The Litmus Test of Love
Impure motives of pride, heartless obligation, superiority, longing for admiration, applause, success, wealth, rank, or pity are never sung aloud from our lips for all to hear. We quietly hide them, creatively disguise them, and carefully redefine them. We naturally think ourselves very good at judging the motives of others, but how about our own motives?
Ouch. That question seems to drop like a sharp knife between my toes. Perhaps the most penetrating and uncomfortable question for all of us to ask ourselves is: What is my motive?
To determine the answer to this question I believe we need a litmus test.
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The Object of Shame
Shame. The ultimate mark of shame in royal families is being removed from “the table” – from the position of honor and relationship… to the place of loss and separation. No longer can the rebel or the guilty taste the delectable dishes and enjoy the camaraderie and conversation. They are disinherited – cut off from the family.
From the moment Adam and Eve scurried around the Garden of Eden to cover themselves up with leaves and hide in the bushes, all men and woman have hung their shoulders in shame. . . .
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Our Ruler-Creator and Personal Savior
In God’s immeasurable power, He is not only the ruler and Creator over all things but also the personal Savior of all who trust in Him. The God who has the power to make all things also has the power to make personal, real contact with those whom He has made. Herein is the heart of the Gospel…
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Everyday Moms in a Superwoman World
Yes, there comes a point in the life of every mother (and most fathers, too) when they feel like throwing a tantrum …
…maybe it was the “adventure of the dirty diaper” when your toddler decided to paint the walls with a certain smelly brown paste they found in their drawers after a nap,
…or perhaps it was the seventy-ninth time you pierced the sole of your foot on a tiny Lego block,
…or maybe it was the third burnt dinner (with the fire alarm going off) while you were trying to bathe your kiddo after an “accident” – and your husband walks in the door…
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Cancerous Christianity
Cancer. That one, singular word cuts into the fabric of our lives with fear and anxiety, doesn’t it? Every person knows someone who has battled against cancer – perhaps you know one who is in the middle of the fight right now. This lethal, fearsome disease is waging war against their body, seeking to wrack their frame with total destruction.
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Fortune Cookie Theology
We all have done it. If you haven’t, you must have been born on Mars or the Moon. This past Sunday afternoon I did it again and I’m sure it will happen yet another time in the not too distant future. As many good Christians (tongue in cheek) do on Sunday afternoon, my wife, Hudson, and I, along with our dear friends from India decided to go to “King Super Buffet.”
Yes, you guessed it: one of those gigantic Chinese buffet restaurants that seems to have every sort of grade B and C and D food product available from Costco and GFS. This place was particularly crammed tight with people because it just so happened to be Father’s Day. After we finished packing ourselves with all the decadent mounds of fried, deep fried, oven fried, and grease bathed chicken, beef, pork, and other items of questionable nature, we all took a deep breath as we got ready to swallow the only healthy item on the table – fortune cookies!
