Men, over 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ died on a Roman cross, then rose from the dead the third day. Scripture declares that He did this to provide salvation for a wicked humanity on their way to an eternity without God in hell. But was it necessary? Did Jesus have to die? Why couldn’t God just overlook man’s sins?
Everyone struggles with the tragic effects of living in this sin-cursed world. Believer and unbeliever ask questions like “Where was God when my child died, or when my spouse left me after 25 years of marriage, or when I was abused as a child?” Sometimes these questions produce doubts that seem insurmountable, and if left to simmer in our minds turn quickly into bitterness and unbelief…
Friend, if you are having a “crisis of faith” right now, if you are questioning the truths you have been taught, don’t despair…
Men, you make a lot of decisions during your day, don’t you? You make them at work, raising your family, if you are in leadership of some kind, and many of them are very important, even critical. But have you, as a man, made the most important decision of your life yet?
The day was an ordinary day in mid-May, 2003, a partly sunny day as my wife, Olive, came to a stop light at Cook’s Corner. As she waited for the light to change, her heart was heavy with concern for the situation her family was facing. Her husband was battling a severe depression, for about 2 years at that point, with little indication that he was getting better. He had just lost a good paying job at a local Christian radio station a little over a month ago, the severance pay had ended with no job prospects in sight and her heart was crying out to the Lord. Feeling discouraged and all alone she flooded her Father’s throne with her tears and her questions. “Where are you, Lord?”
Some chains that keep men in bondage are made of iron and placed there by a cruel oppressor. Other shackles, of our own making, are snapped in place like handcuffs on our soul by our own fear…fear that someone will discover our secret. Often it is a secret sin of which we are ashamed, and sometimes we would rather die than see it exposed. Friend, are you hiding such a sin?
What if the one who sinned against us refuses to acknowledge their offense and ask forgiveness? Do we have to forgive them?
One of the most difficult things to deal with as a follower of Jesus Christ is repetitive sin. I am not talking about a sin that I commit over and over, but how does the Lord want me to react when someone sins repeatedly the same sin against me…
What kind of man has a divided heart? More to the point, “can a Christian have a divided heart?” Well, friend, the truth is anyone can be afflicted with it. Even King David, a “man after God’s own heart,” prayed in Psalm 86:11…
Racked by doubts Graham struggled in his soul one August night in the San Bernadino mountains. After weeks of wrestling with the questions with which Templeton had stumped the young evangelist, that night Graham fell to his knees and told God that he was choosing to believe the Bible.
If you squeeze a tube of Crest, you will get toothpaste. If you squeeze a tube of Elmer’s glue, you will get glue. But what happens if you “squeeze” a Christian? What happens when life squeezes you? And me?
For a good part of my life, I felt that whenever I tried to get close to God, He would move farther away. It seemed to me that He wasn’t interested in a relationship with me. You see, that’s the way it was with my earthly father. He didn’t know how to have a relationship with someone. So, when I tried to get close to him, he moved farther away emotionally…
Think a minute. How many snap decisions have you made that turned out well? Now think about this. How many decisions have you prayed about carefully, sought advice from godly people on, and let some time pass before you acted that you regret? Hmmm…
In 1978 singer-songwriter Bob Seger saw his hit single, “Still the Same”, reach #4 on the “Billboard Hot 100 Chart”. The song is about a gambler who the singer admired but ultimately walked away from because he would not change despite the consequences of his actions…
I heard a story a long time ago that went like this: Some time after Jesus returned to heaven He heard that the people of the world He created and went down to die for had decided to celebrate His birthday. Excited, He visited the earth to watch all the festivities in His honor. ..
