After a disappointing loss, legendary football coach Bear Bryant was asked if there was separation on his team. His answer was simple: “No, but there’s gonna be.” Separation can be healthy. Driving tests separate people qualified to drive from those who are not. Prisons separate criminals from law-abiding citizens, and hospitals separate the sick from …
Tag Archives: Sanctification
Building Spiritual Muscles in the Mundane
In the 1984 film “The Karate Kid,” an enthusiastic karate student is disappointed when his first lesson involves cleaning and waxing his master’s car. Day after day, Daniel questions the point of laborious tasks such as sanding a wood floor, refinishing a fence and painting Mr. Miyagi’s house. But when Mr. Miyagi finally begins to …
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God’s Purpose for Your Struggle With Sin
Struggling with indwelling sin? Feel like it is dragging you down? Consider the fact that God may have a purpose for your struggles. Here’s an example from Joshua. We are familiar with Joshua’s conquests in the promised land. God had given Israel the land to inhabit. Additionally, God called them to drive out groups of …
Why Does Growth Require Suffering?
Hebrews 2:10 “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.” The phrase, “perfect through suffering” stands out to me in this verse. Why did Jesus need to be made “perfect” and why did …
Can You Reclaim Purity?
I’ve heard of brides who refuse to wear a white dress to their wedding because of events in their past. They feel unworthy and tainted. I imagine we all understand that feeling to some extent. After all, God often refers to his people as a “bride.” What a strong word picture. “Bride” implies that God …
Every ’78 Pontiac
In Neuroscience, the Reticular Activating System refers to a set of connected nuclei in the brain that monitors and filters information being taken in by the senses.[1] When the brain becomes familiar with certain stimuli or patterns of stimuli, the Reticular Activation System becomes more sensitive to that information. It is what allows a person …
Walmart Doesn’t Sell This Fruit
Grocery shopping is not my favorite activity in the world. And yet, I seem to end up at Wal-Mart every day. Its not that I don’t have a great system for keeping a shopping list (I’m actually a really detailed list maker), but the craziness of life just keeps throwing more and more of those …