Remember the parable of the princess who hid her identity, and never spent time with her father, the king? There’s more to the story. The princess was an adopted child of the king with all the rights, benefits and privileges of being in his royal family. But she did not actually spend time to getContinue reading “How to move out of the crowd and get near to God – Our Identity: In God, Part 5”
Monthly Archives: January 2020
The rights and privileges we have as adopted children of God – Our Identity: In God, Part 4
When my wife, Michelle, and I were talking about this idea of being adopted as God’s children, she reminded me of one of her favorite parts of the adoption ceremonies. At those adoption ceremonies one of the final components is that the judge reads the decree of adoption. In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a decreeContinue reading “The rights and privileges we have as adopted children of God – Our Identity: In God, Part 4”
My six visits to a courtroom – Our Identity: In God, Part 3
I have been inside a courtroom for official court proceedings six times in my life. The first time was my fault. I was 17, very guilty, and scared to death. I’m not going into the whole story today. If you want to learn more, I’ve written about it here. The summary is that I wasContinue reading “My six visits to a courtroom – Our Identity: In God, Part 3”
Why we need to see God as both Father and Mother – Our Identity: In God, Part 2
The Bible says that God is not just our creator, but our parent. The Bible uses both Father and Mother imagery for God. We normally call him God, the Father. But God does not have a gender. God is not actually male. God is not human. God is a Spirit. We could be missing outContinue reading “Why we need to see God as both Father and Mother – Our Identity: In God, Part 2”
The king and the secret princess – Our Identity: In God, Part 1
I want to tell you a parable. There was a king who wanted to have more connection with the people in his kingdom, so he decided to have a weekly briefing. At the briefing, reporters from various news agencies in the kingdom would come to the briefing, and they would talk with the king, andContinue reading “The king and the secret princess – Our Identity: In God, Part 1”
How to avoid assimilation and follow Jesus – Characters: Daniel, Part 5
A retired couple in my congregation told me about the time they attended a high school reunion, and their classmates, now all retired, each took turns sharing what they were doing with their lives. The sharing went all the way around the circle, and not a single person mentioned anything about serving the Lord. PerhapsContinue reading “How to avoid assimilation and follow Jesus – Characters: Daniel, Part 5”
How much should we let our Christianity show? – Characters: Daniel, Part 4
In this series of posts on Daniel and his friends, we’ve been talking about assimilation. How much should Christians allow themselves to assimilate with their surrounding culture? What areas of ethics matter, and which don’t? It’s not always easy to know. One way people seek to answer this question is about process. Do the endsContinue reading “How much should we let our Christianity show? – Characters: Daniel, Part 4”
How teens and adults can respond to peer pressure – Characters: Daniel, Part 3
How do you handle societal pressure? Whether you are a teenager facing peer pressure at school, perhaps to try drugs and alcohol, or whether you are an adult tempted to misreport your taxes, there are multitudes of pressures in life, pressures to turn away from living in a way that is honorable to Jesus. WillContinue reading “How teens and adults can respond to peer pressure – Characters: Daniel, Part 3”
Engaging Scripture 