묵상/스티브 멕베이(Steve McVey)243 Wounded Soldiers It was in the midst of the Iraqi War that a young American soldier made a foolish mistake that almost ended his life. It was a mistake that should never have happened. He should have known better. He had been taught the rules of engagement for battle. In Basic Training, his instructors had drilled him again and again on how to handle such circumstances as the one he was now facing in Iraq. He h.. 2009. 10. 14. Do We Really Have Two Natures? Remember being taught that there's a good dog (your new nature) and a bad dog (the sin nature) inside you and that whichever one you feed the most will be strongest? I used to teach that, but the fact of Scripture is that we have only one nature and that's the righteous nature of Jesus Christ. We still sin, but not because it's our nature to sin. It's because of the power of indwelling sin, whi.. 2009. 10. 12. Taking Chances In Life The first man to climb Mt. Everest might have seemed to be an unlikely candidate to many people. Edmund Hillary had lived as a simple beekeeper in Auckland, New Zealand. Deep within him, however, was a lofty goal along with a determination and desire that refused to be stifled. On May 29, 1953 he scaled the highest mountain then known to man. It was a very dangerous mission, but his courage and.. 2009. 10. 12. The Growing Grace Revolution I just googled "define: revolution" on the Internet and here's what popped up first: "1. A drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving; 2. The overthrow of a government by those who are governed." I see both of these happening in the Christian community today. Many of us are seeing a change in the way we've thought about how we practice our faith. It's affecting our behavio.. 2009. 10. 9. Let's Party! Everybody likes a party! Parties are usually associated with the celebration of life in some way. A New Years party celebrates the start of a new year of life. A birthday party celebrates the length of ones life. An anniversary party celebrates the years of life a couple has enjoyed together. A graduation party celebrates the start of a new life. Parties are about living. Nobody likes a dead pa.. 2009. 10. 9. A Subtle Lie: We Should Live By The Teachings of the Bible "You should live by the teachings of the Bible." Sounds good, huh? We'll I don't believe it. I know this is where I will really get on thin ice with some people! How can anybody disagree with believers living by the teachings of the Bible? As strange as it may seem at first, the idea that you should live by the teachings of the Bible is false. There’s a subtlety in it that is dangerous. I cer.. 2009. 10. 9. When God Rolls By My youngest son, David, lived in New York City at the time the Twin Towers were attacked. From his apartment in Jersey City, he could see the skyline of New York. On September 11, he watched the Towers fall from outside his apartment. David had moved there to pursue a career in acting, a lifelong love of his. Prior to the attack on America, he had already been discouraged. Things just weren’t.. 2009. 10. 9. When We Seem To Be Sinking I remember the day I learned to swim, as a child. It was in a Sunday School class party and everybody there seemed to know how to swim, except me. My teacher, noticing that I was in the shallow end of the pool, asked, "Steve, can't you swim?" "No," I answered embarrassingly. "Do you want me to teach you?" he asked. I agreed and he began his instruction. "The first thing you need to know," he sa.. 2009. 10. 9. Getting Along With Other People The newspaper report read, “James L. Ramey, 53, of Clyde, N.C., was charged with assault in November after a 15 minute brawl at the rural Full Gospel Holiness Church. The brawl began when one person wanted to occupy the back pew, which was occupied, as usual, by a church regular. The church minister's son suffered a bite to the neck that required 31 stitches.” Getting along with people – .. 2009. 10. 9. I'm A Recovering Poisonous Preacher One day when Elisha instructed one of the sons of the prophets to prepare a meal, he went out into the field and gathered wild gourds from a wild vine and cooked it in the stew. The prophets poured the stew out for all the people to eat when someone discovered, “There is death in the pot!” God’s prophets were serving poison and eating out of the same pot. (See 2 Kings 4:38-41) That’s wh.. 2009. 10. 6. Rest In Peace - It's The Only Way To Go For many years the concept of rest was so foreign to me that I couldn’t comprehend it. I didn’t know rest was a gift from God. I thought it was a sin. The invitation of Jesus to those who would follow Him is amazing — “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find.. 2009. 10. 6. Those Ridiculous, Religious Rules That Ruin Lives A Boston-Globe article reported a couple of years ago that New Hampshire's state drug abuse and prevention program was turned down for a $17 million grant for one reason alone. The Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said that the state’s application for the grant was typed with smaller margins than permitted. The state of New Hampshire wasn’t given a second ch.. 2009. 10. 6. Changing As I Go I’ve changed a lot over the years, in many ways. Maybe the way I’ve changed the most is centered on how I see God. The church-god I envisioned as a child and even during the early years of my ministry is nothing like the Father I have come to know in recent years. It’s true that God never changes. He really is the same yesterday, today and forever. But as the barnacles of the rigorous, ru.. 2009. 9. 28. Let's Do Less For God Let’s do less for God. I believe we would be much more content and He would be pleased by our making that decision. Before you call me a heretic, consider this fact: God never asks us to do anything for Him. He doesn’t need us to do anything for Him. The Bible says that “He is not served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives life and breath to all things” (Acts 17.. 2009. 9. 26. Religion's Rubber Checks It was the very beginning of Grace Walk Ministries. I had been on television for the past hour hosting a “Christian talk show,” as a guest host when someone from the station came to me during a break. They gave me a telephone number and said, “This man just called. He said he saw you on the air and wants to talk to you about making a large donation to your ministry. Give him a call when y.. 2009. 