Walking The Walk

"Do not conform to the pattern of this word, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. " ~Romans 12: 2 On Sunday, I shared a story about Gracie-- a German Shepherd puppy Valerie and I got when our youngest daughter Katie was little.   German Shepherds are strong even as puppies.   Gracie was stronger than most.   We had a cable lead we let her out on when she needed to go outside.   It was tethered to our flagpole in the backyard.   Gracie didn’t like that lead in the beginning.   She didn’t like being chained up.   And she’d pull on that lead, and strain against it, and yank on it.   She was so strong, even as a puppy, she’d shake that entire flagpole.   Eventually she learned she couldn’t break that lead and she quit trying to. But things changed.  Gracie grew to over 100 pounds—she became a very big and powerful dog. But w e never...

We all know somebody that just can’t ever be wrong.   They pick their position, and there isn’t anything on this earth that is going to change their opinion.   You can present them with incontrovertible facts, and present it in a flawlessly logical manner, and you’re still going to be wrong.      I call them 'right fighters' and I have a great deal of experience with people like this.   Anything you say they don’t agree with means you are automatically wrong, because they are never wrong.   And because they are never wrong, they never apologize for anything.   And getting upset with them is a useless exercise because it just means you’re going to be mad, and they’re still going to think they’re right. The Bible gives us some wisdom for dealing with these situations in Romans 12:18, where Paul writes, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Notice Paul doesn't say, “If possible, make sure everyone knows you're right.”...

"What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!" ~Romans 6:21 (NIV) Think about that momentary satisfaction when we give in to temptation. Maybe it's that gossip that feels good for a moment, the small dishonesty that seems to make life easier, or the angry words we use that feel so good at the time. Or maybe it’s a bad habit we can’t seem to shake like drugs, or alcohol, or sexual immorality.   We can even view these sins as a “reward” for “being good all week.”   In the moment, sin offers us something that feels like a benefit—if it didn’t, we wouldn’t keep falling into that same trap. Paul challenges us to look back at those poor choices honestly. What lasting fruit came from those choices? What real benefit remained after the momentary pleasure faded? The truth is, sin promises satisfaction but delivers shame. It promises freedom but brings bondage. Jesus described this in John 8:34 when He said, ...

"Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness."  ~Romans 6:12-13 (NIV) In today's world, we face a subtle but dangerous challenge: the redefinition of sin. What God clearly names as sin, our culture often labels as personal choice, alternative lifestyle, or even virtuous behavior. Paul's words in Romans 6 calls us to something radically different. The apostle doesn't mince words. He commands us not to let sin reign in our bodies. This implies we have a choice-- we can either surrender to sin's authority or stand against it. Victory over sin begins with recognizing God's definitions, not the world's.  The world can call sin whatever it wants, but the Bible is clear.   Paul balances this fir...

"And we know that in all things God works for the good  of those who love him, who [ a ]  have been called  according to his purpose." ~Romans 8:28 I was hanging a picture in my study the other day, and I went to my toolbox.  There's all kinds of tools in my toolbox--there's a hammer, and screwdrivers, and sockets, and pliers, and saws, a tape measure, a level, and many, many more.  Different tools for different tasks.   I don't need a screwdriver to hang a picture.  Or a saw.  Or a pair of pliers.  I need a hammer, and a nail.  Those are the tools made specifically to do the kind of work I was doing. And just like those tools in my toolbox, God makes each one of us different, too.  He makes each one of us for a specific purpose.  We have different abilities, talents, and gifts to serve different uses.  You wouldn't ask a musician for advice on your 401K, nor would you hire a plumber to cut down a tree in your yard. W...

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." ~Romans 12:21 We have control over very little in our lives.  We spend a great deal of time fretting over matters that we have no control over.  We worry about what other people think about us.  We worry about the future.  We regret things from the past.   What if we just focused on what we DO have control over?  Wouldn't we be a lot happier? We have no ability to change what has already happened in our lives.  The past is beyond our influence.  And what we see of the future is fiction, because there's no way way for us to know what the future brings. The only thing we have completely under our control is the moment we're in.  What if we focused on that moment?  On this day.  On the decisions before us right now?  Change happens when we make different decisions.  And all that we control is our actions and attitudes right now. What if we decided right this minu...

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." ~Romans 12:2 How many decisions do you think you make during the average day?  Think about that for a minute.  From the time you wake up in the morning, until you doze off that night, you do little else but make decisions.  Decisions about what you're going to wear.  What you're going to have for breakfast.  What you're going to do about a certain problem you've been having.  What you're going to try and get done, and what you're going to leave for tomorrow.  You'll interact with a number of people both on the phone, text, email, social media, etc.  There may be conflicts.  There may be difficult issues to address.  There may be choices you have to make.  All day long we're making decisions.  Some important.  Some not so important....

"For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God." ~Romans 1:20 Today something truly inspirational happened for the first time in a long, long time.  NASA launched the first new space vehicle into orbit today in more than 40 years.  It's the beginning of a new era of space exploration and discovery! This happened in the midst of so much bad news lately.  Pandemic. Politics. Violence on our streets. All wildly exaggerated and hyped by a dishonest news media driven by ratings and advertising dollars. But this is the way the world has always been--in one way or another. There's a lot of good things that are happening in the world today also. Those don't make interesting news stories so we don't hear much about those things. But if you look for them, they are there.  As ...