Month: December 2015

Butterflies, Eagles and the Spirit of God

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At one point in the movie The Hobbit Gandalf, Bilbo and the dwarves are all trapped in a tree slowly tipping over a cliff while hordes of orcs are attacking. The situation looks hopeless but then, amid all the chaos, Gandalf spots a butterfly that has landed on the tree. He calls the buttefly to himself and whispers to it and it flies off. A few minutes later the situation has worsened and dwarves are about to start falling off the tree to their death. Just as the first dwarf falls off the tree a giant eagle swoops down and rescues the falling dwarf. The butterfly has summoned a convocation of eagles which comes and ravages the orcs and rescues Gandalf, Bilbo and all the dwarves. This is a good illustration of how the Holy Spirit often comes to us. In the midst of a situation that seems void of Continue Reading →

Are You Looking Forward To Being Glorified?

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How much do we reflect on the idea that the people of God will have the glory of God? Revelation 21:11 promises that in the coming New Heaven and New Earth believers will have “the glory of God”. But this promise is not confined to Revelation ‒ it is a major New Testament theme. In a previous post we looked at the future luminosity of the body of Christ which is one dimension of God’s glorification of his people. Now we will consider what the New Testament says about this glorification in general. Warning: this is a very encouraging subject! It is surprising how often scripture speaks of the glorification of believers. Apparently this is an important truth for believers to keep in mind. Some of the mentions of this theme in the New Testament include: • In John 17:22 Jesus states in prayer that “The glory that you have Continue Reading →

How To Love Your “Neighbor” Through Conversations

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Today I am posting a post from Michael Hyatt, former Christian publishing CEO about conversations. This is especially important during this holiday season when we have the opportunity to connect with our friends and family and establish deeper relationships. Hyatt’s post contains excellent advice about conversations, communication and valuing people in a truly Christian way. He doesn’t mention scripture or Jesus but for me it goes to the heart of the second great commandment established by Jesus: love your neighbor as yourself. Learning to love others is the essential sign of a Christian and learning how to communicate love and friendship are essential to loving others. Jesus was a master of loving communication and we can be too. Paul said our speech should be “seasoned”, in other words it should taste good. Whether we are talking with believers or unbelievers we can craft our speech to communicate the fruits of Continue Reading →