When we exercise the mantle of holy confrontation, we may, like Elijah, be viewed as a troublemaker and instigator. Our opponents may call us names or try to influence others so that they may join forces against us. Our adversaries will silence us by any means necessary. That is when we must dare to start holy trouble.
As we assess the plows we are pushing, we must ask ourselves about both the motivation and the end result: Why are we doing the work we are doing? For whom? For what goals or results?
The choices we make now will shape the lives of future generations in ways we cannot yet understand, just as our forebearers’ choices have shaped our own lives. That is why we should pass down our stories to our children and grandchildren — the stories of our hard times as well as the stories of our victories.
As we celebrate the birth of the church this Sunday, I think there is a major lesson for believers or, as I like to say, “Pentecost people”: Pentecost people know how to wait — and worship.
And what provoked the torrent of hate unleashed on Christians in this editorial? The audacity of Promise Keepers and Harrison for calling on men to come to AT&T Stadium to become better men, better husbands, better fathers, and better members of their churches and communities.
The blessing is for the mother who wakes up in the wee hours of the morning to feed her children and the blessing is for the mother who wakes up when that baby is now a teenager or an adult, interceding and weeping for her child.
This starts with prayer. How we teach our children and grandchildren to pray — not just telling them to pray but showing them how to pray — will have a mighty influence on the world they will inherit.
She ran not when things were pristine or perfect. She ran while things were still dark. It's what we do in the darkest hour that truly defines us.
As we begin a new year, many of us are cautiously hopeful as we anticipate a return to normalcy after the chaos of 2020. The problem is — we may have forgotten what normal, healthy life looks like.
Perhaps for the first time in many years, we will truly understand the meaning of Christmas: God coming to bring light and life to a world mired in darkness and death.
