Donna is a wife, mother, grandmother, writer, and Biblical counselor. She has been blogging through the Bible each year since 2012. She loves God's Word and sharing how freeing and practical it is. She is certified through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors.
Authority. Most of us bristle at the thought of someone telling us what to do. Add to that the culture’s attitude toward our perceived rights and feminism’s influence on marriage and you have a cocktail of silent, when not outward, rebellion.
While it’s true that authority has been abused, rejected, and reversed, God is a God of order and He has ordained authority as part of that order. No matter what we think, we are not living obediently before God if we aren’t fully submitted to the authority He has placed in our lives. But human authority is not unlimited.
So, what does submission to authority look like? And what are the limits on authority?
Also, true worship is more than a time of music and singing. True worship involves how we live our lives. Whether we obey God (including our submission to authority) or harden our hearts to His commands are both a demonstration of who we worship … ourselves and our autonomy or God.
As followers of Christ, we are to become living sacrifices. One way we do that is in our relationships with other people. We are to love, prefer, and do good to others even when they don’t do the same. How is that even possible?
Also, read about:
The danger of being lulled into complacency by the comforts and favor of worldly people.
What both Job and the Apostle Paul understood about hardship and perseverance.
Most of us will have opportunities in life to offer comfort to those suffering and grieving. Perhaps, you know someone right now who has lost a loved one or suffered some other setback.
When we do, we don’t want to be “miserable comforters” like Job’s friends. But the truth is most of us feel inadequate and unsure about what to say. We fear saying the wrong thing and, all too often, fail to say anything out of fear or awkwardness. See today’s post for a helpful list of things to say and do and, just as important, things to avoid.
“Why me?” It’s a question we so often ask. Why is this happening? And why is it happening to me? Why now? Why my kids, my family, my job, my health? But … are we asking the right “why question”?
And from our New Testament reading:
We’ll talk about some very familiar verses from Romans. Most of us have likely shared these verses when talking to others about the gospel. Some of them have even been turned into what is commonly called the “sinner’s prayer.”
But is there a danger to praying the “sinner’s prayer” or “asking Jesus to come into your heart”? If so, how can we avoid it and not mislead others by giving them a false assurance of salvation?
A few years ago I taught a lesson during a summer ladies’ Bible study. The posters promoting the study were very eye-catching, but it was the tagline that caught my attention, “A woman of God can never be like a woman of the world.” My lesson was on wisdom versus foolishness which has everything to do with being a woman of God rather than a woman of the world. I’d like to share some of those truths today and in the next few lessons in this series.
The Bible has a great deal to say about wisdom and the flip side, foolishness. In this series, we’ll look at what it means to be wise and, by comparison, what it means to be foolish and how to recognize the difference.
Over the last few years, we have all heard so much about Covid and its variations. There is much debate about how it was handled and the threat of future pandemics. But could we be at risk from an even greater threat, the risk of catching contagious sins?
These diseases of the soul are just as deadly, even more so, because they can affect us and others for eternity. In today’s post, I’ll talk about 5 contagious sins to watch out for.
There will be times in all of our lives when life doesn’t make sense. It may be because of sickness or tragedy, the loss of a relationship, or watching a child walk away from the Lord. It may be because of someone else’s sin or just our circumstances, but there are times when life is hard. Maybe you’re going through one of those times right now.
Whatever your difficult circumstances or mine, how should we respond? And if we’re doing well right now, what can we do to be ready when challenging times come?
Not all suffering is caused by sin on the part of the sufferer. It can come from persecution or simply as the result of living in a fallen world. We can’t know someone else’s heart and shouldn’t assume their suffering is the result of sin. But sin can sometimes be the cause of our suffering or can make it worse even when the initial circumstances were not our fault. So, could sin be complicating my suffering or yours?
This is an important question because, often, our suffering can be greatly reduced or eliminated when we deal with its root. In today’s post, I’ll share 3 heart-probing questions to help you determine whether sinful responses might be worsening your suffering.
Also today:
With broken families and the pressures of living in a post-Christian world, older believers have a mission that has never been more important. If you are a senior adult, do you know what that mission is and are you being a good steward of it?
And from our New Testament reading, many people think they are children of God because they belong to a certain church, were raised in a Christian home, have “always believed in God,” have been baptized, taken communion, or are “good people.” But can any of those things save us?
Life, including pain and heartache, happens to us all, but if we don’t know the essential character of God, we will be tempted to blame Him and run away, instead of running to God when we need Him the most. See why it’s so important to run to God.
Also, read about “the rod of correction” in parenting and one of the most freeing verses in the Bible.
Spiritual battles are raging all around us. Satan wants to steal, kill and destroy all that God loves. He wants to destroy the family, destroy people’s will to work, and destroy our love for one another. He wants to divide and sow discord. And he and his evil minions seem to be ramping up their evil crusade everywhere. But many of us go into the battle ill-prepared. So, how can we strengthen and prepare ourselves for life’s battles?
And today’s readings in Proverbs and the New Testament talk about spiritual battles of another kind, the ones that go on inside of us.
First, how the “lions” of fear can keep us from moving forward and trusting God.
And in Romans, after acknowledging the war between the flesh and the spirit, the Apostle Paul tells us how we can be assured of victory. A message we all need to hear concerning our personal spiritual battles with sin, the flesh, and the devil.
