Up or down – Elevation or False Humility

Posted on May 3, 2013 Written by Mark McIntyre 4 Comments

The Apostle Paul enjoins us to think others more important than ourselves. We can either elevate others or practice false humility.

Conflict is inevitable

A few days ago, I read 1 Thessalonians 3:4 where Paul writes, “For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.” Why would Paul anticipate suffering? I believe the answer lies in his understanding that […]

On the Kindness of God

In the same way, we need to present God as the loving father who is waiting for all of us to turn to him. But our turning to him is initiated by our repentance. With proper understanding of the kindness and the holiness of God, repentance is the only reasonable response.

Tune my heart . . .

It is precisely because Jesus died and rose again that I can have hope to be other than I am. For what could I pray if there was no hope that my sin has been conquered? For what could I pray if Jesus did not rise and demonstrate that sin and death are vanquished? What hope have I without the Cross and the empty tomb?

Why don’t we do better at this?

It seems to me that this answers the question of why we don’t do better at loving others. I fail to love others when I fail to appreciate how much I am loved by God.

Toward being a peacemaker

John Lennon called us to give peace a chance. Jesus calls us to be peacemakers. How do we accomplish this? What does a peacemaker look like?

Grace, Truth and Difficult People

We all have had to deal with difficult people at one time or another. In the midst of the difficulty we are called to love the difficult person. We need to interact with that person with both grace and truth. Jesus is our example on how to maintain this balance.