Jews focused all of their attention on the ethical, public behavior of a person, which is good in many ways. However, Jesus was not satisfied with mere external, physical obedience.
Let’s face it; most of us are intrigued by the Holy Spirit. Like moths, we are attracted to the warmth and the light of His flame. Our desire is to come closer . . . to draw nearer, to know Him more fully and intimately, to enter into new and stimulating dimensions of His workings . . . without getting burned. I know that is true of me, and I suspect you often feel the same.
Want more joy in your day? Cultivate it! Joy springs from viewing the day’s events from eternity’s perspective. With this intentional focus, you’re sure to see today differently—with more joy and conviction that God is at work in your life.
God's nature exudes grace. We can rely upon that truth because we can see that God's deeds exude grace, both in our lives and in Scripture.
See MoreDeep within, we imagine ourselves as a mixture of Patrick Henry, Davy Crockett, John Wayne, and the prophet Daniel! But the truth of the matter is that most of us would do anything to keep from being different. We’d much rather blend into the woodwork. One of our greatest fears is being ostracized, rejected by “the group.”
One of the first weddings I performed as a young pastor had all the promise you could hope for in a marriage. Both in their mid-twenties, both believers, he was a medical student, she was a nurse. It should have been a model marriage filled with peace and joy. Struggles would come, of course, but an enduring hope would get them through the dark days.
I remember only two things from my high school chemistry class. First, I got rid of a wart on the back of my right hand through applications of sulfuric acid for thirty-three consecutive days. Second, I watched the slow death of a frog in an unforgettable experiment.
Isn't God good? Generation after generation He provides a fresh set of grandparents . . . an ever-present counterculture in our busy world.
I keep meeting these wonderful people whose lives belie their age. Their enthusiasm is contagious, their zest for life captivating. They're still thinking and dreaming, determined not to miss out on the fun, and they're definitely not interested in planting themselves in a rocking chair and watching sunsets.
You have a museum in your mind. It's a museum of memories.
Anniversaries. Birthdays. Graduations. Holidays. Longstanding traditions. Life's milestones. Even recoveries from serious illnesses. Each memory hangs in its place, firmly fixed in your mind . . . and in the minds of your children.
It comes as a surprise to no one that I love music. Choral music, instrumental music, popular music, as well as classical stuff . . . folk tunes, ballads, fun songs, and serious works . . . country western and bluegrass, as well as the patriotic and romantic. For me, music is a must.
There are several reasons most of us are reluctant to witness for Jesus Christ. One is the feeling of ignorance. We don’t really know how to go about it.
Sometimes when you don’t feel like praying, or you’re consumed with needing to speak to the Lord but can’t gather the words, try that old standby—count your many blessings, count them one by one.
A passage in Joshua prompted me to think of three words. First, create. God wants us to go to the trouble of establishing historic markers. Notice I said, “Go to the trouble.” Creating legacy reminders is not easy. These were big stones. They needed to be chosen, hauled, stacked, and then maintained as a lasting reminder of God’s faithfulness.
What is your final authority in life? Before you answer too quickly, think about it for a few moments. When you're cornered, when you're facing an intimidating obstacle, when you're forced to deal with reality, upon whom or what do you lean?
"I'm totally confused. How in the world do I find the will of God for my life?" I cannot number how many times through the years I have heard that question.
I could probably list at least ten ways that God leads His children today, but I will limit myself to the four that I think are the most significant methods of God's leading.
The special day never arrives without its refreshing reminder that there is life beyond this one. True life. Eternal life. Glorious life. Those who live on what we might call the "outskirts of hope" need a transfusion. Easter gives it.
The late football strategist Vince Lombardi was a fanatic about fundamentals. Those who played under his leadership often spoke of his intensity, his drive, his endless enthusiasm for the guts of the game. Time and again he would come back to the basic techniques of blocking and tackling.
A friend of mine ate dog food one evening. No, he wasn’t at a fraternity initiation nor a hobo party . . . he was actually at an elegant student reception in a physician’s home near Miami. The dog food was served on delicate little crackers with a wedge of imported cheese, bacon chips, an olive, and a sliver of pimento on top. That’s right, friends and neighbors; it was hors d’oeuvres a la Alpo.
