Recently I was interviewed by our local newspaper. The editor sent questions, and I spent the entire weekend trying to figure out how to answer them. The questions forced me to look back over my life and try to explain it to a complete stranger. In some way, it forced me to think about the meaning and purpose of my…
Watching events in Singapore unfold, I thought about some truths I’ve learned about life. Only an individual can be a carrier of life—not our institutions, organizations, governments and their policies, or even churches with their dogmas and doctrines. It is only through our individual genuineness and aliveness that we can significantly touch others. Only our capacity to be truly present…
In honor of Pentecost Sunday tomorrow I am posting my essay, “Ode to the Holy Spirit.” I describe the condition in our culture (remember, the God is dead movement?) and the ensuing outpouring of the Holy Spirit around the world. I think you will be blessed as you recall what God did in the midst of great darkness upon our…
After we receive Jesus, there are two things we need to become knowledgeable of: 1) how to use our faith, and 2) the Holy Spirit. Since we celebrate Pentecost next Sunday, I want to focus on the Holy Spirit. We need to understand who the Holy Spirit is, the work of the Holy Spirit, how the Holy Spirit leads us,…
Many people have the mistaken idea that forgiveness is the same as reconciliation. This is far from the truth. Forgiveness and reconciliation are two very separate actions. Forgiveness has to do with the removal or release of a debt; reconciliation has to do with restoring friendship or harmony between two people, i.e., repairing a broken relationship. Thoughts by professional counselors…
You can forgive others. You can let go of that list of grievances you are holding on to—if you accept the blood of Jesus as enough for the wrongs committed against you. Or would you rather stay angry, close your heart, go after the people who hurt you, and make them pay for what they did? Unforgiveness carries a high…
According to Jesus, forgiving others is a necessary condition to receiving answers to our prayers. In his parable about the unforgiving servant, he warns that failure to forgive from the heart carries a high price tag: we’ll be turned over to torturers. We experience great loss when we do not realize how our unforgiveness affects us on every level of…
In the Gospels, Jesus Christ links forgiving others to answered prayers and well-being. And he warns that if we do not forgive from the heart, we will open ourselves to torturers—the domain of Satan. Recognizing the danger of unforgiveness, we need to consider the relationship of anger, resentment, and bitterness to our very real and practical life problems. Unforgiveness leads…
Pray! Use the spiritual authority God has given you: take authority, in the name of Jesus Christ, and resist the evil forces of darkness trying to take control of our land: anger, hatred, violence, murder, anarchy. Only the church, the body of Christ, can do this. Our war is against principalities & powers, spiritual wickedness, lying spirits—not people. “Resist the…
The path of life requires that we do what Jesus says, to seek (continually) for the kingdom of God. Here are some thoughts from a spiritual father, Ralph Nault. He offers some practical suggestions on how we can stay in the peace and joy of the Lord, even though there are spiritual battles waging war around us. Spiritual warfare We…