by Satan. If God’s Son was tempted, you will be tempted also! When adverse situations and trying conditions arise, you have three choices. #1. You...
TAKE YOUR CHILDREN TO JESUS
They brought young children to him, that he should touch them. — Mark 10:13 Her birth did not happen at all the way we had planned. I’d had visions of breathing through contractions in a beautiful hospital birthing room—a slow process with a beautiful end result. Our daughter, however, made her entrance feet first, requiring...
FRIEND vs. MENTOR
A Friend will tell you what you WANT to hear. A Mentor will tell you what you NEED to hear. A Friend will do anything to guarantee your AFFECTION. A Mentor will do anything to guarantee your SUCCESS. A Friend will OVERLOOK your faults. A Mentor will help you OVERCOME your faults. A Friend is...
THE HUMILITY PROTOCOL
Let us kneel before the LORD our maker. Psalm 95:6 God is the humblest person in the universe. From His high and lofty position, He condescends to associate with fallen men. Jesus humbled Himself and died on the cross to pay our ransom (see Phil. 2:8). Majesty bore our misery that He might redeem us from...
HOPE FOR DISCOURAGED SHEPHERDS
“Our church is traditional, and we are not going to grow.” A pastor spoke those words recently. By giving in to what seemed inevitable—he had given up on his future. Words like that become self-fulfilling prophecies. Shepherds who make such statements have resigned their leadership. Content to ride the ship down until it sinks, these...
THE EXTRAORDINARY FATHER PURSUES EXCELLENCE
“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might…” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). By definition, virtue is not innate. Virtue comes from behavior, and excellence in behavior is a beneficial and necessary virtue for all fathers who desire to see their posterity follow God. Excellence is a choice. It is a mindset, a process. It...