The power of condemnation rests in the throne of idolatry, self-idolatry. If I condemn myself, and if I am a better, more righteous judge than God is, I am utterly condemned. The lie underneath condemnation, the lie that makes this toxin so fatal, is the lie that says, “I cannot…
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I’ve been struck by how many conversations revolve around our labels. “I’m ADD, OCD, manic, depressed, disabled, handicapped, diabetic …” The list goes on and on. We throw out labels as if they clarify who we are, maybe even our most defining marks. We use these descriptors as a way…
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What you want for your life right now may not be bad, evil, or sinful. Maybe what you want is even in the plan for what God has for you. But it’s not what God has given you yet. And this thing is keeping you stuck, miserable, and ineffective. I…
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I remember one morning, sitting on the sofa and looking around at all our boxes of stuff, the worn linoleum floor, that old couch, I just started crying. I felt like such a failure. I had failed at so much. Regardless of what I had achieved in the ballpark, all…
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One of the joys of my life is interacting with children. I just love to watch how they go about their learning. Usually, at around the age of one, each child begins to attempt to walk. Having mastered the art of rolling, crawling and finally standing, the desire to walk…
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On my final morning in Israel, I climb out of bed in darkness and make my way to the docks as the sun rises over the hillside. The birds, with their high shrills and steady chirps, form a choir in a nearby tree. Seagulls circle the harbor and pause mid-flight…
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Are there events so horrifying that giving thanks seems foolish or impossible? Consider this scenario. Some friends told me of an extraordinary worship service in Uganda among Ugandan Christians. Though they had been living in the midst of real evil and suffering, including genocide, the worship leader requested everyone to,…
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Honor isn’t an idea I created. It is a key concept in Scripture. When asked what the Bible says about honor, most people think of the fifth commandment: “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you”…
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We live in an age of anger. Almost everyone is offended by something, and they wear it like a badge of honor. People are offended by politicians, traditional marriage, minimum wage, the national anthem, the names of sports teams, old white men, the weather, and just about everything else. It’s…
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Prepare plans by consultation, and make war by wise guidance. Proverbs 20:18 Several years ago, my wife, Amy, and I had the privilege of attending a dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in New York honoring the delegates to the United Nations. Billy Graham, the keynote speaker, began his address with…
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