One of most startling things about the ministry of Jesus was his focus. Some think that his ministry was to call out sinners — to pin their deeds against them and exact some sort of forced change. But, in reality, he reserved his harshest words for the religious folks — those who lived by rules and thrived on the judgement of others without any heart change. Jesus embraced the sinner, the prostitute and the tax collector. He dined with the... Read more
Unless you’re a hermit, you’ll interact with a number of people through the course of any given day. Meeting these people can be chalked up to chance — or you can see them as divine appointments. Is it possible that each interaction is an opportunity to display the grace and love of God in a demonstrable way — through word, or deed or both? You could go hard core — “Hey friend, have you heard the Good News?” We don’t... Read more
Ever wish you could just get it together? Wonder why you are ‘missing out’ on all of the things you are supposed to be doing, but they just pass you by? Here’s an article that we were honored to have our friends over at Christianity Today’s the High Calling publish…. The prayers were agonizing—so intense that red sweat stained his white robe on this blackest of nights. The sorrow was excruciating—deep, painful, and overwhelming. Jesus said he felt like dying.... Read more
Often we see people hypothetically place our Savior in the modern world and speculate what He would do. Some have asked what kind of car Jesus would drive, who He would vote for President or if He would eat bagels. Some of these are blasphemous in nature. But others are introspective. We should wonder how he would react in certain circumstances — not for the craziness of the thought — but because we really want to live out His Red... Read more
I heard from a friend that “work wasn’t fun anymore.” Was it a sign that things weren’t going well with the boss or the coworkers or customers? Was it a reflection of the duties? Or was it a reflection of a confused soul? I’m not so sure that work is supposed to be “fun.” After all, that’s why it is called “work” and not “play” or “recreation” or “relaxation.” We have a tendency in our society to always make sure... Read more
When I look back at people I’ve had to fire, I always tried to think about their dignity. There are few things that are more humiliating that being told, “you’re not cutting it around here.” It cuts to a person’s deepest self-worth.It lowers their image.It can be destructive. But, terminating an employee sometimes just has to be done. It’s how we do it that separates the Red Letter Believer from the others who dominate the secular business world. Kay Martin,... Read more
Over at Shrinking The Camel, Bradley Moore, is wrestling over terminating an employee. As a corner-office executive, all of a sudden he is faced with difficult decisions on employment – hirings and firings. These issues affect the pocketbook, livelihoods and families of employees. You cannot take any of this lightly. He even asks, “Who Would Jesus Fire?”(Note: the use of real names is a little unsettling. So I hope he’s being fictional in his illustrations.) So, have you ever had... Read more
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“God give me strength to face a fact though it slay me. “ Do we really want to hear the truth? Or do we want others to feed us what we want to hear? That’s a tough question, because often the truth hurts us. You might not have the ability to acheive a certain task. No amount of effort will ever make you qualified. And that ceiling is painful one to bump against. There are certain physical features that we... Read more
Do you ever feel like you are all alone at work, fending off the dire wolves with a BB gun? Do you ever feel surrounded by danger and treachery, your heart racing and brow beading with sweat and when you look over your shoulder, God is nowhere to be found? When he was writing Psalm 13, David must have been going through some nasty office politics. “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide... Read more
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