It has been said that we live in an “Eeyore culture.”  Sadness and depression permeate America today.  It’s not surprising when most are feeding on a steady diet of news and media focused on scandal, division, and disaster.  In contrast, Christians are to be marked by joy.  Joy is even listed as one of the defining virtues of a Christian (Galatians 5:22,23). The Scripture says, “Blessed (Happ...

       Author Max Lucado once said, “We are what we think” (Tame Your Thoughts, 4). Our thoughts are powerful. The great escape artist Houdini was famous for showing up in a town to put on a show of amazing escapes.  He would get positive media attention by having the local sheriff lock him in a jail cell and then escape in front of reporters.  However, one sheriff only pretended to lock the cell ...

Paul once wrote “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). We are to exhibit a Spirit led character. Our lives are to be marked by the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23): love joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. How do we as Christians practically “live by the Spirit” and how are we “led by the S...

     We live in an angry, hostile culture.  Recently I was teaching about Joseph of Genesis in a local halfway house.  I was talking about how Joseph forgave his brothers even though they sold him into slavery.  This forgiveness goes against our natural inclinations.  To forgive is to “give mercy instead of judgment, to give kindness instead of retaliation, to give pardon instead of punishment” (U...

       In our American culture Jesus Christ is generally respected, even beloved.  Unfortunately, it’s usually some silly putty form of Jesus.  A Jesus that we try to squish into the image we want.  Silly Putty Jesus is always kind, tolerates every lifestyle no matter how sinful, and always votes the way we would. In contrast, the Biblical Jesus towers above us making claims that are shocking.  In...