Category: Accountability

11/19/2024 0 Comments

Hidden Things

Jesus performed many miracles in the cities He walked, which should have authenticated His message, and yet most of those He encountered would not repent of their sins. Their hardheartedness kept them from recognizing the hand of God’s Son at work and connecting their need to listen to Him. He criticized them for their attitude and warned them of God’s impending judgment (Matthew 11:20-24).

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11/12/2024 0 Comments

Omnipresent

When I was a junior officer attending Infantry Officers Basic Course (IOBC), we sponsored foreign military officers. Some of those officers were married Muslims who were quite happy to be in America and to engage in all kinds of immoral activity. When asked why they were getting intoxicated and frequenting strip clubs when they had wives back home and strict rules against consuming alcohol, their answers were quite revealing. “Allah cannot see us. He is not present here.” They firmly believed that only in their own country were they visible and accountable for their behavior. Their Allah was a god with limitations.

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9/11/2024 1 Comment

Debating

Meditation
Jude 9--Yet Michael the archangel, when he was disputing with the Devil in a debate about Moses’ body, did not dare bring an abusive condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

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7/23/2024 1 Comment

Frivolous

My West Point classmate Larry Turrentine recently shared this wisdom with our weekly prayer team:
A week ago, I passed through Detroit's Metro Airport after attending a funeral and a repass. As I walked through, I spotted a curious name for a shop. It was called "Frivolous," with a subtitle "wonderfully necessary." Clearly, it was designed for those with extra time and extra money. It fit the former. So, with my extra time, I went in and looked around.
Nothing really caught my interest, and moments later, I was gone. It occurred to me that my experience was a microcosm of a Christian Pilgrim's progress through life. Why do many of us spend significant amounts of time in the shops of our lives called "Frivolous"? If it is true that only what we do for Christ will last, why do trivial pursuits (frivolity) fritter away our lives? If the airport were on fire, would we patronize the shop called "Frivolous"?
We are the ecclesia, the called-out ones, and our call is to be Ambassadors to a lost and dying world, to a world on fire. Our call is purity and holiness. But as long as the shop called "Frivolous" exists, so must our mandate to pray.

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6/23/2024 2 Comments

Bad Company

Judas Iscariot had a great life going. Selected by Jesus, the world’s only perfect leader, he joined a team of eleven others to follow God’s Son. We don’t know much about Judas, but John 12:4-6 is revealing.
Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot (who was about to betray Him), said, “Why wasn’t this fragrant oil sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor?” He didn’t say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the money-bag and would steal part of what was put in it.
Was Judas a rebellious, immoral man? Or was he a confused follower who occasionally stole money for his pursuits? Why would he betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver when he could have prolonged their time together and continued his successful pilfering?

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5/18/2024 1 Comment

Not Shrinking Back

What is the purpose of your life?

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5/10/2024 1 Comment

We Are His

Ed* was adopted. Not knowing who his real father and mother are causes him to doubt his self-worth. Rather than see himself as one made by God, he struggles to find value in his identity. Instead of building solid relationships with others and finding meaning in who he is and what he does, he avoids people and floats from one job to another, perpetually dissatisfied with little sense of purpose or calling.

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4/21/2024 1 Comment

Swerving

Driving today requires more situational awareness and alertness than ever before. Too often, I am behind a truck or a car and notice it crossing into adjacent lanes—sometimes even going off the road onto the shoulder. Virtually every time I pass the veering vehicle, the driver is texting or engaged on their phone and not paying attention to their surroundings. For this reason, I no longer bicycle on roads, even if they have designated lanes—it’s simply too dangerous.

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3/27/2024 1 Comment

Training Surpasses Trying

In his message, “Run to Win,” Pastor Craig Rochelle told a packed room of men to “stop trying and start training.” Scripture does not ask us to try to be godlier. It says to be godly. According to Rochelle, “Trying is an attempt to change with minimal commitment . . . Trying gives you permission to fail.” Conversely, training involves a wholehearted commitment to achieving a goal because you act according to your commitment.

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1/21/2024 0 Comments

Purify Yourselves

My father was given a valuable porcelain Buddha figurine from an Asian antique collector. He would display it in the house until guests came over and then hide it in a drawer. He always knew where it was. Years later, my brother, Nate, was at a point in his life where he decided to follow God. He was convicted that his music collection was holding him back spiritually. So, he purged his CD collection of music worth over $1000 by breaking them apart in our parent’s garage. Seeing what Nate was doing, Dad was convicted of his Buddha figurine. He brought it out to be destroyed. While holding a bowl of eggs, he placed the antique on a stump and brought an ax head down to smash it.

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11/30/2023 0 Comments

Taking Blows

Fragile. Thin-skinned. Does it increasingly seem that we live in an age when many Christians cannot take criticism or rebuke of any sort without getting defensive and angry? Try confronting a believer over sin and see how that goes. Observe someone’s attitude or comment on questionable conduct, and be prepared to be attacked or shunned. Myles Munroe wrote in Waiting and Dating, “Being open to correction means making ourselves vulnerable, and many people are not willing to do that.”