Ever since I was knee-high to a gnat, I have been taught and have believed in the infallibility of Scripture.
For as long as I have been in the ministry I have asked the Lord for a balance between a tender heart and a tough hide. It isn't an easy balance. In fact, the latter is more difficult to cultivate than the former. In order to be fully engaged in ministry, job number one is to have a tender heart. The challenge is developing a tough hide.
Slice it any way you wish; ignorance is not bliss. Dress it in whatever garb you please; ignorance is not attractive. Neither is it the mark of humility nor the path to spirituality. It certainly is not the companion of wisdom.
When I was growing up in Houston, our family lived across the street from a widow named Mrs. Roberts. Her husband had recently died from a sudden heart attack. Alone, afraid, and facing an unknown future, her grief knew no bounds.
When most folks hear the term leader, they think of presidents, pastors, teachers, and CEOs. But very few think of themselves. And yet, it’s true. You are a leader. As a Christian, you are an influencer for Christ, an ambassador for the Lord, and a change-agent for the gospel of God’s grace. In fact, I have discovered in the book of Nehemiah seven principles of leadership that apply to you. Nehemiah’s example offers principles you can apply immediately to your sphere of influence.
Overwhelming odds can make cowards of us all.
Because there is so much to be done, we can easily lose heart and do nothing at all. Because there are so many people in the world to reach, it is easy to forget that God wants to use us to touch those within our sphere of responsibility.
Will you allow me, in this private chat with you, to pick out one "unlovely characteristic" frequently found in Christian circles . . . and then to develop it from a positive point of view? I'm thinking of the lack of encouragement in our relationships. To illustrate the point, when did you last encourage someone else? Be honest: when was the last time you said something or gave something or wrote something or did something with the single motive of encouraging someone else? I firmly believe that an individual is never more Christlike than when full of compassion for those who are down, needy, discouraged, feeling unappreciated, or forgotten. How essential is "the ministry of encouragement"!
If there's one attitude families are guilty of more than any other when it comes to mothers, it's presumption...taking them for granted...being nearly blind on occasion to the load moms carry.
Joy—it makes people wonder at your secret. Yet joy is no secret to the trusting Christian. When we choose to grow closer to God, resting in His character and provision, joy spills over into our lives so that others can’t help but notice.
As time passed the balance of that evening, I kept returning to the reality, “He is coming back. What a difference it will make!” It is remarkable, when you stop and get specific about it, how many things we take for granted that will suddenly be removed or changed. Think about that . . .
Do you ever find yourself wondering, “Does God really have things in hand here, or is my life spinning out of control?” I have. Trusting in Jesus Christ at age 18, I soon concluded that if I simply did enough of the right things, my Christian life would be a steady climb toward maturity. Numerous setbacks and failures later, I still believed God was in control and had a purpose through it all.
I was raised to believe in the importance of a "quiet time." To the surprise of some, the original idea of that concept did not come from the late Dawson Trotman, the founder of The Navigators, but from the Lord Himself.
The New Year is only one month old, and already the pressures of life have returned. Sixty-hour workweeks. Razor-thin balances in the checkbook every month. Children and/or grandchildren who call for unending, boundless bursts of energy. Sound familiar?
Consider the words of Solomon: "He who walks in integrity walks securely, / But he who perverts his ways will be found out" (Proverbs 10:9). Before reading on, go back and read that again.
We never outgrow our love for a good story, do we? There is something compelling, something magnetic, and something altogether unique about the best stories. They engage, both our minds and our hearts. They allow us to empathize with the experiences of other human beings. They also create opportunities to learn from the lives of others.
I can’t think of a better model of leadership than Nehemiah. I once sat down and looked over Nehemiah’s shoulder for a couple of hours, reviewing the things this ancient Jewish leader recorded while rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. As I read, it dawned on me that his journal is a storehouse of leadership insights. The first six chapters of Nehemiah ought to be required reading each year for all leaders as well as those who wish to be.
I have swept away your sins like a cloud.
I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist.
