Links & Quotes

When there is a misunderstanding between the leader and a team member, insecure leaders want the other person to change. Secure leaders, however, take ownership and ask, “What do I need to do differently?” Check out more from The Craig and Greg Show.

I have a lot of new video content on my YouTube channel every week. Please check it out and subscribe so you don’t miss anything.

In elaborating on the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:13 about Christians being the salt of the earth, T.M. Moore wrote, “In Jesus’ day, salt had three primary functions. Most people would have understood two of these, but only those raised in an Old Testament framework would have known about the third.” Read more about what churches should be considering about how they season the community around them.

In his “Look at the Book” series, John Piper expounds on the many ways Paul refers to Jesus in his second letter to Timothy. There are several ways, but Paul’s preferred way is “Christ Jesus.” Pastor John unpacks the Hebrew and Greek origins of these words and titles, and why he thinks Paul especially gravitated toward this title.

Aerosols from penguin excrement may help trigger cloud formation, reducing solar heating and helping stabilize local areas of the Antarctic climate, study finds.” Hmmm, it’s almost like God designed His creation to take care of itself—because He did!

And an article in Science says, “According to secular models of Solar System formation, Earth, as an inner Solar System planet, should have little to no water.” And yet more than 70% of Earth is covered with water!

Aelred of Rievaulx wrote, “In friendship there is nothing more outstanding than faithfulness, which seems to be both the nurse and guardian of friendship. In all of life’s turns, in adversity and prosperity, in joy and sadness, in delightful and bitter circumstances, it reveals itself to be comparable to friendship, holding in the same regard both the humble and the exalted, the poor and the rich, the strong and the weak, the well and the infirm.”

Commenting on Aelred’s words, T.M. Moore observed, “Don’t we all want friends like that, who not only will provoke and prod us to grow in the Lord, but will stand by us in good times and bad, when we’re up and when we’re down? But if we would have such friends, we must be good stewards of their trust. This, again, is why spiritual friendships must be grounded in the Lord and focused on Jesus if they are going to bear the fruit of His indwelling Spirit.”

Evolutionary scientists claim to have made some steps forward in their understanding of the origins of life by using “the last universal common ancestor (LUCA).” But creationists like those at ICR observe that, “This mysterious LUCA is an unknown entity that existed from an unknown time ago at an unknown place by an unknown chain of unknown processes.” Clearly, the hypothesis that is the most straightforward and explainable is that God created the life in our universe just as the Bible states.

Along the same lines, Glenn Schrivener asks, “What do you think was there ‘in the beginning’—before peoples, planets, and protons? If you could hit rewind on the history of the universe and go back as far as possible, what would you find?” Then he gives us four possible things we may consider.

A.I. Bots And Temptation

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

Believe it or not, an article about A.I. bots got me thinking about temptation.

Check out this episode of The Podcast. 

The Scriptures I reference in this episode—Genesis 3:1-6; Luke 4:1-13; 1 Peter 5:8; James 4:7; Hebrews 12:2. 

And some other blog posts you could read to go deeper on this topic:

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The Power Of Personal Experience

The religious leaders asked a man who had been healed by Jesus of his blindness  whether he though Jesus had sinned by healing on the Sabbath. He said, “I do not know whether He is a sinner and wicked or not. But one thing I do know, that whereas I was blind before, now I see” (John 9:25). 

I find it interesting that the Pharisees didn’t try to argue whether or not this man had truly been healed—that was obvious to everyone!—but they wanted to discredit Jesus and call Him a sinner because He healed on the Sabbath day.  

Those with a personal experience of Christ’s life-changing power (like this former blind man) are never at the mercy of those with an argument (like the Pharisees). 

In fact, this man who can now see not only has the most sound logic, but he has immediately become an evangelist for Jesus as well! 

The man replied, “Well, this is astonishing! Here a Man has opened my eyes, and yet you do not know where He comes from. That is amazing! We know that God does not listen to sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and a worshiper of Him and does His will, He listens to him. Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this Man were not from God, He would not be able to do anything like this.” (John 9:30-33)

I love this truism: The man with an experience is never at the mercy of the man with an argument. I have blogged extensively about this. Check out these posts. 

Again And Again And Again

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

I don’t know if this ever happens to you, but I’ve lost count of the number of times that this happens to me. I open up my Bible and begin reading right where I left off the day before, and as I’m reading, my attention is riveted by words that seem to pop off the page! 