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11/20/2023 1 Comment

Karma

Brita angrily kicked the wandering Cocker Spaniel, who dared to enter her front yard. Her neighbor, Betty, viewed the mean action with disgust. Two weeks later, when Brita broke her leg after slipping off her front porch, Betty noted to her husband with some satisfaction, “That’s karma. She’s getting what she deserved.”

Karma is a Hindu concept that views one’s actions as bringing upon themselves good or bad results either in their present life or in a reincarnation. It is a cosmic reward or punishment principle based on a person’s deeds. In The Logic of God, Ravi Zacharias explained, “Hinduism has two nonnegotiable beliefs: karma and reincarnation. No Hindu will trade these away.”

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9/30/2023 1 Comment

How Could I Hinder God?

There may come a time when God asks you to do something that takes you out of your comfort zone and violates your religious beliefs. For example, what if you are a pro-life conservative, and God calls you to minister to abortion advocates? Or, perhaps you are a pacifist and democrat, and God leads you to present the gospel to Marines, a group trained and willing to take lives. What will you do? How will you explain to all your friends or those like-minded believers you fellowship with about your actions?

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1/14/2023 8 Comments

Navigating the Christian Life

Author Geoff Davis

Over forty years ago, on April 1, 1982, I pinned on a US Army Ranger Tab. When I began that program on February 2, 1982, I started with some of the Army’s best soldiers. God used it as one of the most formative lessons in my walk with Him, so that I might know Him better.

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12/6/2022 2 Comments

The Best Message Never Preached

Dan with Ralph Holland

Ralph was invited to preach by pastors who had seen his television program broadcast throughout Latin America. Two pastors met him at the airport and took him to the venue—an auditorium full of worshipers. As the service progressed, the host pastor asked Ralph to be finished preaching by 9:00 p.m. so people who required public transportation could make the last bus. Two groups provided music and even played some of the same songs. An offering was taken, and the person facilitating it decided to preach a short message and then had one of the bands come up and play yet another song. By the time Ralph was introduced to speak it was 8:55!

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11/7/2022 1 Comment

Salvation with Fear and Trembling

Salvation is a free gift received by a heart that recognizes sin, takes responsibility for it through confession and repentance, and then places one’s faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, that He is Lord and the only One capable of sacrificing His life to pay the debt of sin, forgiving transgressions so that all who place their faith in Him might experience eternal life with Him.

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10/3/2022 1 Comment

When the Sea Rages

Hurricane Ian unleashed its rain and winds upon Florida, and conservative estimates think the cost of damages could exceed $55 billion.[1] That is a horrific blow to the lives of all affected. Ian did not catch Florida by surprise because sophisticated satellite tracking and imaging allowed meteorologists to be pretty accurate in tracking the storm’s course and speed. That is a good thing because it allowed people to prepare for the storm and, if necessary, escape to safety. But imagine if you were on a boat with your smartphone and a mobile weather app that called for clear skies and warm weather when suddenly a furious squall came out of nowhere and threatened everyone’s lives? That is what happened to Jonah (except none of them had smartphones).

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5/7/2022 0 Comments

Buried Like a Donkey

Meditation
Jeremiah 22:18,19--Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah: They will not mourn for him, saying, “Woe, my brother!” or “Woe, my sister!” They will not mourn for him, saying, “Woe, lord! Woe, his majesty!” He will be buried like a donkey, dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem

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4/13/2022 1 Comment

Protecting Boundaries

Jed, Samantha, and Rob work for a nonprofit organization that helps military veterans. They mostly love what they do, but they struggle immensely with the poor manner in which their organization is run. Their leader flips from one project to the next, often pulling them to work on a new requirement with no advance notice. They feel jerked around by the tyranny of what is most urgent—a reoccurring pattern that is not well thought through. Decisions are sometimes made for them in areas where they are subject matter experts without seeking their input or advice. They feel unheard and underappreciated. They are emotionally and physically exhausted because there are no work boundaries or protected times for them to rest and relax.

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3/6/2022 0 Comments

Busted

Ralph wanted to go to the movies with his friends but attending cinemas was not allowed in his church. So, he concocted a story and asked his mother if she would give him a ride to his friend Harold's house the next day to attend his birthday party. She mentioned they would need to get Harold a birthday gift, but Ralph said he didn’t want any presents. His mother must have known that was strange. The next night it was pouring rain and Ralph’s mom suggested as they pulled up to a dark house that Harold's party must have been cancelled. Ralph assured her they were in the back part of the house and ran through the rain to the front door and knocked. When his buddy opened the door and let him in, Ralph’s mother drove off. But the night’s adventures were just beginning.

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