Oh, return to me,
for I have paid the price to set you free. (Isaiah 44:22 NLT)
If I choose not to risk, if I go the "safe" route and determine not to promote either salvation by grace or a lifestyle of grace, what are the alternatives? Four come to my mind, all of which are popular these days.
The word grace means many things to many people.
God's nature exudes grace. We can rely upon that truth because we can see that God's deeds exude grace, both in our lives and in Scripture.
Joseph had an innovative plan, something that had never been done before.
As a lifelong admirer of President Abraham Lincoln, I have devoured more than a few biographies about him. Among the best was Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, a volume that presents Lincoln’s brilliant political act of enlisting into his cabinet some of the men who had run against him. Surrounded by a team that didn’t believe in the viability of the Thirteenth Amendment and pressured by men in his own party to compromise with the South to end the war sooner, Lincoln refused to fold. He challenged his peers to rise above their doubts, to act upon their shared goal of ending slavery in America, and to press hard against the opposition. In the end, Lincoln’s convictions carried the day. Against all odds, clinging to hope against hope, he led this team of rivals to achieve the defeat of slavery.
What does it mean to say a Christian has liberty? Chuck Swindoll explains liberty as freedom from something and freedom to do something.
Since the first Christmas celebration, one word has crossed everyone’s lips more than any other this time of year. It isn’t the word carol or tree or food . It’s gift .
Question:
I recently read the book, The Da Vinci Code. I know that it is fiction, but it has caused me to question everything that I’ve always believed about Jesus. How do we know that Jesus is God in the flesh and not simply a good teacher?
Answer:
For two thousand years, critics have chipped away at the cornerstone of Christianity — Jesus Christ. Yet Christianity has stood firm not because it has successfully covered up a conspiracy, as Dan Brown asserts throughout his fictionalized account, but because it has stood strong in its reliance on the truth of the deity of Christ.
This article was written to answer this specific question, and it explains clearly the theology behind Jesus’s substitutionary death to pay the penalty required for our sins. It explains how God’s holiness and righteous standard require justice and cannot merely overlook our sin. And it helps us understand exactly what Jesus went through when He died to secure our salvation.
No matter how difficult it is to comprehend the mind-blowing visions presented in Revelation, we must not forget that it is part of God’s Word.
If you like stories that end well, you'll love Christianity. One of the great themes of our faith is triumphant hope—an unshakeable assurance that things will end right.
These facts from biblical prophecy about Christ's return may surprise you.
Know that Jesus is your friend indeed.
I remember a fun 'n' games night around the supper table in our house. It was wild. First of all, one of the kids snickered during the prayer (which isn't that unusual) and that tipped the first domino.
If news networks had been invented in 1809, they would’ve covered one story: Napoleon sweeping across Austria like a wildfire. Napoleon was the talk of the world, on the move from Trafalgar to Waterloo. Everything was about Napoleon.
Recently, Chuck sat down and discussed the importance of his new book, The Church Awakening: An Urgent Call for Renewal.
There is something extra special about February. Valentine’s Day. Hearts ’n’ flowers. Sweetheart banquets. A fresh and needed reminder that there is still a heart-shaped vacuum in the human breast that only the three most wonderful words in the English language can fill.
When I was growing up, I never knew cursing, drinking, divorce, or what people commonly call "the wild life." And believe it or not, at the time I didn't know the rest of the world was any different.
I must tell you that I have been troubled regarding the face of things in our country and within the family of God. My major battle has had to do with one word, one concept. My battle has to do with integrity.
Joseph's life offers us a magnificent portrayal of the grace of God as He came to our rescue in the Person of His Son, Jesus.
In our pocket of society where pampered affluence is rampant, we are often at a loss to know what kind of gifts to buy our friends and loved ones on special occasions.
Laurence J. Peter and I are close friends. No, actually, we’ve never met, but we’ve visited together numerous times. We’ve never even shaken hands, but we’ve been in agreement ever since we crossed paths. Although I’ve never laid eyes on him, I’ve smiled at his comments and nodded at his conclusions . . . amazed with his remarkable insight into my own life and those around me.
When the heart is right the feet are swift.”
