The scene breathed life-threatening fears. Imaginations ran wild. Paul knew that staying together was the secret to their survival. The temptation was strong to abandon ship and let each person fend for himself.
Read MoreCategory Archives: Friendship
Positive Separations
Let’s be painfully candid here. I’ve had my own share of arguments, and you’ve had yours. I’ve had some that were never reconciled. Thankfully, most ended in a renewed friendship.
Read MoreThe Value of Others
The Message, Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase, wraps up this part of the narrative nicely: “Things calmed down after that and the church had smooth sailing for a while. All over the country—Judea, Samaria, Galilee—the church grew.
Read MoreGood and Bad Advice
Every person reading this chapter has been the recipient of bad advice. You listened as someone gave it to you. You followed the counsel you received and then suffered the consequences.
Read MoreWithout Asking
Friends care enough to come without being asked to come. No one sent a message saying to Eliphaz and Bildad and Zophar, “Would you please come and bring a little sympathy and comfort for Job?
Read MoreIncredible Associations
Elijah had walked into a situation that was, from all human perspective, impossible. But the good news is that he saw beyond the difficulty. He handled the problem with faith, not fear.
Read MoreLove Offers a Place to Unload
Imagine two mountain hikers trudging along, each carrying a backpack. The one on the left has a light pack that a child could carry. The poor soul on the right is so loaded down we can’t even see his head or body . . . just a couple of spindly legs wobbling under the burden […]
Read MoreTrue Teamwork: What It Takes
As a lifelong admirer of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, I have devoured more than a few biographies about him. Among the best was Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, a volume that presents Lincoln’s brilliant political act of enlisting into his cabinet some of the men who had run against him. Surrounded by a […]
Read MoreNeeded Today: A Ministry of Encouragement
Henry Drummond’s remark haunts me at times: . . . how many prodigals are kept out of the Kingdom of God by the unlovely character of those who profess to be inside?1 Will you allow me, in this private chat with you, to pick out one “unlovely characteristic” frequently found in Christian circles . . […]
Read More