John Bunyan, in the second part of his book The Pilgrim’s Progress, describes the time when Christiana and her companions must descend into the Valley of Humiliation. Bunyan describes that place as “a steep hill, and the way was slippery.” In other words, it’s never easy to humble oneself, and when our path demands humility of us, we…
Each of us have a personal experience in todays discussion, in more than one way. Each us started out years ago as a child. What are some of the characteristics that distinguish a child from a kid and also from adults? As we look at Matthew chapter 18 today, Jesus focus is on relationships, can…
In this past year, and even in this current season and the one to come, we can get weary. It just seems like the song will never end. Like things are just trudging on. It can make us tired. We can get discouraged. A season of sickness that should have passed is still impacting our…
Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9) God commands us to be humble. “Seek humility” (Zephaniah 2:3). “Put on . . . humility” (Colossians 3:12). “Have . . . a humble…
We have heard the saying “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” and it gives us all our own perspective. To some it might be “yeah, take of them.” To others it might be “oh boy, that is difficult” and yet to others it might be “not now, let me get back to you”. What…
There are many things we are told as men, on how to be a real man. What is okay to do, and what is unacceptable. Through out the decades of life, “fear” has been the enemy. It seemed to pop up at all the wrong times. When I would build up enough confidence and strength…
We continue this week on the topic of inner strength. We have more than we understand and definitely more than we use. We had a challenge last week to use some quite time and find where in the Bible someone came to the end of themselves and had to rely on the inner strength of…
This week we begin a series on a much needed topic, strength. In these challenging times, all of us need more strength. Many times it may seem like the demands in life are just getting harder and harder, which is valid, but also our culture has gotten soft. We have a lifestyle where we desire…
We know that times can be difficult, and for many of us, this might be one of the toughest chapters in our story. There are many difficulties that we each face, and we don’t handle them the same. Some things that are the most difficult for one of us, might not be that horrible to…
In the past couple of sessions we learned about the parable of the sower and the action we must take to prepare our soil and invest in the effort of maintaining our walk, lifestyle and integrity. Part of that action has to deal with our hearts. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you…