That’s the way Thomas Jefferson put it many years ago. There are other ways to say the same thing. A happy spirit takes the grind out of giving. A positive attitude makes sacrifice a pleasure. When the morale is high, the motivation is strong. When there is joy down inside, no challenge seems too great. The grease of gusto frees the gears of generosity.
Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright and author of yesteryear, wrote in The Picture of Dorian Gray, “Young people, nowadays, imagine that money is everything . . . and when they grow older they know it!”1 Another statement on money I especially like is from former heavyweight boxing champ, Joe Louis: “I don’t like money, actually, but it quiets my nerves.”2 But my all-time favorite is from Sophie Tucker when she spoke of the needs of a woman: “From birth to eighteen a girl needs good parents; from eighteen to thirty-five she needs good looks; from thirty-five to fifty-five she needs a good personality, and from fifty-five on, she needs cash!”3
Thoughts disentangle themselves . . . over the lips and through the fingertips.
I learned that saying over thirty years ago, and just about every time I put it to the test, it works! Whenever I have difficulty comprehending the complicated or clarifying the complex, I talk it out or write it out. This is especially helpful when it comes to scriptural truth. For some strange reason the human brain seems reluctant to retain divine information simply by hearing it.
When I wrote The Grace Awakening almost 30 years ago, I couldn’t have imagined the book’s widespread impact. People still write to tell me how it changed their lives and even their marriages. Little do they know that, in part, the book originated from my own “grace awakening.”
The hour of 1:00 a.m. comes every night, but there's one 1:00 a.m. I'll never forget. While you were likely sound asleep, I was wide awake . . . talking to God like mad!
With the dawning of a new year comes a deluge of resolutions, reminders, and exhortations.
I often smile when I read the Gospel of Mark. He loved the word "immediately." It appears again and again.
God's presence is not as intriguing as His absence. His voice is not as eloquent as His silence.
One of the most effective evangelists I have ever known was a fellow who ran a service station on Arlington Avenue just outside Boston.
When I was growing up in Houston, our family lived across the street from a man and woman who had married later in life.
When I heard the numbers, I could hardly believe my ears!
It's baaaack!
The age-old yuletide season is about to slip in the door once again. Better not shout, better not pout, for the malls will be playing “Jingle Bells” several thousand times between now and December 25. If you're not careful, the crowds and commercialism will weigh you down like that fourth helping of stuffing at Thanksgiving dinner. And there's nothing worse than a jaded attitude that resists the true spirit of the season.
Just how widespread is the practice of abortion? Are we making much ado about nothing, or do we have a full-scale issue deserving of our immediate attention?
A funny thing happened in Darlington, Maryland, several years ago. Edith, a mother of eight, was coming home from a neighbor's house one Saturday afternoon. Things seemed too quiet as she walked across her front yard. Curious, she peered through the screen door and saw five of her youngest children huddled together, concentrating on something. As she crept closer to them, trying to discover the center of attention, she could not believe her eyes. Smack dab in the middle of the circle were five baby skunks.
Impossible!
Has this word crossed your lips lately as you peer at an unsolvable problem? The dictionary defines impossible as “incapable of being done, attained, or fulfilled: insuperably difficult.” 1
While Matthew did not sign his own name to “his” gospel, the early church uniformly attested to the apostle’s authorship of the book. As early as AD 140, a Christian named Papias wrote that Matthew had compiled the sayings of the Lord in Hebrew (presumably before Matthew translated them into Greek for a larger audience).
I should tell you up front that this is not going to be your basic religious-sounding statement on prayer. Sorry, I just don’t have it in me.
No, I’m not sorry.
In 1991 James Patterson and Peter Kim released The Day America Told the Truth, a study based on an extensive opinion survey which guaranteed the anonymity of its participants. And the truth was shocking! Let me give you a brief sampling of their findings: Only 13% of Americans see all Ten Commandments as binding and relevant; 91% lie regularly, both at work and in their homes; most American workers admit to goofing off for an average of seven hours—almost one whole day—per week; and half of our workforce admits that they regularly call in sick when they feel perfectly well.