I look at them again and see that this passage contains highlights or underlining or notations from when I read here before. Yet I’m left scratching my head saying, “How did I miss this when I read this passage earlier?!” 

I know this is because I’m a different person now than I was the last time I was reading this passage. I’ve learned some things and hopefully I have grown in the process. Quite simply, the Holy Spirit knew I wasn’t ready earlier for the new concept that jumped off the page at me. 

The other day I was reading in the Book of Romans and I noticed something that Paul wrote—

     And, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of Your name.” Again, it says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with His people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples extol Him.” And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, One who will arise to rule over the nations; in Him the Gentiles will hope.” (Romans 15:9-12) 

Look at that wording: “As it is written … again it says … and again … and again….” Paul is telling us that God tells us the same thing in different ways, at different times, and through different voices. It’s the same message, but it resonates a little differently in each place. As God’s Word speaks to us again and again and again, we see the richness and fullness of the message. 

In v. 9, Paul quotes David in 2 Samuel 22:50 and Psalm 18:49. 

In v. 10, the quotation is from Moses in Deuteronomy 32:43.

In v. 11, an anonymous psalmist in Psalm 117:1 is quoted. 

And in v. 12, Paul quotes the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 11:10. 

(Check out all of these Scriptures for yourself by clicking here.)

The Jews considered the Holy Scripture to be divided into three sections: The Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. Look again what Paul did: 

  • He quotes Moses from the Law 
  • He quotes Isaiah from the Prophets
  • He quotes David and the anonymous psalmist from the Writings

Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). And after His resurrection, as He walked and talked with a couple of disciples, He reminded them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44). 

One of the reasons that the consistent message of the Scripture is repeated again and again and again is so that everyone will have a chance to hear it and believe it. 

There is such a beauty in this! I encourage you to take the time to look up the cross-references that many Study Bibles have put together. As you read the “it is written” statements in the Bible, I hope you will be encouraged as you see it throughout all the Bible again and again and again! 

Check out the book reviews I’ve shared on these study Bibles: 

I would also recommend 3 Bible studies for you to try and 2 more Bible studies for you to try. 

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Joyful Proof

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

This whole series of messages is about how God can turn our grief into joy. On Easter Sunday we celebrate the most joy-filled event in all of history: the resurrection of Jesus! 

At our Good Friday service, we talked about how the day was anything but good for those who were there. The day is only good for people who have been rescued from eternal, inescapable grief. 

The Bible tells us that all of us have sinned and the penalty for that sin is eternal separation from God (Romans 3:23, 6:23a). But Jesus died in our place (Romans 5:8) to turn our eternal grief into eternal joy. Check out this out: God promises to exchange the cup of wrath and judgment with the cup of righteousness and peace (Isaiah 51:17-22). That’s exactly what Jesus accomplish with this death and resurrection! 

(Check out all of the biblical references in this post by clicking here.) 

On Friday, no one was joyful. In fact, it was just the opposite: Grief gripped their hearts and held them in fear. Probably the only one who was happy on that day was the devil. 

On Saturday, the clouds of grief and fear darkened even more. It was the Sabbath day, and the Jewish followers of Jesus would still have to attend the synagogue and go through the motions of the day. Can you imagine how hollow and meaningless all of the activities seemed? 

Then Sunday morning arrived. Jesus had predicted this (Matthew 12:40), but when some of the women who attended to His needs during His years of ministry came to the tomb, they were completely unprepared for what they found (Luke 24:1-7). 

Jesus told them that they would see their grief turned to joy (John 16:20, 22; Luke 22:53), but when these ladies told His disciples, they still couldn’t comprehend it (Luke 24:9-12, 19-24). 

Grief can so grip our emotions, that it will effect us physically as well: our eyes are clouded, our mind is fuzzy, and our ears seem stuffed with cotton (John 20:14-16; Luke 24:15-17). 

So what finally convinced them? Their own hearts! 

Solomon wrote, “He has planted eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). The AMPC says: He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds—a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy. 

Mary finally saw Jesus and saw her grief turned to joy when she heard Jesus say, “Mary.” 

These men on the road said their hearts burned in them when Jesus explained the Scripture to them (Luke 24:31-32, 27). 

And when the other disciples were locked away for fear of the Jews (John 20:19), Jesus spoke to them about how His Word was fulfilled in His actions (Luke 24:44-46). 

