Happiness has been the subject of much scrutiny and debate for centuries. It seems like everyone under the sun has tackled this subject with little or no progress in curing this perennial malady of the human condition. Either it has gone from one extreme to another or the Voice in the balance has been drowned out by the noise of the former. However, it can be found, I tell you, it can! Read the rest of this entry »
You are currently browsing articles tagged God.
Tags: Christian, Christianity, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes 2:4-9, experiencing God, finding happiness, God, God living, happiness, hearing God, intimacy with God, Jesus Christ, Knowing God, life of God, Matthew 5:17, personal relationship with God, pursuit of happiness, relationship with God, seeking God, Solomon, stoicism, walk with God, walking with God
It is easy to venture forth down a path for the truth and end up using the wrong criteria to validate your relationship with God. When you feel as though you are wandering through a desert season in your life, it is tempting to look around for signs of life that are as intangible as an amoeba. It is there but your senses say otherwise. It is the same with God. Sometimes he keeps us in the dark for purposes that extend past the boundaries of our immediate thinking but nonetheless, this will happen and you may feel as though you have been forsaken. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, 1 Corinthians 13:2, 1 John 3:9, 1 John 4:16, 2 Peter 1:5-8, discerning the voice of God, Genesis 1:28, gifts of the Spirit, God, God knowing, how to hear from God, I want to know God, James 3:11, John 14:6, John Eldredge, Judges 16:1-3, Knowing God, Luke 10:17-20, Matthew 7:21-23, prophetic dreams and visions, relationship with God, Revelation 13:13, seeking God, sex in Bible, sexuality, spiritual growth, the discipline of spiritual discernment, Wild at Heart, will of God
Have you ever been in a dark forest? A really dark forest? I have and I can tell you that it is a strange feeling when you wave your hand two inches in front of your eyes and cannot see anything at all. Imagine that you are in this forest and an absence of moonlight puts you in such a position where the five senses are rendered as useless and you must now find your way out. Remember the five senses? Sight, touch, hear, smell and taste. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: a priori, atheist, dark forest, existence of God, experiencing God, finding God, five senses, God, hearing God, Holy Spirit, Knowing God, science, unbeliever
If you were like me, a kid growing up in the 70’s, you couldn’t wait for the latest Charlie Brown special to appear on the television. I can remember waiting in eager anticipation for it as though it were the highlight of the day. Now, I am watching it with my own kids. For some strange reason (God?), during a recent special, I had some suspicions about the nature of what I was watching. Charlie Brown as the perennial loser in life, rejected amongst friends, can never do anything right, can’t get the little red-haired girl, can’t kick the football, etc. I was beginning to wonder if Charlie Brown were merely a disguise behind which Schulz was hiding. I was aware of his most recent biography, Schulz and Peanuts, by David Michaelis and checked it out at the local library. Good grief, was that ever a kick to the heart! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Billy Graham, Charles Schulz, Charlie Brown, Christ, Christianity Today, For Better or For Worse, God, Great Pumpkin, pain, wounds
There is an esoteric line in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that has always stuck out to me. It is where Lady Montague asks her nephew Benvolio if he has seen the missing Romeo. He responds,
“A troubled mind drave me to walk abroad;
where, underneath the grove of sycamore
that westward rooteth from the city’s side,
so early walking did I see your son…” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: ani l'dodi v'dodi li, dampness of the night, experiencing God, God, hearing God, I have taken off my robe— must I put it on again?, I slept but my heart was awake, intimacy with God, Knowing God, lover, lovesick, lovesickness, relationship with God, Romans 2:4, Romeo and Juliet, Song of Solomon, Song of Solomon 5, Song of Songs, Song of Songs 5, Song of Songs 5:2-6, sycamore, walk with God, walking with God
