Slowly appreciation swells to astonishment. And we enter the dialogue of our lives that is beyond all understanding or conclusion. It is mystery. It is love of God. It is obedience.
04266 – The Dialogue of our Lives
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03972 – Prosperity Gospel?
"Prosperity gospel" is saying certain principles, behaviors, practices, and obedience is necessary for God's blessing. If it's essentially "God wants you to do X and you (or your children) will be Y," that's a transactional relationship with God.
03443 – Anna
Anna is the very last character in the Christmas Story. Mary and Joseph have left behind the shepherds and the stable animals, stopping in the temple to fulfill their requirements of their faith. Upon arrival, they meet Simeon the Priest who would perform the...
02833 – Knowing Christ
It is Christ who is to be exalted, not our feelings. We will know Him by obedience, not by emotions.
01380 – Obedience to God
Who stands fast? Only the person whose final standard is not his or her reason, principles, conscience, freedom, or virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all this when called to obedient and responsible action in faith and in exclusive allegiance to God--the...
01378 – The Second Step to Holy Obedience
Once having the vision [of a God-intoxicated life], the second step to holy obedience is this: Begin where you are. Obey now. Use what little obedience you are capable of, even if it be like a grain of mustard seed. Live this present moment...as you now sit in your...
01303 – No Violence Support in Pauline Letters
There is not a syllable in the Pauline letters that can be cited in support of Christians employing violence. Paul's occasional uses of military imagery (e.g., 2 Cor. 10:3-6, Phil. 1:27-30) actually have the opposite effect: the warfare imagery is drafted into the...
01267 – Faith and Obedience
For faith is only real when there is obedience, never without, and faith only becomes faith in the act of obedience. Since, then, we cannot adequately speak of obedience as the consequence of faith, and since we must never forget the indissoluble unity of the two, we...
01112 – “Our Victory will be a Double Victory”
To our most bitter opponents we say: "We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We shall meet your physical force with soul force. Do to us what you will, and we shall continue to love you. We cannot in all good conscience...
00807 – No Substitute for the Direct Worship of God
Since worship is focusing on and responding to God, regardless of what else we are doing we are not worshiping if we are not thinking about God. You may be listening to a sermon, but without thinking of how God’s truth applies to your life and affects your...