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“The very moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view.” – C. S. Lewis in Mere ChristianityThe first time I read that quote I thought, “How true!” My greatest battle is with myself––and it starts the moment I wake up.That’s why spending alone time with God in prayer and reading Scri

Penelope Stokes in Words In Season wrote, “The trouble with turning over a new leaf is that once you’ve done it twice, you’re right back where you started.”I recently read that more bad habits are broken in the month of January than during any other month. And yet that same article pointed out that only a small percentage of New Year’s resolutions are realized long-term.I’d like to encourage you. Change in your life is not only possible, it is necessary. When Christians stop

In a few days, marijuana will be legal in Illinois. So…will it be OK for Christians?First, there are a lot of things that are legal that Christians are obligated to refrain from. Abortion is legal. Fornication is legal. Even adultery is technically legal. Drunkenness is legal, if in private. But each of these are quite clearly forbidden for us who claim to follow Jesus. The approval of the state does not automatically equate to the approval of God.What, then, does God think a

Many years ago, my friend, Bob, described to me how he envisioned the perfect Christmas. He said, "I’m sitting on an old fashioned park bench next to my girlfriend, under an old fashion park lamp. The snow is lightly falling, and I pull a small wrapped gift out of my pocket and give it to my girl. She opens it and throws her arms around me. That would be my perfect Christmas." And I don’t know if it every played out that way, though he did marry a wonderful woman. I’m not sur

The only reason Christians celebrated Jesus’ birth on December 25 was because the Romans had a pagan celebration on that day and Christians took it over. Right?Wrong.Serious scholars do not believe that. There’s no evidence for it. We have nothing in writing from early church fathers or ancient historians that indicate that Christmas was a takeover of a Roman holiday. It’s just something that historians assumed hundreds of years later and passed on, though there’s nothing to

Here it is….Christmas season! Are you ready? Decorations up? Gift list completed? Shopping started? Plans for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day settled?I already made my case for doing Christmas differently in last week’s blog. This week, I thought I’d make it more hands on, and practical.If we are going to keep Christ in Christmas, what is that going to look like?First, find a way a to be Jesus to those who need Him. Look for creative ideas to be a blessing to some who are str

How was your Thanksgiving? The trouble is, even before we could really contemplate our gratitude, this world is churning out its marketing ploy for Christmas, instigating dissatisfaction and greed.Even though we all say that we hate the merchandising of Christmas, we give way to it. The message of Jesus’ birth was lost a long time ago, and now the greed that took over Christmas has invaded Thanksgiving too. Black Friday is now Black Thanksgiving . Sad.But I want to challenge

Jim Carey said, “I think everyone should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”I’m reading the little Old Testament book of Amos. He wrote to Israel during the zenith of its prosperity and power in the world. But his message was not a positive one. It’s not that Israel’s prosperity was a bad thing. Instead, he seems to indicate that they were blessed with riches and influence in the world. And he promises those wh

As a young Christian, I head someone say, “God doesn’t want you happy, he wants you holy.” Another way I’ve heard this many times, “God isn’t interested in your happiness, he’s interested in your holiness.” And it’s often said like it’s a clever play on words. I remember hearing it for the first time and wondering, “Are those two things mutually exclusive? Doesn’t he want both for us?"The Old and New Testaments are filled with prescriptions for happiness. Jesus himself spoke

Bill was buying a car. The finance assistant gave him forms to fill out, and unbeknownst to the dealership, she gave him an extra form. He put all of his information on that sheet: social security number, driver’s license, bank account information, even a credit card number. Six months later, his bank account had been emptied, fraudulent charges appeared on his credit card, and several notices came in the mail of loans that had been taken out in his name.After months of inqui

Two landscapers were working vigorously in a park. One man was digging a hole, and the other man was filling it up. They were making good time, but what they were doing didn’t make sense. So a bystander asked them about it.“We’re planting trees. I’m digging the hole. He’s filling it in. But the guy who puts the tree in is sick today.”You can work really hard and yet accomplish nothing. Right? Most of us have done that to some degree.It’s the same way with generosity. Every fo

I’m not really a fan of the satire news website, Babylon Bee. But once in a while they publish a parody that contains a very positive message that rings true. Here is one: TORONTO—Local man Tim Rubidoux has refused to join a local gym, claiming instead that his membership in the “invisible, universal gym” should be enough to get him into shape. “Yeah, I’m not really into the whole ‘organized fitness’ thing,” he told reporters, stating that he’s been “burned a few times” by g