Tag Archives: Spiritual Treasures

Put Off, Put On We often hear that being a good Christian means not doing bad stuff. This statement is true—but not exhaustive. In Colossians, Paul makes this exhortation: “Therefore put to death what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, … Continue reading →

Facing the Storms on the Horizon Having knowledge or insight into a situation and feeling helpless to act upon that information is one of the most frightening feelings we can experience. It makes us anxious, even pained. The Prophet Jeremiah … Continue reading →

The Mystery of God “God wanted to make known what is the glorious wealth of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Paul’s use of the word “mystery” in this passage … Continue reading →

The Calling of Jeremiah, Colossae, and Us We all have trouble accepting our calling. When God asks us to do His work, we tend to wonder whether we’re able to execute His will. We are not alone in this—the prophet … Continue reading →

Do Not Turn to Folly I have a problem with criticism. Being one of the youngest in a large, opinionated family, I quickly learned how to stand up for myself and get my way as a young child. I learned … Continue reading →

Revitalization: Moving Beyond the Catch Word Ideally, spiritual renewal wouldn’t be necessary—we would continually grow closer to God. But that’s not the case. There are ups and downs in our walk with Yahweh. We experience times of intimacy and times … Continue reading →

The Unity of Believers It’s easy to sort believers in a community based on the quantity of their service. Most of us could roll out the masking tape and divide those who contribute their time and efforts from those who … Continue reading →

When Hezekiah Gave Away the Farm After the announcement that Hezekiah “did right in the eyes of Yahweh,” the next description comes as a surprise: “At that time, Hezekiah cut off the doors of the temple of Yahweh and the … Continue reading →

A Moment to Reflect Anyone will admit that wisdom is more than just knowledge. We think of wisdom as thoughtful insight acquired with life experience. However, Paul and the author of Proverbs tell us that it is not something we … Continue reading →

You Have to Mean It Wisdom really isn’t all that difficult to find. We think of this attribute as hidden or fleeting, but the book of Proverbs portrays Wisdom calling out to us: “Does not wisdom call, and understanding raise … Continue reading →

The Ties That Bind We don’t often consider our former lives as enslavement. We characterize our lives before Christ by bad decisions and sinful patterns, but not bondage. We like to think of ourselves as neutral beings. But Paul paints … Continue reading →

The Games We Play We live in the age of online résumés, with pages dedicated to us and our faces. We can broadcast our thoughts in seconds and republish ideas that make us look smart by association. And we do … Continue reading →

Counterfeit Gospels We’re fine with the idea of God being our savior, but we’re not always keen on the notion of letting Him transform every area of our lives. We often emphasize sharing the gospel, but do we consider the … Continue reading →

Walk Like the Shunammite Trust is a fickle matter. What does it take for us to trust another person—especially with our livelihood? Our decision to trust someone can usually be determined by whether we see God in that person. When … Continue reading →

Rejected and Despised by Men In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ crucifixion and death occur in stages of mockery and humiliation. The story is propelled by those who scorn—the soldiers, the chief priests and scribes, and even those who pass by. Jesus … Continue reading →

Pain, Anguish, and Resurrection Pain and anguish resound in the narrative of the Shunammite’s son and Elisha (2 Kings 4:18-37). Reading the story, we can’t help but feel empathy for the Shunammite woman whose son has died. Yet Elisha seems … Continue reading →

Warring Tendencies and Spiritual Airs “I will do this!” I declare as I resolve to get in shape, eat better, save money, study and meditate on the Word more, journal more, read more. My plans escalate, growing grander in scale … Continue reading →

When in Need When we encounter trouble, we tend to look wherever we can for help: We turn in whatever direction seems most promising at the moment. In doing so, we may unwittingly walk away from Yahweh. Should practicality or … Continue reading →

I (Don’t) Want to Hear It My attempts to find guidance are often flawed. I long for honest appraisal of my actions, but I can sometimes be sneaky about choosing my appraiser. When those who know me present a real, … Continue reading →

Economics, Currency, and Caesar Jesus’ command to pay taxes is one of the trickier passages in the nt. The actual line isn’t tricky—“Give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God” (Mark 12:17)—but its origins … Continue reading →