Dave Kraft in his book Mistakes Leaders Make gives 10 things pastors should strongly avoid. Allowing ministry to replace Jesus Allowing comparing to replace contentment Allowing pride to replace humility Allowing pleasing people to replace pleasing God Allowing busyness to replace visioning Allowing financial frugality to replace fearless faith Allowing artificial harmony to replace difficult conflict…
One way we love others is by being proactive in doing good, not reactive. The example in the blog post title serves as an example: you wouldn’t wait till your car runs out of gas to put gas in it. There’s a proactiveness that we naturally exemplify. In the same way we should be proactive…
Have real goodwill toward the other person Put the other person first Be eager in meeting the needs of others, not begrudging and reluctant Be proactive, not reactive, in doing good Avoid a self-protective mindset and take pains to do good for others Be creative and competent in doing good, not lazy and shoddy Matt…
Matt Perman writes that the Christian attitude in doing good is… Eager Enthusiastic Joyful Creative Gets a kick out of it He also writes that the Christian attitude in doing good is not… Reluctant Grudging Indifferent Bored Would rather be playing X-Box or Wii Which list is more reflective of your life?
Matt Perman has an excellent book entitled, What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms The Way You Get Things Done. Chapter 4 answers the question why we need to be God-centered in our productivity. He briefly walks through the progression of thinking regarding time management that I found helpful, as well as convicting. Get organized through lists, reminders…
Paul writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7 to encourage him that God hasn’t given Christians a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control. What is self-control? Is having self-control a big deal? Should not having self-control concern us? If you’re anything like me there are areas in my life where I’ve…
Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” But what does it mean that all the promises of God find their Yes in Jesus? Jerry Bridges…
When we describe someone’s attributes, we usually make a distinction between a person and his attributes. For instance, you may say your mother is patient, but you wouldn’t say that your mother is patience. And you would say that your mother is more than a mere list of traits. In the same way, God is…
Change is hard. Read Jeremiah 13:23; 22:21 – what is Jeremiah referring to? Wrong interpretation: referring to sinful nature with which men are born. However, Calvin insists that it should be understood as a description of “the habit that is contracted by long practice.” Jeremiah makes the point elsewhere in Jeremiah 22:21. Change is a cooperative act (Phil…
What Nicodemus needs, and what you and I need, is not religion but life. The point of referring to new birth is that birth brings a new life into the world. In one sense, of course, Nicodemus is alive. He is breathing, thinking, feeling, acting. He is a human created in God’s image. But evidently,…