I'll never forget a lunch I had with a Christian businessman. As we discussed many of the responsibilities connected with his vocation, the subject of wisdom kept sliding into our conversation. He and I were agreeing on the value of certain qualities that cannot be learned in school—things like intuition, diligence, integrity, perception, consistency, loyalty . . . and he, again, mentioned wisdom. Wisdom is hard to define because it means much more than knowledge and goes much deeper than awareness.
It’s impossible to exaggerate our world’s moral erosion.
Culture has reached an all-time low. Our cities have laws that forbid open sewers and unsafe cesspools, but we lack laws that forbid obscenity and pornography. Unrestrained, immorality parades through every public square in a brazen display of depravity akin to Sodom’s.
Some years have required me to have the skill of a tightrope walker to stay balanced. If you're like me, sometimes it seems we barely keep steady on our spiritual tightrope . . . and then something—or someone—shakes the rope!
Let’s face it; most of us are intrigued by the Holy Spirit. Like moths, we are attracted to the warmth and the light of His flame. Our desire is to come closer . . . to draw nearer, to know Him more fully and intimately, to enter into new and stimulating dimensions of His workings . . . without getting burned. I know that is true of me, and I suspect you often feel the same.
Sometime ago, Chuck Swindoll sat down with Dr. Mark Young, president of Denver Seminary. Mark served as professor of World Missions and Intercultural Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, and was senior executive pastor for Missions at Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, before accepting his role at Denver Seminary. In this conversation, the two longtime friends discussed the timeless treasure of the Bible and Chuck's growth as a preacher throughout the years.
I haven’t been able to get the subject of forgiveness out of my mind.
Perhaps the reason is that there is so much unforgiveness in our world. Violence headlines our news with the same revengeful message: “You hurt me, so I will hurt you.”
Tragic, isn’t it? The cure to conflict is so obtainable. Yet people would rather hold a grudge than reconcile, “get even” than forgive.
What are the marching orders for people who live in these difficult, perilous times when the courts are out of control, when the schools are out of control, when neighborhoods are out of control, when it seems as though even your home at times is living on the ragged edge? Let me give you four statements from the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:14-4:18).
It was the ultimate test of faith.
Here's why I'm convinced of that: God told Abraham to sacrifice his son.
"Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much . . . and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you." (Genesis 22:1–2)
I'll never forget the day my brother Orville dropped by my parents' house before he and his family headed to South America as missionaries. Now, you have to appreciate the kind of man my father was. Look up the word responsible in the dictionary, and I'm surprised his picture isn't there! To him, risks are for those who fail to plan. Responsible people leave nothing to chance. As far as he was concerned, faith is something you exercise when your three backup plans fall through and you have run out of every other option.
It was a phone call I'll never forget. It was from a young woman whose life lay shipwrecked on the California beach from where she was calling. She had a terminal disease, leukemia. Her husband had left her. Her child had recently died at only two and a half months old. Her friend had just been killed in an auto accident. Wave after wave of loss had crushed this woman's spirit, and she couldn't take another day of pain. In whispered tones, she told me that she held a loaded revolver and wondered why she shouldn't use it to end her misery.
Some things just don't mix! Oil and water always separate, no matter how much we shake them. An open fire and a can of gasoline don't go together. And alcohol and driving should never coexist!
Holiness sounds scary. It need not be, but to the average American it is. Our tendency is to think that holiness would never find its way into the office of a salesperson—certainly not that of an aggressive and successful athletics coach. Nor would a mother of small children be that concerned about holiness, nor a teenager involved in a busy high school, nor some collegian pursuing a career with his or her eyes on great financial goals. Let's face it, holiness is something for the cloistered halls of a monastery. It needs organ music, long prayers, and religious-sounding chants. It hardly seems appropriate for those in the real world of the twenty-first century. Author John White seems to agree with that.
Of all the letters Paul wrote, Second Corinthians is the most autobiographical. In it the great apostle lifts the veil on his private life and allows us to catch a glimpse of his human frailties and needs. You need to read that entire letter in one sitting to capture the moving emotion that surged through his soul.
You invest more than one-third of your life at work. Punch the clock, turn on the computer, start your engines at 8 a.m., rest a few minutes at noon, but keep your mind and body in gear till the sun has set. Then tomorrow—repeat. Sound familiar?
