Surrender and sacrifice, while often used in the same context in the church today, are not the same thing. Far from it. Surrender is trading one ruler for another. Sacrifice is a voluntary offering of something one owns to someone…
Self-Righteousness = Fear of Being Wrong
There are two types of people I’ve met who are terrified of doing something wrong. First, those who know the repercussions of their mistake and don’t want to face the consequences. Second, those with an undercover or overt sense of…
Small Faith Grows Faith
I heard a story this past week about a pacifist who entered the army during World War II. He was assigned to the medical team because he refused to carry a gun. During one the battles, the Americans were in…
Should All Prophesy Be Positive or Judgmental?
If you’ve been around the church for a while, you’ve probably run across “prophets” – people full of judgment and condemnation who reveal others’ sins and call them to repentance, usually with anger and a sour expression. Actually, if you’ve…
I Trust the One I Walk With
Last Saturday morning, I was drinking orange juice by the kitchen sink. At the table, two of my siblings were discussing an upcoming adventure. The general gist of the conversation was that my little brother was trying to stir up…
7 Ways to Lift Up Others Rather Than Pull Them Down
The other day, I was reading an article where someone was spouting their opinion on various cultures. To this young woman, there were two responses to a person’s success in life. In the first type of culture, if someone “made…
8 Ways to Be a Prophetic Voice in Your Workplace (without being Churchy)
The world today is in need of the wisdom of God – and because we have the mind of Christ and a relationship with Him and with the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Wisdom) (1 Corinthians 2:16, John 17:3, Ephesians…
Wholeness is All of You
There has been a movement in recent years toward healing of the heart, healing of the mind and emotions, healing of the body, etc. As long as it’s done with the Holy Spirit (and not some weird demonic stuff), it’s…
The Danger of the Anti-Narcissist Propeganda
It’s a clickbait title, in part because I’m not thrilled to be writing this post. I don’t love being negative; there’s plenty of that in the world without me adding to it. But I’ve had a higher-than-average rate of knowing…
Condemnation vs. Recognition of Sin
In the book of John, we find a very interesting story about a woman who was caught “in the very act” of adultery. While I’m well aware that this story isn’t in the most accurate early manuscripts of the book…