*By Dave Zuleger But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The LORD is…
One of my favorite pictures is an image of my son when he was just two years old, standing at his Little Tikes grill, flipping plastic burgers as he stood in the shadow of my husband cooking on the grill. As I looked on, I watched my son as he glanced at his daddy to…
I’m a planner. I love making lists, and I love checking off lists. I’m very task-oriented and responsibility-driven. Fulfillment is not only something I enjoy feeling but also something I enjoy doing. I love fulfilling grocery lists, meetings with friends, and the never ending list of chores for our home. I even enjoy planning out…
Photo by Felix Koutchinski on Unsplash A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense. Proverbs 19:11 Jesus-like wisdom makes us patient people and patient people are forgiving people. Instead of becoming irritated, wise and patient people overlook the sins of others. Q: What does it mean to overlook the sin in other…
One of my favorite leadership expressions says that if you think you’re leading people but no one is following, you’re not leading – you’re just taking a walk. A surefire way to get people to stop following is to be demanding and correct them constantly without offering profuse encouragement. As Mark Chanski says in his…
There are these moments. These situations where your conversation enters into the realm of debate. The disagreement is clear. Debate ensues. You hold one position, your friend another. On the inside, you are convinced of your position. You have studied the issue, read your Bible, formulated careful conclusions, and are ready to stand your ground.…
*By Dave Zuleger, lead pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church (south campus) And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor…
Recently, I was captivated with To the Golden Shore, a biography of Adoniram Judson, one of the first American missionaries. His story is rife with suffering and yet his life is still having an impact centuries later. Adoniram had already experienced the death of his first wife and three children by the time he penned…
Measuring spiritual growth appears to be an unspiritual endeavor but it is indeed spiritual and a Jesus-honoring endeavor. We see Paul telling the believers in Thessalonica to keep doing good and excel at it (see 1 Thessalonians 4:10), as well as Jesus exhorting His disciples to bear much fruit (see John 15:1-8). And the references…
After Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, the narrator in Genesis remarks, “The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master” (Gen 39:2, HCSB). A few paragraphs later, right after Joseph is imprisoned because of false accusations against him, the narrative reads, “But the Lord…
