Category Archives: Spiritual Nuggets

I Will Laud Your Deeds I grew up in a family of stoics. Through example, my siblings and I were taught to keep our emotions to ourselves. Displays of excessive affection or sorrow were regarded with some suspicion, and this … Continue reading →

The Tricks We Play on Ourselves A great deal of leadership is based on consistency. King David is a prime example: He struggled most when he was inconsistent. David’s son, Absalom, committed horrific acts against David and others (2 Samuel … Continue reading →

Courtroom Drama, Daytime TV, and Good Deity I remember old television courtroom episodes where people beg for forgiveness from a cynical judge when they should seek forgiveness from the person they’ve wronged. Usually these shows take the irony to the … Continue reading →

The Difficult Issue of the Heretics Distinguishing between correct and false teaching has plagued nearly every church. We ask questions such as, “Are we venturing too far in that direction?” “Is this just my personal theological issue, or is this actually … Continue reading →

Slaves to God, Equipped for Righteousness I used to think that I was powerless when it came to sin. Christ had saved me from my sinful state, but I was still wretched and helpless. Even though I knew I was … Continue reading →

Finding God in Sheol We’ve all felt distant from God. Sometimes it’s sin that makes us feel separated from Him; other times it could be a lack of prayer. Either way, when we feel apart from God, God has not … Continue reading →

Showing Kindness to a Stranger When I was a teenager, I became serious about showing unsolicited kindness while working through a 30-day intensive devotional. The devotional required me to record an act of kindness each day. My efforts included things … Continue reading →

Truth and Honesty Can Be Painful A commitment to honesty and truth often puts us in unexpected spiritual situations—something David experiences in 2 Samuel 7. David thinks he will build God a great house—a temple—but instead God plans to build … Continue reading →

Serving the Glory of God When we avoid community, we may develop an inflated opinion of our own character. It’s easy to think we’re kind people when we’re not held accountable to others. It’s easy to think we’re always right … Continue reading →

Vengeance versus Blessing Comparing the passages of 2 Samuel 3:1-4:12 and 1 Peter 3:8-22 teaches us that all Scripture can be used for instruction: Some passages provide wisdom on how to become more like Christ, while others are best regarded … Continue reading →

When Kings Mourn No one can tell you how to mourn. You have to mourn as you see fit, making sure you don’t introduce sin into the grieving process. Several people who were dear to my heart have died. Each … Continue reading →

Emotion versus Logic Reacting is easy. What’s difficult is overcoming emotions in a time of adversity. Although emotions are not bad, they can lead us astray. At the same time, when we stray too far in the other direction and … Continue reading →

Jack-in-the-Box Pride It’s dangerous to become too confident in the maturity of our own faith. Our pride is like the spring of a jack-in-the-box: Just when we think it’s broken or that we’ve gotten the lid on tight, it springs … Continue reading →

Reframe It “ ‘Too often they have attacked me from my youth.’ Let Israel say, ‘Too often they have attacked me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me’ “ (Psalm 129:1-2). As these verses show, sometimes problems can be … Continue reading →

Surprise Redemption We often fail to be amazed at redemption. Perhaps we’re only dimly aware of our own failings, or (worse) we are blind to how amazing it is that God has shown us grace at all. In Psalm 126 … Continue reading →

Unity in Adversity Distress can unite people. In difficult moments, in shared pain, we discover our true friends. When David fled from King Saul, his divided family was suddenly supportive of him, as was every man in the region who … Continue reading →

Eternal Hope We don’t often realize where we put our hope. We can seek sustenance, energy, or relief in the most transient, innocuous things, from our morning coffee to a vacation we’ve been anticipating for months. These things are not … Continue reading →

Best Friends Forever This generation has more opportunities for communication than any before it, with email and social networking making it possible to interact with others 24/7. Yet suicide rates are higher than ever, and antidepressant medications have become almost … Continue reading →

Oppressors, Victims, and a Just God Contemporary culture is often pegged as self-indulgent: We live in a have-it-now world, and we don’t always think about the repercussions of our actions. But when we read James’ letter to the early church, … Continue reading →

Moving Forward Moving on after a person, a hope, or a dream has died can be one of the most difficult challenges of life. It certainly was for Samuel. The prophet Samuel believed that God had chosen Saul as king, … Continue reading →