There is a hymn that ends, “You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart.” There is something unmistakable and irrefutable when someone knows what it is to have their sins forgiven—to have their grief turned to unquenchable joy! 

In fact, the best proof of a risen Savior is seeing a life freed from gripping grief that used to plague them.  

If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior, the thought of the end of life and what comes next probably fills you with a sense of uneasiness. It doesn’t have to be this way! 

If you do know Jesus, please remember that your best testimony is a life that doesn’t get bogged down in the same grief the world experiences. When you can show supernatural joy while everyone else is gripped by grief, people will turn to you (1 Peter 3:15). 

Please check out the other messages in this series called Grief Into Joy by clicking here. 

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Temporary Sorrow For Eternal Joy

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

On Sunday we looked at the thought that our grief often comes because our current situation isn’t what we expected it to be. Notice that we say, “what we expected,” as though we can control anything!  

Today we remember the horrific death of Jesus on the Cross and we call it Good Friday. We can only call it “good” now because we see the results on the other side. If we were to go back in time to the weeks, days, and even moments before Jesus was arrested and so cruelly treated, those around Him would call that time anything but good. 

Look how the disciples responded to this coming event (Matthew 16:21-22). Grief can also come when we give more weight to today’s pain than we do to eternity’s joy. 

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.) 

This has always been a strategy of the devil to get people to look at now and not consider eternity. That’s how he tempted Adam and Eve, who gave in to this ploy. And then he tried the same strategy on Jesus, but failed (see Genesis 3:1-5; Matthew 4:1-10). 

Jesus knew why He came to earth (Matthew 20:28). And as He got closer and closer to the day of His crucifixion, the weight began to build (John 12:27). 

Look at how Jesus fought grief by making sure He gave more weight to eternity. He turned His pain into prayer so His Father could exchange His grief for His joy (Matthew 26:36-44).

Jesus prepared His disciples by trying to give them an eternal focus (Luke 22:14-20). He told them to pray that they wouldn’t give in to this temptation to trade eternal joy for momentary pain, but they didn’t understand. This is what focusing on the pain of now does—the weight of it exhausts us emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

But look at the eternal focus in vv. 17-19:

  • The crushed grape gives us wine 
  • The bruised wheat gives us bread 
  • The crushed, bruised, crucified Savior gives us eternal life  

“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).

Remember the devil’s strategy: get us so focused on the pain of now that we forget about the far greater joy that lasts forever. 

Jesus wants us to “do this in remembrance of Me”—to see the crushed grape and the bruised wheat and the crucified Savior in the light of eternity. 

Check out the other messages in this series called Grief Into Joy by clicking here.

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Praying Against Or For Slanderers

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

Quite a few psalms in the Bible are prayers against our attackers. Is that an acceptable prayer for us to still pray today? 

The Scriptures I reference in this clip are Psalm 58:6-8; Luke 23:34; Luke 6:28. 

Imprecatory prayers are, “Get ’em, God!” prayers. Intercessory prayers are, “Bless ’em, God!” prayers. 

Since both of these prayers are in the Bible, both of them have their place in our healing from the bites we have received from others, but the intercessory prayers are the ones we need to strive to pray. 

You can read more about this kind of praying in my posts: Still Maturing, Trespassers, and When You’re Unfairly Attacked. 

The full sermon about dealing with slanderers is here, and you can also go much deeper with this subject in my book When Sheep Bite. 

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Jesus Is Worth More Than Anything

And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish; and as their nets were at the point of breaking, they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and take hold with them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. … And after they had run their boats on shore, they left everything and joined Him as His disciples and sided with His party and accompanied Him. (Luke 5:6-7, 11)

It was immediately after Peter, Andrew, James, and John had the largest success in their careers that Jesus asked them to walk away from their fishing business. 

And they did!

Following Jesus is worth more than anything that we might call “success.” Money, health, fame, and the like are nothing but brief shadows.

The Life that only Jesus can give is the soul-satisfying reality that increases in its enjoyment forever! 

The Malicious Attack

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible.  

You may have noticed that the intensity of the pain of these sheep bites has been escalating—from flattery, to criticism, to gossip. Now we come to probably the most painful of bites: slander. This is the bite that will have the strongest pull toward the natural response, which will require our greatest reliance on the Holy Spirit to respond supernaturally. 

