January 2015

Philippians 4:5 reads, “Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand.” (NKJV) You know how it is when something piques your interest. You have to look deeper into it and satisfy the craving of your mind to know more. This verse caught me, and I had to devote some time to refreshing my understanding of all it means. I checked a variety of translations and studied the etymology of the word. Here’s what I discovered: Unselfish. Considerate. Patient. Restrained. Fair and impartial. Reasonable. These are examples of gentleness. Not the first pictures that formed in your mind when you read the word, were they? Most likely, you thought of handling something tenderly and with care. I did! And while this is a part of gentleness, we must train our minds to recognize these other virtues as well. Gentleness considers others above itself. It holds back when…

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” ~1 Corinthians 15:58 Have you ever felt like all you’re doing is getting nowhere? The Bible refers to this as laboring “in vain.” In other words, your work has produced no results and there’s no real meaning behind what you’ve done. That’s a horrible way to feel, and that’s exactly why the enemy of our souls attempts to convince us of it! My friend, we must not weary in doing good (Galatians 6:9). We must be resolute and unwavering in our faith that God is a just God, and He will reward each person according to their actions (Matthew 16:27, Romans 2:6). We must develop the habit of pressing in and pushing forward when we feel like giving up and getting out. There is…

The change to a new year always prompts new resolutions, goals intended to be met within the confines of a year. Anything can be a resolution: losing weight, talking more frequently to your mother, taking a long-desired trip, learning to play the guitar, quitting smoking. A resolution requires you to do something, to change a behavior or routine. You cannot keep your resolution if you do not change your ways, but changing is the hardest thing you will be faced with doing. As people, we all have a love/hate relationship with ruts. We want something different, but we don’t want to do anything new to get it. We’re creatures of habit – good or bad – and it takes a strong commitment to shore up weak or sloppy places in our lives. One of the most powerful resolutions that I think we can make is found in Lamentations 3:40-41. It…