Get Wise
Expand Your Biblical Perspective
Aiming Our Hearts Toward God
When we run away from idolatry and toward God, our hearts are aimed toward his. When our hearts are aimed toward his, we can receive all that he has for us.
The Generosity of Nehemiah
I believe the world is hurting. One way that I think we can show our hurting world the loving God we serve is through our generosity. The world deeply longs to see more cheerful and generous givers, so I want to write about generosity today from the Old Testament. I...
Earthly Wisdom vs. Heavenly Wisdom
When I moved to California from Puerto Rico, I was 16 years old, and I came with a vocabulary of English words. In Puerto Rico, they teach children from kindergarten through high school English, so I came packed with knowledge of the English language. I had a lot of...
God Uses Ordinary People (Nehemiah’s Story)
In the book of Nehemiah, in the Old Testament, the Israelites were taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon. He took the people of Israel, destroyed their city, brought them to Babylon, and made them prisoners. Over many years, Nebuchadnezzar died, and the...
I Urge You to Transform, not Conform (Romans 12)
As free and grateful people, we can say, “God, thank you for all you’ve given me. Now I offer myself to you fully, to transform me, so that I can be a world-changing child of God, not conformed to the world but transformed by you.”
Words Matter to God
God is speaking words to us, words that matter. All throughout the Bible, the words of God matter. I’ve been praying for you this week, that you fall in love with God’s Word, see its power in your life, understand it’s going to call you into action, and I know that’s what God wants for every single one of us.
What’s Your Identity?
We tend to ignore the question of identity, because it can feel uncomfortable or overwhelming, but I think that’s a mistake. I think our identity through Jesus Christ is a great gift and in fact, the Bible tells us we should become what we already are in Christ.
Wisdom Comes Through Relationship With God
We come to God with whatever our problem is, whatever the decision we need to make, with whatever abilities we have, and we say, “I am just offering it all to you. I’m not going to follow the world’s wisdom or even my own limited wisdom. I’m going to seek your wisdom, O God.”
Comparison and Our Value (A Study in Ecclesiastes)
Comparison sneaks into my life when I least expect it. I want to know, “Am I OK? Am I cool enough, good looking enough, or smart enough? Do I fit in?” We’re always concerned about that, aren’t we? The only way we think we can figure out the answer to those questions is by comparing ourselves to others. We measure up our value based on what other people are like.
Temptation and Cold Coca-Cola (James 1:12-18)
How do we do it? How do we deal with temptation when it is so strong that it pulls us to do things we know we ought not to do? Obviously, the Word of God says, “Run if you can.” If you can, get rid of the Coca-Colas in your refrigerator, and I’m just using that as an example (whatever that thing is)! If you can, run. But there is something more powerful and effective, God’s Word.
Confession and Our Unpaid Tickets
Clearly, a person sitting in a car stuffed with tickets could say to the officer, “Thanks a lot, but I’m okay,” roll up the window, and drive away with all his tickets. But we know that all that would do is add to the cost and put off his arrest. Eventually, the cost has to be paid. It’s either going to be paid by us or it’s going to be paid by God.
When Encouragement Comes Full Circle
When we serve without an emotional break, we can easily overload and spill over into a melted mess. The same encouragements we use for others don’t work for us, because we have no energy left to help ourselves. And helping ourselves seems counter-intuitive to our call.