Remember that gossip has a veneer of truth on it; slander has no truth at all. They are outright lies. They are flimsy lies. They are malicious lies. One of the Hebrew words translated slander means scandal-monger: someone who trades in lies (Jeremiah 6:28 NLT; Leviticus 19:16).

(Check out all of the biblical references in this post by clicking here.) 

The natural response to slander is, “I have to respond to them!” The supernatural response to slander is, “I have to yield to God!” 

The natural response, however, is fueled by my wounded pride. On the other hand, the supernatural response is fueled by humility toward God. 

Slanderers are arrogant people too (remember Jeremiah said “they are as hard as bronze and iron” [Jeremiah 6:28]). God’s people are learning to humble themselves to wait for God (Psalm 38:12-15). These humble people are the ones who get God’s help, and not His laughter (James 4:6; Proverbs 3:34 NLT). 

Look at how Jesus dealt with the very natural urge to respond to those who slandered Him. After Jesus was arrested by the temple guards, He was hauled before one group after another and each time the slanderous lies were spitefully spit at Him. In front of the Sanhedrin, before Roman governor Pontius Pilate, and in the throne room of King Herod Antipas, angry men unleashed their venomous claims—none of which were true.  

There are two common themes we can notice in all of these settings.

  1. The lies were seen for what they were: complete fabrications without any truth behind them—Mark 14:55. Governor Pilate said “I find no basis for a charge against Him” (Luke 23:4), and he added, “Herod came to the same conclusion and sent Him back to us” (v. 15). 
  2. The silence of Jesus: “Jesus remained silent and gave no answer” (Matthew 27:13-14; Mark 14:61, 15:5). The only red letters in this interaction with both the Sanhedrin and Pilate are when Jesus is asked a direct question. Jesus quickly answers the questions, “Are You the Messiah,” “Are You a King,” and “Don’t You know the power I have?” (Mark 14:61, 15:2; John 19:10), but He never responds to the slander. 

Let me repeat: Our supernatural response can only come from yielding to the Holy Spirit’s influence. 

  1. We cannot treat slanderers as anything less than people created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 15:1, 3). 
  1. We must take our pain into God’s presence. This is what Jesus did (1 Peter 2:21-23). We can help ourselves by praying imprecatory prayers. These are words for God’s ears only (Jude 1:9; Psalm 58:6-8). 
  1. We have to learn to pray for our slanderers. We have to mature from praying against them to praying for them. Look at how Jesus interceded for His slanderers (Luke 23:34), which He calls us to as well (Luke 6:28). 
  1. We have to live as overcomers. We overcome by NOT responding to slander in the natural way (Romans 12:21). But we allow our supernatural response to be used as a powerful testimony (2 Corinthians 6:3-10; Colossians 3:1-2, 8, 12-14). 

We can do this—the Holy Spirit is empowering us to do this. Let’s not get down in the mud with those who slander us, but let’s yield to God and allow Him to handle this painful situation far better than we ever could. 

If you’ve missed any of the messages in this series, you can find them all here. And if you are a pastor, please check out my book When Sheep Bite, which will help you both respond to sheep bites and teach others how to respond as well. 

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Anyone? No One!

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

The dictionary defines a rhetorical question this way: A question asked solely to produce an effect or to make an assertion of affirmation or denial. In other words, the question is asked with the assumption that the answer is obvious. 

The apostle Paul does this five times in five consecutive verses at the end of Romans 8 (see verses 31-35). These questions are Paul’s way of getting us to reaffirm our rock-solid assurance of just how amazing it is that God holds us so securely. 

Even though these are rhetorical questions, I want to add the extra assurance by giving you the answer to each question. 

(1) Who can stand against me? No one! 

Because Almighty God is for me. 

(2) Who can cause God’s blessings to be withheld from me? No one! 

Because God didn’t withhold His Son Jesus, He won’t withhold any other lesser blessing either. 

(3) Who can bring a charge against me? No one! 

Because God has justified me. 

(4) Who can condemn me? No one! 

Because Jesus intercedes for me and imputes His righteousness to me. 

(5) Who can separate me from God’s love? No one! 

Not a single thing, person, or circumstance can diminish any part of God’s love for me. 

Don’t ever buy into the devil’s lies—not even for a second—that somehow you have put yourself in a place where God’s love for you is questionable. Whenever you hear these lies, return again and again to these five powerful rhetorical questions to reassure your heart, mind, and soul of just how securely you are held in God’s grip of grace. 

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