Category: Teaching

11/13/2021 0 Comments

Why I Value Theology

One would think that with the uncertainties of life and certainty of death, people would be intrigued, perhaps even obsessed, with knowing if there is a Creator and, if He in fact, has a plan for His creation. It amazes me how many people I meet who seem uninterested in what happens to them when they die. Yet, this is THE MOST IMPORTANT question everyone should want to know the answer to because one second after death will be too late to decide. For this reason, among many, I value theology.

10/26/2020 1 Comment

Don't Be Exploited

Alicia listened with rapt attention as Brother Berrie* encouraged his listeners to send as large a gift as possible to his ministry. She was amazed at the number of people healed by Berrie’s touch and their stirring testimonies. He was a magnificent speaker and she was certain he carried the blessing of heaven. Berrie told his listeners that by giving to him they would ensure themselves health—no sickness would overcome them. He said that God personally told him that the larger the gift his donors sent him guaranteed them a higher rewarded position in the afterlife because of the impact of his ministry. Though she was barely managing to keep her home together as a single mom, Alicia eagerly went online and gave $150 hard-earned dollars.

12/18/2019 0 Comments

Futile or Fulfilled?

Ecclesiastes is a wisdom book written almost certainly by King Solomon. The book title in Hebrew is Qōheleth and translates “Teacher.” A predominant theme of Ecclesiastes is that “under the sun, all is futile.” Futility comes from the Hebrew word hevel which stresses that which is empty and transitory. This key word occurs 38 times and is used to describe outward, physical things as well as inward thoughts. [1] It is often paired with the phrase “a pursuit of the wind.”

10/31/2018 0 Comments

Be Like Paul

Meditation
1 Timothy 4:16—Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.

The Apostle Paul wrote his protégé Timothy to encourage him but what makes his words so powerful is his own example. He faithfully paid close attention to his life and his teaching. Next to Jesus, the case could be made that he influenced Christianity worldwide through his leadership more than any other man. His epistles continue as vital roots of the worship, theology, and pastoral life in the Catholic and Protestant traditions of the West, and the Orthodox traditions of the East.

What made Saint Paul such a strong leader was that he:

2/15/2017 0 Comments

Consistently Sound

The word eristicis of Greek origin and refers to those who argue simply for the purpose of winning, regardless of the reason. The word animus comes to us from Latin and means strong dislike. We know this as animosity. While these two words share nothing in common, I believe that the former can lead to the latter causing the two to become intricately linked.

12/31/2010 0 Comments

Instructions

At the beginning of each year I pick a theme to observe and mark in reading through the Bible. In 2010 the theme was wisdom along with the nineteen base words key to examining this topic: wise, teach, instruct, advise, know, learn, understand, counsel, reveal, discern, insight, intelligence, guide, sense, mature, inform, perceive, realize, and revelation.

10/2/2008 0 Comments

Spiritual Trainer

Meet Manasseh Wakawa. He is one of the most fruitful men I have ever met and his heart for the Lord is expansive. He is a powerful example of why spiritual trainers are so vital to the Kingdom of God.

8/25/2008 0 Comments

Ethics

A home improvement con artist swindled a 100 year-old blind woman. He rang the woman's bell, unsolicited, to offer to do any repair work needed. The woman told him that for years she had struggled with a door that was difficult to open because it rubbed against the rug. To fix the problem, she agreed to pay the man $8,000, to jack up her house.[1]

1/7/2007 0 Comments

Know

The certainty of knowing is a medicine of incalculable worth. I breathe knowing unseen air is present in this room. I know (brake inspections help), my Subaru will slow down when I push my foot against the pedal. If I miss eating several meals I am aware that I will easily get cold outside. After 23 years of marriage I have a good sense of what my wife will or will not do. What I know shapes my behavior, reflects my beliefs and gives me a confidence that ignorance could not manufacture.

6/17/2006 0 Comments

Empowered

Meditation
Acts 1:8--But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the endsof the earth.

11/9/2001 0 Comments

Teachers

Professor Howard Hendricks once related a story of how as a student he often walked by the home of one of his college professors. It seemed at all hours day or night the light would be on in the man’s study. One day he had the opportunity to ask him what kept him studying so much. The teacher replied, “Son, I would rather have my students drink from a running stream than a stagnant pool.”

11/15/2000 0 Comments

Education

Moses was a highly educated man, taught by the finest scholars of Egypt. But with all his knowledge he tried to fix the injustices he observed through his own strength and God had to place him with shepherds, stripped of all that was familiar until a burning bush captured his eyes. Then he listened to God’s voice.

7/14/2000 0 Comments

Test

Have our brains turned to tofu? The fastest growing jungle in our world is not the triple-canopied tropical variety but rather the explosion of information that sprouts through every conceivable device. Consider the vast amount of data delivered via the internet, television, radio, and printed material and it is astounding that we are not mentally buried. How do we determine the difference between pyrite and gold?

5/24/2000 0 Comments

Children

If love was a waterfall one would be thoroughly drenched by the Ferraros. In a small town in Illinois, this family radiates what happens when God permeates a household. What strikes me most about them is their commitment to live simply so as to give as generously as possible to support Christians on the frontlines for their faith-men and women who serve in organizations like Gospel For Asia and Voice of Martyrs.

9/16/1999 0 Comments

Guidance

Meditation
Nehemiah 9:19-21--You did not abandon them in the wilderness because of Your great compassion. During the day the pillar of cloud never turned away from them, guiding them on their journey. And during the night the pillar of fire illuminated the way they should go. You sent Your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold Your manna from their mouths, and You gave them water for their thirst. You provided for them in the wilderness 40 years and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell.

9/2/1999 0 Comments

Teaching--Motivational

“Maximize the god within you!” Welcome to the arena of self-help teaching spun from the mouths of success gurus.  The gist of their message runs something like:
Ø Do your best; overcome your fears for the key to success lies within you!
Ø Go after your dreams.  Listen to your inner voice it will never fail you.
Ø Be sincere.  Persevere and believe in yourself.  You can be whatever you want to be!

6/9/1999 0 Comments

Training--Christ's Example

Many people have studied the life and ministry of Jesus. There is much written about His three-fold ministry of teaching, preaching and healing revealed in the gospels. But it seems to me that Jesus’ most important work was His fourth ministry of training! Where would the world be today had He not invested His life in the lives of His followers? John Maxwell, a superb trainer of leaders says, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.”

5/13/1999 0 Comments

Protection

At 2:47 a.m. the house shuddered. I looked over at my sleeping wife and asked if she had noticed anything. Since the dogs were not barking and I felt no sense of urgency, I drifted back to sleep. About a half an hour later, the doorbell rang and our two canines erupted. I opened the door to two policemen, bright flashing lights and the reality that an abandoned car sat atop the berm in front of our home.

3/11/1998 0 Comments

Apprenticeship

Meditation
1 Timothy 6:11,12--But you, man of God, run from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the faith; take hold of eternal life that you were called to and have made a good confession about in the presence of many witnesses.

12/21/1997 0 Comments

Disciples

There is almost an intoxication that comes with preaching the Word from a pulpit to a listening crowd. But I do not believe this is the kind of preaching Paul is challenging Timothy to perform. If anything, I have found over the years, that little results from Sunday morning sermons. Yes, people may go away encouraged, challenged, thinking or offended, but do their lives change much? Are disciples created or is the crowd just expanding? Disciples are not made by microphone messages to seated masses. This is why the church is not winning the world for Jesus.

Photo used under Creative Commons from Rachel Maxey Miles