Do you have a teacher? Is there someone you continually seek for guidance and wisdom? When He walked this earth, Jesus made a transformational invitation to those who would surrender their wills to Him: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find […]
The Yoke
Rest
Are you attempting a self-restoration program to earn your way to God? Too often, sand hearts try to become stone hearts to regain their position with their Father, much like the younger brother in Jesus’ parable recorded in Luke 15. He had tried to contrive a plan where he would work his way into the […]
Living in Front of Two Gates
Jesus described two gates, two roads, and two destinations: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Which […]
The Narrow Gate
Jesus described two gates, two roads, and two destinations: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Notice […]
The Wide Gate
We approach life with God through one of two gates, traveling one of two roads, leading to one of two destinations. One is religious, traveling from the outside in. The other is relational, traveling from the inside out. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus described the two gates, the two roads, and the two […]
The Gate, The Road, The Destination
Susan and I were returning from our annual anniversary week of rejuvenating in the sun at Atlantis in the Bahamas. We sat and talked in the Nassau Airport awaiting the boarding announcement for our return flight home. When our flight number was called, we quickly grabbed our bags and merged into the line to enter […]
Every Encounter Is A Three-Way Call: Connection Three
Jesus conveyed that we should not go to the world either condemningly with a hard heart of stone or carelessly with a loose heart of sand; rather, we should go connectedly with the Spirit of God in total humility, and with a soft heart of clay (Matthew 7:1-12). Every encounter with another person a three-way […]
Every Encounter Is A Three-Way Call: Connection Two
Every encounter with another person a three-way call. When we are connected with God and connected with others, then they are connected with God. Whereas pride brings static on the line, humility offers a clear connection. Here’s how Jesus described the three connections: Connection One-ASK God. Connection Two-ask others. Connection Three-others ask God into their […]
Prison of Withholding Forgiveness
Are you holding on to an offense and withholding forgiveness from anyone? A few years ago, at the beginning of a school year, I received a call early in the morning from my daughter’s teacher who was coordinating chapels for the school. She confided that she had lost her chapel speaker for the first four […]
Me Too
Do you condemn others? Jesus linked a condemning heart with the eyes, or one’s perspective. Borrowing an illustration from His construction days, He said that the antidote to a condemning heart was to take the plank out of our own eye so that we can see clearly enough to help someone with the speck in […]