9. 24. Ministry In Oregon Yesterday and today have been great days with the men of the Foursquare denomination here at Camp Tadmor in Lebanon, Oregon. As I write this blog, the temperature here is 56 degrees. It causes me to wish the fall would hurry up and arrive in the south! Sixteen guys were baptized today in the lake here at the camp. Talk about commitment! :) The topic for the weekend is "Let Us Come Boldly To The.. 2009. 9. 21. Inconsistent Christians “The one consistency of my Christian experience is inconsistency. The desire to be consistent in the Christian walk is inherent to the new nature of the believer. However, my own vulnerability toward spiritual failure is inescapable.” These words were written in my spiritual journal early in 1990. I read them now and feel sorry for that sincere pastor. My heart was in the right place, but m.. 2009. 9. 21. To Speak of Grace by Kathlene Perry No words, no words, does my soul have To rightly speak of Grace, But Papa’s tender hands reach down To cup my troubled face. He sees the little child in me Who needs to bare my soul; Who wants so desperately to speak – To tell of things I know. He sees my heart and knows its lack – I need Him ever still; His knowing eyes behold me And with love they overfill. No wondrous .. 2009. 9. 18. Sprititual Children Do you wish you were more spiritually mature? Join the crowd. Children always want to grow up in a hurry. Every child wishes he were older. He looks at the opportunities and privileges that comes with age and longs for that day. Then as he grows old, he longingly looks back on the days of his youth. Don’t despise the days of your spiritual youth. You will surely grow, but as you do you will l.. 2009. 9. 17. Forgiving Yourself “I know that God has forgiven me, but I just can’t forgive myself,” someone recently said to me after describing a recent period of time in his life when he had made the choice to repeatedly commit the same sin again and again. As Christians always do, he had finally reached the place where he couldn’t stand the thought of living like that for the rest of this life. So he cried out to h.. 2009. 9. 16. A Busy Mind “Often I can’t even go to sleep because of all the thoughts running through my mind,” someone once said to me. “I’m thinking about all that happened during the day. I’m thinking about my plans for tomorrow. I’m thinking about my children, my finances, my past mistakes, my future plans. I’m even having imaginary conversations with people, picturing what I’ll say if this happens.. 2009. 9. 15. Grasshoppers & Grace Are you a slower learner? I am. It sometimes seems to me like the Lord has to teach me the same lesson over and over again. I’ll think I’ve “got it,” then a situation will come along that shows me that I’m still in spiritual kindergarten in some ways. One area where I still find the battle rages is in my emotions. I know all the verses about God’s faithfulness and I believe them, bu.. 2009. 9. 15. Time Demands and Stress Trust in the Lord and your way will be made clear. Frustration comes when things aren’t progressing according to our plans. But our timetable isn’t the one which guides the flow of our lives. Relax! We can be fretful through our day or we can have fun – either way our Father will accomplish his purpose for us. Don’t fret just because He won’t align Himself with your timing! During the.. 2009. 9. 15. Diguising Our Doubts As Belief “I haven’t seen God answer my prayer yet, but I’m still believing Him for the answer.” I often hear this statement made by Christians. I understand the expression and have even made it myself at times. There are times we do patiently wait for the Lord to act in our lives so that we realize the fulfillment of our prayer requests. On the other hand, sometimes we disguise doubt under the g.. 2009. 9. 15. No Forwarding Address Sometimes people have the mistaken notion that grace plus faith equals a happy lifestyle at every moment. That's a dangerous doctrine because it forces those held captive by it to fake it even when life seems to be crumbling around them. To feel and act normally in devastating circumstances isn't an option for them because they have wrongly thought that faith means any situation we face can nev.. 2009. 9. 10. Hearing God's Voice For the first five years of my married life, my parents lived outside the United States. I knew the date they were to return home and looked forward to that day with great anticipation. I missed them and couldn’t wait to see them. One day, months before the time when my family was scheduled to return, I had just returned from lunch to my office. I pulled into the parking lot, got out of my ca.. 2009. 9. 9. Canned Foods And Closed Hearts My parents were born during the decade of “The Great Depression.” It was a time when many families in America struggled to put food on their tables. Luxuries pretty much became an abstract concept for most Americans during those days. Finding enough food for another week was the goal for most families then. I grew up hearing the stories about meals consisting of salted pork fat back and bis.. 2009. 9. 8. When We Wonder Why “Why is this happening to me?” the young man asked me after describing a crisis he was facing. “I’ve tried to be faithful in serving God. He knows what this means to me. Why would he let this happen?” Questions that begin with “why” are common when problems come into our lives. Some Christians have suggested that it is wrong to ask “why?” but I don’t think that is necessaril.. 2009. 9. 7. Just Play Unless you are converted and become like a little child, you can’t enter the kingdom of heaven. That’s what Jesus said. (See Matthew 18:3) If you were asked, “What is the main activity of a child?” what would you say? You would probably answer, “To play.” A playful attitude may be the most spiritual attitude a Christian can have. What better way to show our absolute trust in a sover.. 2009. 9. 7. The Most Popular Video I've Ever Put On YouTube Almost 4000 people have watched this video. The following is an expression of your Father's heart taken the book of Psalms...... My dear child, I am with you. Stop striving and know that I am God. I chose your inheritance for you. I rule over everything. (Is 33:5) Remember Israel -- they didn't possess the land by their own swords. It wasn't their hand that saved them. It was My right hand and M.. 2009. 9. 7. 이전 1 ··· 4 5 6 7 8 9 다음