What could possess a person to put his life and reputation in jeopardy, to steal one of the most important documents in American history, to evade the FBI, and to bind and gag his own father? If you have ever seen Disney’s National Treasure, you’ll know that the answer is a treasure of inestimable value. … Continue reading The Treasure of Fearing the Lord
Category: Sermon on the Mount
How to Pray for an Unmet Desire
Lord, please just give me a baby. We’ve been waiting for so long. I would really like to be married, Father. Please bring the right man into my life. I’m tired of being alone. God, I hurt all the time. Please take the pain away. Please work in my husband’s heart. Help him to forsake … Continue reading How to Pray for an Unmet Desire
The Trouble with Competitiveness
I’d rather not write this article. Anyone who knows me knows that competitiveness lodges deep within my bones. I want to come out on top whether playing tic-tac-toe, four-square, taking a test, or parenting my kids. I size up the competition and track the most likely path to victory. Of course, I don’t always win. … Continue reading The Trouble with Competitiveness
Scarlett O’Hara and Sacrifice
I’ve recently been reading Gone with the Wind, the great American novel set against the backdrop of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Though I’ve read it a couple times before, this time through has been a little different. The hardships of war have seemed a little closer to home, given the crisis affecting our world … Continue reading Scarlett O’Hara and Sacrifice
Do You Want to See God?
Smoke covered the mountain that had been engulfed in cloud and bombarded with lightning moments before. On the peak flames rose above the smoke. As the people stood gazing upwards, the mountain itself began to shake violently. Suddenly, the trumpet sounded, beckoning them to the boundary at the foot of the Mount of God. They … Continue reading Do You Want to See God?
Hungry for Normal
I have a confession to make. I’m naïve. The day etched into the memories of anyone over the age of twenty-five or thirty, is likewise implanted in mine. I remember September 11, 2001, better than any other single day of high school. It began quite normally; because I lived in the Mountain Time Zone, I … Continue reading Hungry for Normal
Pray, Don’t Negotiate
“Let My people go.” That’s the directive God gave to Pharaoh through Moses. All the people—tall, small, old, young, smart, talented, clumsy, and inept. All of them. All the animals too. “We shall go with our young and or old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we shall go, … Continue reading Pray, Don’t Negotiate
Blessed Are the Gentle
Among the first words Jesus spoke in public ministry were these: “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5). We also find gentleness among the fruit of the Spirit listed for us in Galatians 5:22-23. Finally, James lists it as an attribute of heavenly wisdom (3:17). In short, gentleness isn’t optional
Where’s Your Treasure? Three Questions to Ask Yourself
Captain Jack Sparrow is not only a surprisingly clever pirate; he’s also a surprising judge of character. He tells young William Turner that he’s on his way to being a pirate because he, among other things, is “completely obsessed with treasure.” Will balks at this, only to have Jack wisely respond, “Not all treasure is … Continue reading Where’s Your Treasure? Three Questions to Ask Yourself
The Hour Every Week When I Fear People the Most
"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:1) Jesus is in the middle of His most famous sermon. He has just finished spinning His listeners’ heads by telling them that if they have gotten sinfully angry at … Continue reading The Hour Every Week When I Fear People the Most
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