Image: Spatter paint technique on a painting designed to look like red brick. From https://worldbydesign.blogspot.com/2014/05/spatter-is-magical-visual-texture.html Have you ever been embarrassed by a photograph? When I was a little boy, someone snapped a photo of me backstage at Jones Hall. I was about eight years old. I was in costume, makeup included, and while waiting toContinue reading “There is a Role For You in God’s Kingdom. Exodus 31:1-5.”
Category Archives: Serve with talents, gifts, energy, time, and more
LEADERS KNOW HOW TO PRIORITIZE. Acts 6:2-3.
If a teacher can’t say no, she will say yes to the principal and parent volunteers and end up serving on five committees and organizing school-wide rallies and fundraisers and having two or three after-school activities happening in her classroom every week. Soon the teacher will be pulled in so many directions she will becomeContinue reading “LEADERS KNOW HOW TO PRIORITIZE. Acts 6:2-3.”
Feel Good About Your Work, Achievements, Skills, and Talents. Genesis 1:4.
When I taught high school, I remember being chastised by my students. I was talking about being aware of one’s strengths and weaknesses: “For example, I know that I write well. But I don’t always listen well—” “Wow, Mr. Wales. That’s pretty arrogant, don’t you think?” “What? Saying that I write well?” “Yes. That’s soContinue reading “Feel Good About Your Work, Achievements, Skills, and Talents. Genesis 1:4.”
Athletic Gifts and Fitness Come From God. 2 Samuel 22:8-18, 30-40.
Pictured: Marshall Wales, NCAA Division 1 playoffs, spring of 2023. Sam Houston vs. Oregon State. God is the first and greatest athlete. Don’t think so? What weight can He not lift? What speed can He not travel? What target will He fail to hit? Surely the best-known athlete in the Bible is David. And DavidContinue reading “Athletic Gifts and Fitness Come From God. 2 Samuel 22:8-18, 30-40.”
IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME. 1 Peter 1:8-15.
Do you know what a blessing it is to live today? I don’t mean because of computers, or cars, or modern medicine, or space flight, radio, and the plastics revolution. Modern marvels have done nothing to change the relative hope or hopelessness of the human condition. Indeed, some think the modern world is more hopelessContinue reading “IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME. 1 Peter 1:8-15.”
WHY DO WE WORK? Romans 8:15-17.
Everyone works hard, right? No matter the religion or culture, there are hard-working people everywhere. But what is their motive? Most work out of a sense of duty, like a legal obligation. Most are “slaves” in effect, to the boss, the bank, or whoever. But Christians serve as sons and daughters. For example, my motivesContinue reading “WHY DO WE WORK? Romans 8:15-17.”
MADE TO WORSHIP, MADE TO SERVE. Romans 6.
God gave us two deeply rooted drives: We are (1) driven to worship and (2) driven to serve. Everyone worships—some worship God, some worship idols, money, dreams, or themselves. Similarly, everyone serves. Some serve God, some serve their appetites. The Bible uses another word for “serve” and that is “SLAVE.” You can be a slaveContinue reading “MADE TO WORSHIP, MADE TO SERVE. Romans 6.”
When Jesus Talks About the End Times, He Talks About Stewardship. Matthew 24:3-8.
During the final days of Jesus’s ministry, His disciples approached Him alone. They had questions about the future. (Don’t we all?) They said: “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:3. Do you remember His response? Jesus did notContinue reading “When Jesus Talks About the End Times, He Talks About Stewardship. Matthew 24:3-8.”
PARABLE FOR THE BUSINESS MAJORS. Luke 19:24,26.
How do you make money? “Buy low, sell high,” right? Buy used American blue jeans at resale shops for $2.00 a pair, then when you have enough to fill a shipping container, ship the jeans to Japan and sell them for $200.00 a pair. That’s an incredible profit! (Saw this on TV’s “SWAP SHOP.”) ButContinue reading “PARABLE FOR THE BUSINESS MAJORS. Luke 19:24,26.”
Household Words: 