Have you ever had your heart crushed by someone who was supposed to be a friend? Enemies can attack and leave some bruising, but nothing is as devastating as being hurt, neglected, ignored or betrayed by a loved one. Enemy attacks are like surface wounds; friend's attacks cut to the bone. When you feel this way, where do you take your pain? To whom do you relay your frustration?
Category: Christian Living
Progress Report – February 2016
Remember those goals/resolutions you created at the beginning of the year? You do? Wait... you don't? Where's your list of goals? "oh, right.... that list was in my head." "Goals? What goals?" "My New Year's Resolutions? Well... Uh..." That's where a lot of people are by this point in the year---all those great plans are often under a pile of papers or covered in dust. If you are on track with most of your goals for the year, congratulations! Keep up the good work! If you still have your list of goals and have fallen behind, there's no time like the present to rev them up again.
It’s time to break camp!
A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. ~ Proverbs 16.9, NKJV When I was young, I had very definite ideas about what I wanted to achieve in life. I wanted to have enough money to live in a nice big house in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I wanted a college degree, a good career and a good church to worship with. I wanted to be married, have children. I wanted to have it all. There's a funny truth about our crazy dreams: while many are attainable, they are not necessarily attainable together. I couldn't have everything without sacrificing something.
5 Things Christians Should do this Election Year
Let's talk for a moment about those two taboo subjects: religion and politics. I'm not going to tell you who to vote for or how to vote. Nor am I here to relay all the evils of socialism or capitalism or any other ism. In our walk with God, all of our choices should be made… Continue reading 5 Things Christians Should do this Election Year
And the greatest of these is….? (Comparison Cure #5)
It always comes down to love, doesn't it? Do you rejoice when your child does well? How about your spouse? Why? Because you love them!
The need for Compassion (Comparison Cure #4)
This is the fifth post in the series on Comparison Cures. To read the previous post, click here. Jenny steeled herself and walked purposefully through the familiar front door. The cozy little house was already buzzing with the chatter of women. Jenny plastered a smile on her face, determined not to be the dark cloud… Continue reading The need for Compassion (Comparison Cure #4)
The Humility Remedy (Comparison Cure #3)
Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man… It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone. C.S. Lewis
Acceptance: what it is and what it is not. (Comparison Cure#2)
So often we think we've been dealt a bad hand. We see God as unjust and unfair---though I daresay we only think it in our heart. The truth is, Satan is trying to pull us away from God by any and every means possible. Satan will use wealth and prosperity to create pride, apathy and complacency. He inspired concentration camps to create despair and hopelessness. He destroys families, feeds loneliness and abandonment so that people will seek help outside of God, falling deeper into his clutches. God is not unaware of what goes on, and we are never beyond his reach. God is able to transform any agonizing trial into something glorious if we accept the situation and allow Him to work.
What is your progress report?
Tomorrow is the last day of January. One month down, eleven to go. How are you coming on your goals? You may be shifting uncomfortably in your seat, but there's no need! I'm here to encourage you to pick up the pieces and keep going! If you're on track, bravo! If you're way behind, it's time to lace up those shoes, dust off that bible, break out those knee pads and get crackin!
Comparison Cure #1: Contentment
Our high-powered culture tells us that if we apply ourselves and work hard, we can have the American Dream---2 (or more) new cars, a fancy-schmancy house in a good neighborhood, highly talented children, a fat 401(k) and all the latest and greatest toys. If you fall short of this dream, the unspoken assumption is that you are unmotivated and lazy. You should have more, you deserve more, you need more. But is that contentment?
Elihu's Corner 