The Bible is like a caged lion.
If someone is attacking the lion, don’t try to defend it…
Just unlock the cage.
Tag Archives: Christ
If God were small enough to be understood, He would not be big enough to be worshipped.
Who’s Your Daddy?
When you know Who your Daddy is, it gives you courage and strength.
Not in your ability or who you are, but in His, and who He is.
Identity in Your Idols
What do you find your identity in?
If you want to know, just ask yourself, “What am I most afraid of losing?”
In the answer, you’ll find your idol. In that idol, you find your identity.
Just Know That You Are Loved – My Personal Encounter with an Angel
Two years ago today, on the worst day of my life, I had my first encounter with an angel, at the baggage claim of the RDU airport.
I stood alone, completely wiped out and broken, waiting for my bag to come around on the conveyor belt. There were a few other people waiting for their bags there as well, not many but a few. After about two minutes, my feet could no longer support the dead weight of my body and I sat down on a nearby bench. A young man, I’d guess my age or younger, came and sat down next to me.
“Excuse me,” he interrupted my empty, swollen stare, “Are you okay?” Hardly able to even turn to face him, I nod my head and mutter back, “Yea I’m fine.” My body language was screaming, “LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!” but he persisted. “It isn’t a death, is it?”
“No,” I snap back, justifying my lie with his increasingly annoying invasiveness.
“Okay, well I just wanted to say, I was in love with this girl for many years and we were happily together. I wanted to be engaged and when I asked her to marry me, she said ‘no’ and we broke up. I know it’s not the same…” he continued, despite my lack of response cues, “…but it hurt like hell.”
I managed to look him dead in the eyes this time, “It’s not the same,” I growled, my eyes piercing into him.
Looking forward, I spotted my large, brown, leather suitcase coming around the belt. One of the only ones left. I began to stand up and head towards my bag when the guy said, “Well, here,” as he handed me a 2-dollar bill, “just know that you are loved.”
I hadn’t intended to take the 2-dollar bill but there it was in my hand as I grabbed my bag from the conveyor belt. Dropping the heavy piece of luggage to the ground, I looked up to see my mom running towards me. I gave her a huge hug, momentarily allowing myself to collapse in her arms.
But wait, I wondered aloud, “Where did that guy go?”
“What guy?” my mom replied.
“The guy who just handed me this,” I waved the 2-dollar bill for her to see.
“I didn’t see any guys around, Sweetie. I saw you standing here by yourself. That’s why I came running over.”
In bewilderment, mixed with the still heavy shock of the day’s event, I stumbled towards my mom’s car, “Hmm…” I thought to myself, “Well, that was strange.”
Two years ago today, I lost my best friend in a tragic accident. He wasn’t far from me that day and he’s still as close as ever now.
My angel, I miss you.
Unity First
When it comes to the issues of conscientiousness in the Bible, for example alcohol, use of profanity, piercings, tattoos ect, I believe you ought to develop your own convictions about these things, and then try your very best not to offend anyone else’s.
Afterall, it’s not about the laws or how well you keep them, but about what God has already done for you, through his son Jesus Christ, and what He continues to do in your heart today.
In short, find unity around Jesus and don’t let that unity be divided by something secondary.
Hearing From God
I am always amazed at how readily God speaks. As soon as the thought crosses my mind, “Hm. I haven’t heard from God in a while…” within minutes, (if I can quiet myself), I hear from Him.
It occurs to me then, that it is not so much that I go through life waiting to hear from God, as it is that I go through life while God’s waiting for me to listen.
If we refuse to see the Life-Maker and live by His Law, we’re left with the life-taker to die by his claw. For reasons only God fully comprehends, the devil still ‘Walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour’ (1 Peter 5:8).
‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves’ (Philippians 2:3). Because ‘His power is perfected in weakness’ ‘ (2 Corinthians 12:9). Because ‘Those who humble themselves will be exalted’ (Matthew 23:12).
My Philosophy on Forgiveness
If it were up to me and me alone, I’d make you feel the pain and hurt you just as you’ve hurt me. But I know a route that starts with love and ends in love, just like a circle. It’s a healing route; life changing and fulfilling all the same. And so I choose to take with you, the path that Jesus took with me. It is the only path that works and my hope rests in its effectiveness.