Life's Inanities and Ironies

  "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." — James 1:5 Prayer is not a technique for getting God to approve our plans. It is the child coming to the Father, confessing need, and placing the outcome in His hands. The man who will not pray is not bold. He is self-sufficient, and self-sufficiency is a poor compass. James does not tell the believer to invent wisdom. He tells him to ask. God gives liberally. He does not scold the honest seeker. But the asking must be in faith, nothing wavering. We cannot ask God to show us His way while reserving the right to refuse it if the answer costs us. That is not prayer. That is negotiation. Before choosing the twelve, the Lord continued all night in prayer (Luke 6:12–13). Before the cross He prayed, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). Direction and surrender travel together....

  "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." — Psalm 119:105 If you want to know how God guides His people, start where He has spoken most clearly. He has not left His will locked in impressions, dreams, or the tone of a preacher’s voice. He has given a Book. Scripture is inspired, inerrant, and sufficient. Second Timothy 3:16–17 declares that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. That includes walking in the will of God. If the Scriptures thoroughly furnish you, you do not need a second Bible whispered into your feelings. Many sincere people wait for a voice while neglecting the Voice already written. God will never lead you to do what His Word forbids, and He will never lead you to neglect what His Word commands. Before you ask whether to take a job, marry a person, move to a city, or jo...

Before I begin today I want to wish my son Joshua a very happy 30th birthday.  Love you Joshua    "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." — Psalm 32:8 Beloved brother or sister in Christ, the first truth we must settle is this: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has not gone silent. He has not retired from the care of His flock. He has not left His redeemed children to wander by chance, by personality type, or by the latest method for “finding your purpose.” The same Lord who led Israel by a pillar of cloud and fire still directs those who belong to His Son. Fundamental Christianity rests upon the character of God before it ever rests upon a technique. He is sovereign. He is personal. He is faithful. Because He is sovereign, nothing in your path is accidental, and no enemy of your soul is unsupervised. Because He is personal, He deals with you as a Father, not as a distant force. Because He is faithful, His ...

  Healing is not forgetting. Meaning is not a tidy moral. Ministry is not a demand that you be grateful for the wound. “…a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit.” — Isaiah 61:3 Jesus reads this passage in Nazareth and applies it to Himself. The Messiah’s work includes binding up the brokenhearted. The exchange does not insult the ashes. It grows a future out of them without pretending they were never ashes. What healing is—and is not . Healing is not the day you stop missing them. That day may never come. Healing is more like this: the loss becomes a room in the house rather than the whole house. You can enter the room. You can also leave it and cook dinner. A better Christian phrase than “moving on” is “moving with.” The gospel is a religion of remembrance. Christians should be the last people to treat memory as a problem to solve. Providence without cruelty . Romans 8:28 is true. The “good” i...