Friendships
Many of us secretly hope that becoming a Christian won’t affect our preexisting friendships. But the natural and necessary division that Jesus promised is inescapable (Mt.10:34-37; Lk.12:51). Yes, we will still, like Jesus, lovingly reach out with the message of the gospel to our “old friends” (Eph.5:11-16), but our intimates and confidants will be exchanged for those who love and worship Christ. To fight this inevitable reality is as futile as marrying the woman you adore and having your “old friends” chronically belittle, malign, misrepresent, misquote and insult your new wife (which non-Christians do to Christ every day with their attitudes, values and allegiances, if not their words).
How could a man claim to value and cherish the relationship with his wife above all other human relationships, and passively endure her disparagement by his “old friends”? It’s not that we end our old set of relationships by some declaration or decree, but when we consistently stand up for Christ and his honor, when we urgently call our non-Christian friends to “Wake up!” and embrace Christ (Eph.5:14), those “old friends” have a way of either repenting of their sins or backing away – sometimes in dramatic fashion.
But don’t despair. When non-Christians abandon us because of our allegiance to Christ, God has a terrific and caring way of replacing those important relationships with those who are sold-out to following Christ (Mk.10:28-30).
Friendships
Many of us secretly hope that becoming a Christian won’t affect our preexisting friendships. But the natural and necessary division that Jesus promised is inescapable (Mt.10:34-37; Lk.12:51). Yes, we will still
Suffering
In the face of human suffering, pain and injustice, the psalmists and prophets repeatedly cry out with a heartfelt question for the Sovereign One – “How long O Lord?” They struggle…
Planning
he Bible has a lot to say about God’s “good purpose” (Phil.2:13, Heb.6:17). It seems that on every other page we read of another instance of God working out his predetermined plan…
Conduit
Most of us prefer to live on a cul-de-sac. We tend to like them because they allow us the tranquility of forgoing all the unnecessary traffic running through our lives. After all, the main streets allow way too much congestion coming our way that ultimately…
The New Jerusalem
It is unfortunate that our future eternal home is often perceived to be far too ethereal and mystical to provide any concrete motivation for our daily lives. It’s worse than unfortunate…
God’s Perfection
Psalm 18 states the obvious when it proclaims that “as for God, his way is perfect” (v.30). What may come as unexpected is that the psalmist is quick to testify that God in turn makes David’s way “perfect”…
Freedom
The New Testament Gospel is a message of “freedom,” not from an expectation to keep the rules, but from the just and deserved penalty of our sin. All too often Christians bandy
End Times
A thoughtful view of God’s plan for the consummation of this era ought to infuse our hearts with ample amounts of hope and courage to face our daily challenges. Much like the despised but courageous…
Real Worship
Real worship is not easy. The difficulty is usually commensurate with the amount of pride in our hearts. Worship is hard because it requires that we attribute to another what our flesh desires to receive – the credit! At the core of worship…
Relieving Doubt
When we experience uncertainty, doubt or insecurities that the world is sure to bring, let us be sure that the cause is never our equivocation about God’s faithfulness. Let us always remember that…