Toggle navigation

Free Choice

November 15, 2012

Romans 8:28 promises that God will work everything together for good for those who love Him and keep His commands. It’s not easy to understand how God can take the results of evil choices and create good. In this conversation from Deception, Jake and Clarence challenge Ollie’s desire for both freedom to choose and freedom from evil’s consequences:

“You believe in free choice?” Jake asked.
“Yeah.”
“Doesn’t free choice demand the freedom to choose evil?”
“Not if it causes this much suffering.”
“How much suffering is acceptable? Can you have real choices without consequences, both good and bad?”
I [Ollie] shrugged.
“Isn’t it inconsistent,” Clarence piped in, “to say it’s good for God to give us free choice, but then say He shouldn’t allow evil consequences from evil choices?”
“You can’t have [ … ]

NEWS: Cynthia Tobias interviews with “Focus on the Family”

November 14, 2012

Cynthia Tobias, author of You Can’t Make Me (But I Can Be Persuaded) shares with Focus on the Family additional insights on the strong-willed child, especially as related to single parenting, blended families, and grandparenting, as well as how to navigate parenting the strong-willed child during the teen years.  Click here for “Today’s Broadcast.”

The Shepherd Loves the Sheep

November 14, 2012

The gifts of Jesus to the church are gifts of ministers—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. But as Paul revealed here, all of these ministers have the same ministry. That ministry is “equipping.” Now, that equipping ministry manifests in differing ways among those five offices, but they all are given to produce the same outcome: to equip the saints for the work of ministry and to edify (or strengthen) the body of Christ.

Excerpted from The Blessed Church by Robert Morris

Daily Reflection: In what way has Christ equipped you for His ministry?

Then Came Christ

November 13, 2012

“Before I met Christ, sin was fully in charge. It pulled my strings like an evil puppet master, causing me to dance like a helpless marionette. Enslaved to his dark choreography, I flopped here and there, going through the motions of life. On the outside I appeared as though I was in control, but in reality I was a powerless captive. A slave. Addicted to self-love, pain avoidance, and pleasure, I did sin’s bidding—beating myself up for my failures and slapping myself on the back for my accomplishments. I was a one-person Punch and Judy show.

Then Jesus came. When I said yes to Him, the Puppet Master, He cut the soul-strings that tied my soul to sin and allowed me to truly live. I was no longer a wooden Pinocchio wishing and longing to be real. Christ breathed [ … ]

Sunset Worship

November 12, 2012

“When we listen carefully, we find that God calls us to divine appointments at the most surprising times: sunrise, sunset, alone, in a crowd, on a beach, in the family room. Sometimes we come wholeheartedly, listening to God and responding to Him with abandon. Other times we look around, cough nervously, and arrive halfheartedly, hearing but not authentically responding.

God knows our hearts, and He patiently asks us to bring more of ourselves to Him than we have before. He waits for us to realize that when we worship, there is an audience of only One.”

Excerpted from Take Flight! by Robin Jones Gunn and Cindy Hannan

Daily Reflection: How do you worship God in your life? Has the way you worship changed as your relationship with Christ has grown?