Insightful answers to listener questions
Monday, July 23, 2012, Part 1
“You are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but, because the Lord loves you, and because he would keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Therefore know that the Lord your God, he is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant with those who love him and keep his commandments; and he repays those who hate him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates him; he will repay him to his face. Therefore you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to observe them” (Deuteronomy 7:6-11).
IDEA: God deals lovingly with His people as they show their love to God by their obedience.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand the extent and the limits of being God’s chosen people.
Troubled Times
If you’ve never heard of Murphy’s Law, you’ve probably experienced it: “If anything can go wrong, it will.”
Surrounded By Prayer
My friend Melissa’s 9-year-old daughter Sydnie was in the hospital for chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant when I had a dream about her. I dreamed she was staying in a central room at the hospital with her parents. Surrounding her room was a block of other rooms where family and friends were staying and continually praying for her during her times of treatment.
Abide With Me
One of the highlights of English football (soccer) each year is the final match of the annual FA Cup Final. For more than a hundred years, the day has been marked by excitement, festivity, and competition. But what fascinates me is how the game begins. It starts with the singing of the traditional hymn “Abide With Me.”
Have you ever asked if it’s possible to lose your salvation?
Friday, July 20, 2012
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put him to an open shame” (Hebrews 6:4-6).
IDEA: In the Christian life you can’t go back to the beginning and be saved a second time.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand how the word repentance is used in this context.
Blunders To Wonders
Artist James Hubbell says, “Mistakes are gifts.” Whenever he’s working on a project and something goes wrong, he doesn’t start over. He looks for a way to use the mistake to make something better. None of us can avoid making blunders, and all of us have favorite ways of dealing with them. We may try to hide them or to correct them or to apologize for them.
I don’t love to read, but…
By Beth, Singapore I think I must look like a nerd. For many people have asked me, “You love to read, right?” Well, no, I don’t love to read. I would rather be entertained in some other ways—be it slumping in front of the TV or surfing the Internet. But I try to read anyway. [...]
How the origin of marriage impacts our relationships today
While marriage customs differ dramatically, it is most important that we understand marriage as God’s design for men and women created in His image, made for community and love.
Dorian Gray
The Victorian novel The Picture of Dorian Gray illustrates how the person we project to others may be very different from who we are on the inside. After the youthful and handsome Dorian Gray had his portrait painted, he dreaded the prospect of growing old, and he wished the portrait would grow old in his place.
Answer to a listener’s question on the origin of marriage and how it applies to us today
Marriages with real leaving, real cleaving, and real bonding are less likely to come apart at the seams, necessitating divorce.
PURPOSE: To help listeners think about the essentials of marriage from God’s perspective.
The Best Things In Life
An old adage says, “The best things in life are free.” There’s a lot of truth in that. Some people, however, believe that the best things in life are expensive or perhaps elusive. Recently I saw a sign that made me smile and think. It said, “The best things in life are not things.” What a great way to say it! The value of family, friends, and faith points us to the realization that what matters most in life is all wrapped up in people and the Lord.
From Life’s First Cry To Final Breath
By Isaac Tan, 20, Singapore As portrayed in movies and TV shows, the significant smack on a baby’s bottom creates the shrilling cry when he or she first enters the world. Well, as many of you may already know, the piercing cry of a baby is a reassuring sign that there is a clear passage [...]
From Life’s First Cry To Final Breath
By Isaac Tan, 20, Singapore As portrayed in movies and TV shows, the significant smack on a baby’s bottom creates the shrilling cry when he or she first enters the world. Well, as many of you may already know, the piercing cry of a baby is a reassuring sign that there is a clear passage [...]
How the church can support those dealing with abuse in the home
We live in a fallen world. And Christian homes aren’t immune to abuse and suffering. Let's wrestle with the difficult subject of domestic abuse and how the church can help those dealing with it.
What’s The Trouble?
There was something wrong with my lawn. I couldn’t see what the trouble was, but I knew something was causing damage.