A time-honored, effective method of evangelism is the giving of your personal testimony. No big deal. Just telling about your spiritual pilgrimage. How you found bread as a beggar.
On more than one occasion recently I've found myself pondering the words of Socrates: “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Lots of Christians look for Satan behind every bush. Wake up in a sour mood? Must be Satan. Argue with a family member? The Devil strikes again. Bad weather wreaks havoc on the commute? Who else could be working in that? No one but Satan!
The older I get, the less excited I am about theory . . . and the more I care about reality. Who cares if the stuff that flows from my pen stimulates the intellect and gives folks fodder for philosophizing? So what if these words tickle ears and answer questions nobody is asking? Provocative, relevant, issue-related writing with enough creativity and honesty to keep the reader reading is what interests me . . . not much else. And so every once in a while I frown, squint, and peer objectively at a page and ask hard questions: Am I in touch? Is this worth mentioning? Does it scratch an itch? Will it make any difference?
When he had to confront King David, Nathan told a story. When Joshua urged Israel to choose whom they would serve, he told a story. When the Son of God wanted to reveal truth to His followers, He too told a story.
When he had to confront King David, Nathan told a story. When Joshua urged Israel to choose whom they would serve, he told a story. When the Son of God wanted to reveal truth to His followers, He too told a story.
A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water,
but a man of understanding draws it out. (Proverbs 20:5)
A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water,
but a man of understanding draws it out. (Proverbs 20:5)
Jews focused all of their attention on the ethical, public behavior of a person, which is good in many ways. However, Jesus was not satisfied with mere external, physical obedience.
Let’s face it; most of us are intrigued by the Holy Spirit. Like moths, we are attracted to the warmth and the light of His flame. Our desire is to come closer . . . to draw nearer, to know Him more fully and intimately, to enter into new and stimulating dimensions of His workings . . . without getting burned. I know that is true of me, and I suspect you often feel the same.
Want more joy in your day? Cultivate it! Joy springs from viewing the day’s events from eternity’s perspective. With this intentional focus, you’re sure to see today differently—with more joy and conviction that God is at work in your life.
Have you ever walked through your house at night in the dark and jammed your pinkie toe into the side of the sofa? That little toe, the one you never think about, is suddenly your primary focus as you jump up and down because it’s screaming in pain—and your whole body feels it. Amazing—one small appendage can reduce a grown man or woman to a writhing mass of tears.
There we sat, a cluster of six. A stubby orange candle burned at the center of our table, flickering shadows across our faces. One spoke; five listened. Every question was handled with such grace, such ease—each answer drawn from deep wells of wisdom, shaped by tough decisions, nurtured by time. And pain. And mistakes and mistreatment. Honed by tests, risks, heartbreaks, and failures. Decades in the same crucible had made this man's counsel invaluable.
We are a success-saturated society. The telltale signs are everywhere. Each year dozens of books and magazines, scores of audio and video, and hundreds of seminars offer ideas, motivation, techniques, and promises of prosperity.
I need to underscore a foundational fact: God’s goal is not to make sure you're happy. No matter how hard it is for you to believe this, it's time to do so. Life is not about your being comfortable and happy and successful and pain free. It's about becoming the man or woman God has called you to be. Unfortunately, we will rarely hear that message proclaimed today. All the more reason for me to say it again: Life is not about you! It's about God.
Long ago in a quiet, crude place where animals sleep, Mary gave birth and felt the soft, human skin of her firstborn. The humanity of this scene appropriately pulls us in for a closer look.
Are your holidays so hectic that the Christmas story has become too familiar to you? Insight for Living has developed Charles R. Swindoll’s book A Bethlehem Christmas: Celebrating the Joyful Season into a captivating radio theater production. This moving presentation is fully dramatized in an audio format that includes riveting performances, vivid sound effects, and a magnificent musical score.
As you and your family sit together to listen, you’ll be transported back in time. You will gain a fresh understanding of the confusion, the fear, and ultimately, the faith of the men and women whom God chose to involve in the miraculous incarnation of Jesus. Experience the joy of this historic moment as if you were actually hearing the announcement of Christ’s birth with your very own ears. You’ll never again take the Christmas story for granted!
