Everybody sins. But when Christians do it, reactions vary. The culture says we’re hypocrites—and often uses our sin to justify their own. Other Christians may view our sins as proof we aren’t even saved.
(Photo courtesy of Unsplash)
But the people who offer the most brutal judgment against our sins?
Very often, it’s ourselves.
That’s because Christians struggling with sin tend to believe these four lies.
Click to continue reading »
Growing up in a godly home is no guarantee you’ll follow God. You can live better than your parents did. Or you can live worse. It’s true. But it’s also true that a godless home doesn’t doom you to a failed life.
(Photo courtesy of Unsplash)
One man told me had as his goal to be a better father than his father was to him. And he did it. But then he realized that wasn’t enough.
Being better than your parents is doable, sure, but it’s the wrong goal.
Click to continue reading »
Ego can be a good thing. It’s part of what drives us to succeed. But it can get in our own way. Usually it happens when take our eye off the mission and start worrying about winning and losing by less important measures—like status.
Okay, I need to be honest. I’m glad my book launch for Waiting on God is over. Self-promotion can make me really uncomfortable. But not for the reasons you think.
(Photo by Photodune)
It’s not that self-promotion is wrong, per se. It doesn’t have to contradict humility. (I’ll share why in a minute.) Rather, all that self-promotion made me at times concerned (this is tough to admit) that I might appear anti-humble. Which, in effect, is the same as being anti-humble.
Maybe you’ve been there. By being concerned with how we are perceived, we waver between the high road of humility and the swamp of pride. It’s really tough to move forward in the Christian life when ego is stuck to your shoes like a glob of gum.
Know what I mean?
But just because our motives are often mixed (even on our best days), that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t self-promote at times.
Here’s why that’s true. And here’s one question that helps us hit reset on our motives.
Click to continue reading »
If you’d like a journey of inspiration, pick up the brief Autobiography of George Muller. You’ll find yourself amazed at God and encouraged to pray more.
(Photo: George Muller)
More than once, I’ve read the journal of George Muller. I return to it when I need some encouragement to pray and trust God with the impossible.
After my last read, I decided it was time to write down some good takeaways from Muller’s life that I could apply.
I’ll share them with you.
Click to continue reading »
Don’t you just love it when God drags His rake across the soil of your heart and unearths all kinds of junk below the surface? Well it happened to me recently. Just like it happened last year.
(Photo: Michael W. Smith at the National Religious Broadcasters 2014)
I just returned from the National Religious Broadcasters annual convention in Nashville. This conference is a yearly microcosm of the most gifted communicators, broadcasters, and creatives in the kingdom of God.
Some of the rest of us showed up too.
I’m going to be honest and a bit vulnerable in this post and share how I blew it last year and how this year started off headed the same direction.
Last year I was caught flatfooted. But this year I approached it differently.
Click to continue reading »
Years ago I walked into a pet store with one of my daughters to buy dog food. The guy at the cash register saw us walk in, and immediately his face lit up: “Are you Wayne Stiles?” Completely surprised, I answered: “Yes.”
(Photo by Photodune)
I confess my mind immediately chased the reasons he might know who I was:
All this shot through my mind in an instant. Yet after I answered, “Yes,” he revealed how he new my name.
“You need to call home; your wife just called.”
It turns out, he recognized me because Cathy told him I’d have a five-year-old daughter with me! It had nothing to do with anything I said, wrote, or did.
You know what bothered me most about this event?
I innocently come to buy dog food . . . and God takes the opportunity to expose my pride.
Click to continue reading »
The winter blast that blanketed America still managed to leave us Texans without much snow. Conditions rarely allow for it. A snowflake forms by a sudden freezing of water vapor in the air that turns from gas to solid so quickly it doesn’t have time to turn to liquid first.
The result is awesome!
(Photo by Photodune)
A tiny six-rayed crystal displays the order, beauty, and uniqueness of God’s creative power. Even in a light snowfall (which is all that occurs in Texas), millions upon millions of delicate and unique snowflakes float down.
The snowflake illustrates how God created different things in the same way but still allows them to be completely unique.
That’s a lot like you, by the way.
Click to continue reading »
The Bible is full of wonderful promises and words of encouragement. Who of us hasn’t been refreshed by its verses and inspired by its truths? At the same time, the Word of God also has parts that seem, well—bad.
(Photo by Photodune)
After reading these unnerving passages, we come away with questions:
The list goes on.
As people of integrity, how do we deal with those uncomfortable “bad” parts of the Bible that seem, well, wrong?
Click to continue reading »
Sometimes the best lessons come from the worst examples. Maybe you had a parent who disciplined out of anger. Or a pastor who wielded his Bible like a billy club. Or a boss who abused his or her authority.
(Photo by Photodune)
It’s easy to dismiss lousy leaders as incompetent, arrogant, or uncaring—and unworthy of our attention. But it’s hard to examine their flaws and failures so as to apply their bad example to our own lives.
The Bible often makes good use of a bad example. Scripture records the failings of many—not like some grocery tabloid would—but to show us why we should make good choices (1 Cor. 10:6).
The Apostle John took up his pen and wrote for us 5 good lessons from a bad example.
Thankfully, these are 5 lessons we don’t have to learn the hard way.
Click to continue reading »
