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United in Spirit
The world is looking for the proverbial “Home on the Range.” The place where never is heard a discouraging word. God has built the Church to be that Home.
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The Problem with Grumbling
Grumbling! We hate it in our kids but do it ourselves. Moses’ leadership was met with grumbling throughout the forty years that the Israelites were in the wilderness. It if wasn’t about food, it was about water or Moses’ leadership. We all know how grumbling works. We’re angry or fearful and start complaining about the people in charge to our friends. Then there are groups upset and confirming each other’s complaints. Grumbling is contagious. What bothers one person soon becomes the issue of a mob. It was grumbling about entering the Promised Land that got Israel stuck in the wilderness for another thirty plus years. I’ve certainly been guilty and…
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What our Tongues Reveal
Looking at the surface of our tongue can reveal clues to our physical health.[1] Color, texture, bumps, or spots can all be indicators of health issues. But listening to the words from our tongue can reveal our spiritual health. Slandering, boasting, flattering, and complaining are indicators of spiritual issues. You may feel like you have a tight rein on your tongue in public. But what about in private? What about in your thoughts? Maybe it is just certain people that you find your words/thoughts are not gracious. Our words/thoughts reveal what is going on in our hearts which can either bring life or death to their recipients (Prov 18:21). Let’s…
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Complaining is Anti-Praise
Complaining, Grumbling, and Murmuring are Anti-Thanksgiving and Anti-Praise!
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Bonhoeffer on Quieting Our Inner Critic
How do you respond when people frustrate you? When their vision is smaller, their personalities grate, their pride annoys, their fears quash progress? German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer knew how to speak truth. As the Lutheran Church of Martin Luther fell under the spell of Adolph Hitler, he boldly joined the dissenting “Confessing Church,” becoming one of Hitler’s earliest and staunchest critics. But his commitment to speaking truth was tempered by great love. In his book, Life Together, he challenges our Western penchant for radical individualism, even (especially!) in the church, and shows us, better than anyone I’ve ever read, the beauty and freedom of a ministry of forbearance to others…
