grace

In the words of 19th-century Scottish minister and author George MacDonald, To be right with God is to be right with the universe: one with the power, the love, the will of the mighty father, the cherisher of Joy, the Lord of laughter, whose are all glories, all hopes, who loves everything and hates nothing but selfishness.

Remove pride and judgmentalism by humbling yourself (Matt. 7:5). Pride says, "The faults in others I can easily see, but praise God there's none in me." Ask, "Is this really something I need to address, or am I mad because my pride has been hurt?" Next, take your thoughts captive and err on the side of grace as you apply wisdom to the situation. Although not every conflict will be resolved, these biblical principles will tilt the odds in your favor. Be encouraged: God sees your heart and will reward you based on your actions, not the actions of the other person. You can't change them, but you can change yourself.

Yesterday we discussed Yuval Levin’s profound article, “How to Curb the Culture War,” noting that God is calling us to be not culture warriors but cultural missionaries. What does this mean in practical terms? Our first step is to embrace the sovereignty of our King.

Of all the struggles facing Christians, anger is at the top of the list. It destroys families, tarnishes character, and leads to destructive behavior.

Private sin corrupts our public witness in ways we seldom foresee at the time.

As government agencies work around the clock and refugee care organizations rapidly retool in order to help Afghan refuees, many American Christians may be asking “What in the world?!” and “How can we help?”

As the 20th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, let’s claim the fact that God knows our past better than any historian and is working to redeem even our greatest tragedies for His eternal purposes.

Christians carry the reputation of Christ, his message, and his church in our hands every day. Our words, attitudes, and actions influence people towards the Gospel or away from it. The world either sees an accurate picture of Jesus and his work through us, or they see a distorted version of Jesus. Christians must consider this in how we interact with others, even when political issues are at stake.

In an interview with Religion News Service, Christian author Philip Yancey emphasizes the importance of grace, especially in today's world.

This week, we’ve been exploring practical ways to experience Jesus more intimately during this Christmas season. Today, let’s focus on the wrong way to respond to his unconditional love, then we’ll choose the path that leads to his best for us.