I. Introduction From time to time, we all come to a big decision in our lives. I've lost my job; what should I do now? I have a medical issue; how should I treat it? Is this person right for me? Should I compromise, or should I stand my ground? We are faced with decisions … Continue reading Praying About Difficult Decisions
Tag: New Testament
How to Develop Your Faith
I. Introduction Forgive me ahead of time; it was difficult to focus this week on preparing a lesson. We had plumbing leak #4 this past Sunday and our study was damaged by the leaking pipes. We were already working on a solution to replace the ancient galvanized piping with the newer PEX tubing which was … Continue reading How to Develop Your Faith
Hedonism
I. Introduction Who knows what hedonism is? According to dictionary.com, "the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the highest good; or, devotion to pleasure as a way of life." What I found interesting is that when you lookup the word "hedonism" on dictionary.com, you also get advertisements. "Come to Hedonism Resorts of Jamaica! Book Today!" … Continue reading Hedonism
Faith and Deeds
Charles Schultz often touched on religious themes in his cartoons. You might remember his Christmas special years ago, where Linus recited the meaning of Christmas from the book of Luke. Charles Schultz taught bible study into the 1980's, and many of his cartoons were thought to illustrate bible scripture. His illustration for our study today, … Continue reading Faith and Deeds
Faithful Inside and Out
Image via Wikipedia I. Introduction We're wrapping up the letters of from Paul to the church of Thessalonica today. Paul's 1st letter consisted mostly of encouragement as the church faced prosecution and urged Christians to live by high moral standards in an immoral society. Anybody think this might be applicable today? Paul also talked about … Continue reading Faithful Inside and Out
Walking Together
Image via WikipediaLet’s talk football. Today’s the big day, Superbowl 43, Pittsburgh Steelers versus Arizona Cardinals. Pittsburgh is going for their 6th Championship ring, and they are a football dynasty. Arizona Cardinals last won an NFL title in 1947 and hold the record for the longest drought without a title.There are great reasons to root … Continue reading Walking Together
Walking in Christ
What is your philosophy of life, and what does it say about you? I found a collection of quotes about life; here’s a small sample – Erma Bombeck: "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could … Continue reading Walking in Christ
Christian Carnival CCLIV
I could call this the "Day After Trying to Recover From What Might Have Been a Minor Flu Edition," but I won't. Christmas Season and Flu Season accompany each other every year, like Hansel and Gretel, or Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. I had just enough aches and pains to baby myself to prevent a flu... heck, … Continue reading Christian Carnival CCLIV
We Are the Message
Image by Loci Lenar via FlickrI’ve discovered the secret to time travel, and have successfully traveled into the future. I’m still doing it - at the rate of 1 second per second. I can’t seem to go any faster or slower. It amazes me that Thanksgiving has been over for more than a week, and … Continue reading We Are the Message
Almost Persuaded
Image via Wikipedia I almost made coffee last week. I'm a cheerful riser. Happy to talk and visit, happy to greet the new day. I'm almost always in a good mood first thing in the morning. But my brain isn't exactly working at full speed. I need a routine to follow in the morning or … Continue reading Almost Persuaded
Facing Questions
Fred took us through Acts 15 last week; we're going to cover from the latter part of Acts 15 through Acts 18 today, Paul's second missionary journey. In Acts 15, Paul and Barnabas have spread the gospel of Christ among many churches. Now, they want to revisit those same churches and see how the new … Continue reading Facing Questions
Encouragement
Home, home on the range Where the deer and the antelope play Where seldom is heard A discouraging word For what can an antelope say? Every spoken word, every action we take, effects another person. We either affect somebody positively or we affect negatively. Even many neutral actions, since they don't affect another in a … Continue reading Encouragement
Fruitcake Interpretation of the Bible
Go get'em, James Dobson. Obama had some very liberal interpretations of what the bible says, and simultaneously tried to minimize Christian influence in politics *and* say that all religious discussions are welcome. James is firing back against what he called a "fruitcake interpetation of the bible." I love that phrase. News sources come from here … Continue reading Fruitcake Interpretation of the Bible
Lesson Interruptus
I don't realize how much teaching bible study has meant to me until I have to skip my turn. I've had to abdicate my responsibility for business reasons and asked the assistant pastor to find somebody to fill in for me. And I miss it. I start bible studies at least a week in advance, … Continue reading Lesson Interruptus
Empowered to Witness
The book of Acts was written approximately 60AD; the strongest evidence is that Acts closes with Paul in a Roman prison. We also know that Paul was martyred in 63AD or 64AD, and this would surely have been mentioned by the author. Who knows who the author of Acts is? Most scholars believe it's written … Continue reading Empowered to Witness
