I often hear it said that God loves us so He saved us. It’s true. We read in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (ESV). He loves us. He saves us. However, we need to … Continue reading For His Sake
Good AND Adversity
Life is full of good and bad, of pleasant and unpleasant. The moments in life we enjoy are good and pleasant. We love those moments. We celebrate those moments. We wish life was all about these moments. The adversity, the unpleasant moments, are not as well received. Certainly, we want one and not the other: … Continue reading Good AND Adversity
An Alliance
Whenever I think of an alliance, I cannot help but remember the episode of The Office. Dwight Schrute decides to form an alliance with Jim Halpert to combat the threats of downsizing. Eventually, Pam Beesly becomes involved in this alliance, which turns out to be just another Jim Halpert prank. This episode of the Office … Continue reading An Alliance
Flatter Me
We all want to hear good things about ourselves. Your hair looks nice. Your shirt is amazing. I love the way you decorated your home. This food tastes wonderful. Compliments are great and often we do not receive enough of this positive encouragement. Flattery is different than compliments. Flattery is insincere, typically given to someone … Continue reading Flatter Me
Being Right
There’s a song by Katy Nichole that is called, “Things I Wish I Would’ve Said.” One lyric that kept standing out to me is “What if neither one of us was right.” I kept thinking about this lyric. Imagine if we would think about this when we are engaging with our friends and family? What … Continue reading Being Right
When Evil Exists
In 2 Kings we read that there can be no peace when evil exists. Read 2 Kings 9:18-22. This passage follows a verse with the watchman noting that Jehu’s mob was approaching. The horseman asked “Do you come in peace” numerous times. Jehu continued to respond, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall … Continue reading When Evil Exists
The Common Good
We too often look out for ourselves, but today’s verse mentions that we were given the Holy Spirit and various spiritual gifts for the common good. We read in 1 Corinthians 12:7: “A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good” (CSB). This goes against what we usually are being … Continue reading The Common Good
But Only
We all love to get recognition, to get credit for our good deeds. Saul was victorious over the years. So was David. Saul acknowledged that people gave him credit. Yet, they only gave Saul credit for a small portion of success while David was given a lot more credit. In 1 Samuel 18:8-9, we read: … Continue reading But Only
Hearing Difficulties
I have some hearing difficulties due to medical issues. Many times, I won’t hear something but it is not intentional. Of course, there are other moments when we do not hear something because we have our focus elsewhere. For example, we will be watching television and someone is trying to speak with us and we … Continue reading Hearing Difficulties
Making the Effort
The Bible says that if you draw near to God, He will draw near to you (James 4:8). This requires effort on our part. That’s the thing about relationships. Both parties must make an effort for it to work. In our relationship with God, surrender and obedience is necessary. This is what proper worship is … Continue reading Making the Effort
Tania Gutekunst 