Why is it that the church has not become a source of life for a hurting world that desperately needs it to doctor up its infirmities? Why, instead, does a world turn to philanthropist organizations, pop psychology or government to solve its deepest problems when the church claims to be the answer for everything? Genesis 3 provides a summary of the human condition and a synthesis by which to understand the rest of the Scriptures: man revolted against God and the shameful effects have been devastating. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Christian living, church, disguise, Garden of Eden, Genesis 3, God, humility, pain, relationship with God, shame, virtue
In the heart wrenching biography, Schulz and Peanuts, David Michaelis offers fans of the beloved comic strip a rare look into the life of the deeply wounded and troubled man, Charles Schulz. He recounts on one occasion when his wife Joyce, upon noticing his unhappiness, suggested that he see a psychiatrist to which he responded, “No, I don’t want to go to a psychiatrist because it will take away my talent.” (p.385) I do not think that anyone would have wanted to take away his talent for drawing cartoons, just the hurting that served as the impetus for the Peanuts. Much of his strips centered on loneliness, depression, sadness, anxiety, worry and a whole host of other maladies. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Charles Schulz, Christian, Christian living, Christianity, church, experiencing God, forgiveness, God, healing, heart, intimacy with God, Jesus Christ, Knowing God, Peanuts, personal relationship with God, relationship with God, Romans 8:7, shame, walk with God, walking with God, will of God, wounds, wounds of the heart
When you woke up on Christmas morning as a child to find a gift that you had longed for intensely, were you more amazed at the sense of wonder of having received such a gift or the gratitude that preceded it? You probably never noticed the gratitude because of the overwhelming effects of the wonder. It is the gratitude that allowed the gushing torrent of flood-filled wonder to occupy such a large place in the heart that nothing could ever seem to penetrate it with the dreary darkness of banality, familiarity or what is common. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Christian, Christian living, Christianity, church, God, God living, gratitude, hearing God, Jesus Christ, John 4:10, life of God, living water, misery, pain, personal relationship with God, relationship with God, Samaritan woman, seeking God, walk with God, walking with God, wonder
At one time or another we have used the term superficial to describe someone that we know who is overtly concerned with anything of a shallow nature. They are concerned with their outward appearance to the hilt, what people they prefer to be seen amongst, the delightful luxuries they surround themselves and in general an absolute suppression of any emotional content. They are the Hollywood celebrities, those belonging to the “cool crowd”, church member cliques or members of the local country club who shmooze with sophisticated elitists like themselves. You know who they are and you want so much more because you know that life is lived out at its emptiest level among these. You want something that is real. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: becoming real, being real, crutch, discipleship, Essene, fake people, G.K. Chesterton, God, hide, homosexuality, Jesus, John 3:20-21, John 5:41, Keith Green, Knowing God, knowing God personally, Mark 2:17, No Compromise, official, Peter Pan, Pharisee, phony people, relationship with God, Roman Catholic Church, Sadducee, shame, superficial, terra firma, The Velveteen Rabbit, Unstrung Heroes, walk with God, walking with God, Zealot
So often in life we search for programs such as instant weight loss, get-rich-quick schemes or any other formula that promises instant success while throwing hard work and discipline out the window. If you have come seeking a formula that does not involve a desire for the heart to change then I can tell you that it will not work. It is fascinating to see the programs that have been implemented for changing the nature of homosexuals. I have read reports by individuals who brought their jaded expectations to find their cure while counselors swing to unbiblical and unsatisfactory extremes in diagnosing their problems. Always remember when dealing with lust, if your desire is change, there is always hope. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 2 Samuel 11:1, 2 Samuel 11:11, C.S. Lewis, Christ, concupiscence, conquering sin, David, Exodus 20:12, Exodus 20:3, Exodus 20:5, Gadarene demoniac, God, gratitude, Hebrews 10:25, how to overcome lust, intimacy with God, love of God, Luke 5:16, lust, pain, Pavlov's dog, pornography, psychology, reasons for lust, relationship with God, Romans 8, Romans 8:35-39, seven deadly sins, sins of the fathers, spiritual growth, spiritual help, struggling with lust, Uriah