Christian Carnival CCXIX
Chasing the Wind is honored to host the 219th edition of the Christian Carnival II, the blogosphere's best Christian writing. My comments on the post in italics after each entry, but I left the author's original thoughts when he or she provided them. I included almost all posts I received; I excluded two from the … Continue reading Christian Carnival CCXIX
Christian Behavior in God’s Church
I’ve discovered how slow to understand I must be. We’ve been remarking that when Chris or Fred teach, they get large amounts of text to cover. Chris had the entire Beatitudes plus half of the New Testament to teach in 30 minutes. Fred gets, like, the entire Old Testament when he teaches. And when I … Continue reading Christian Behavior in God’s Church
Take Part in Missions
Sometimes we bite off more than we can chew. I remember my grandfather saying to me that my “eyes were bigger than my stomachâ€. He was referring to the way I’d heap food on my plate and then be unable to eat everything. My eyes were bigger than my stomach. Home remodeling projects can easily … Continue reading Take Part in Missions
Resisting Temptation
I’m sure you’ve all heard the prayer that goes, Dear God, So far today, I've done all right. I haven't gossiped, and I haven't lost my temper. I haven't been grumpy, nasty or selfish. But in a few minutes, God, I'm going to get out of bed and that is when I'm going to need … Continue reading Resisting Temptation
God's Word is Essential
Have y’all seen the stories on the news this week about Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda? For the last few years, Mr. Miranda has claimed to be Jesus himself. He says he had a vision in 1973, then after 3 marriages, 5 children, a heroin addiction and a couple of jail sentences for petty theft, … Continue reading God's Word is Essential
Book of Judges
I don't see how this passes for news. A Houston Chronicle reporter doesn't like bible studies going on in the courthouse. Just before 12:30 p.m. almost every Tuesday, Judge James Squier leaves his 312th Court and heads upstairs to the seventh floor of the Harris County Family Law Center. There, in an associate judge's chamber, … Continue reading Book of Judges
Review: On the Move
Bono, the lead singer of U2, was asked to give an address at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2006. Bono discussed his personal faith, the faith of nations, and the plight of the poor in Africa that are dying from AIDS. Based on this speech, "On the Move" was produced with images of the faces … Continue reading Review: On the Move
Once Saved, Always Saved
We're going return to the New Testament for the next 3 months and work through 1st and 2nd Peter, written by the apostle Peter approximately 30 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. In the 30 years since Peter denied Jesus three times, Peter has grown a lot. Within two years of writing 1st and 2nd … Continue reading Once Saved, Always Saved
Boycotting "Da Vinci Code"
Am I boycotting the "Da Vinci Code" movie? Or am I just refusing to go see it? The nuance is hard to discern. Christians Plan Boycott of 'Da Vinci Code' by Robert B. Bluey Posted May 04, 2006 Christian activists are planning a boycott of the soon-to-be-released Da Vinci Code movie, which one influential pro-family … Continue reading Boycotting "Da Vinci Code"
Sola Scriptura
I confess the first time I'd ever heard this term was about a year ago in an email with Sean. As I was raised Catholic, accepted Christ while attending a lesser-known evangelistic church and have since joined a Baptist church, I lean toward the "bible is sufficient" philosophy. I am open, however, to additional teachings, … Continue reading Sola Scriptura
Tithing
Rather than pontificating, I'm simply going to question today. How much should one tithe? As I see it, there are two answers to this question. Old Testament: Ten Percent. New Testament: Cheerful Giving. So what do you do if you're cheerfully giving five percent, but ten percent would make you grumpy? On one hand, most … Continue reading Tithing
Pool of Siloam
In the Gospel of John is the story of Jesus curing a blind man. At the time it was commonly accepted that if you were blind or had a deformity that it was caused by sin. The desciples asked Jesus whether the blindness was caused by the blind man's sin or by the blind man's … Continue reading Pool of Siloam
I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist
I finally finished I don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. I was slow at reading the full book only because there was so much to provoke thought, especially in the first half of the book. Essentially, IDHEFTBAA (pardon the abbreviation; it's a long title) gives a step-by-step apologetics approach to Christianity, all the … Continue reading I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist
Faking God
Kathleen Parker writes a fantastic article about how religion didn't "work" for the Democrats during this election. Through their post-election soul-searching, Democratic leaders claim to have seen the light. The reason they lost - and the way to win - is God. It was precisely this sort of insight for which God created Monday mornings. … Continue reading Faking God
Chasing the Wind 