I think we all might know her. We walk on eggshells around her. We weigh our words carefully so that she won’t be annoyed with us. We are a little reluctant to be around her because we never know when we might accidentally provoke her. Sometimes it’s embarrassing to go places with her, because she might be short-tempered with a waitress who (she thinks) is too slow or a store clerk who (she thinks) isn’t polite enough. Offended, annoyed, hurt, resentful, irritated, miffed, insulted, indignant, wounded. All of those words might describe her on any given day.

I have a hard question now. Is it possible that she is…me?

I know, I know—that’s inconceivable, right? But let’s stop and think about some indicators that might suggest that we are overly sensitive or easily offended. Is there someone you’re avoiding or not speaking to because that person offended you? Is it possible that your social media posts passive-aggressively hint about your irritations? You may have (consciously or unconsciously) excluded someone from your circle of friends. Maybe your body language conveys your displeasure with a simple turn of the head or a proverbial nose in the air. How much brain space is occupied by a search for the perfect “clap back” to someone you’ve disagreed with? You might not be outwardly confrontational, yet you may radiate a noticeable air of irritation. I’ll admit, this has been a personal struggle. Years ago, as a teen, I saw a candid photograph that happened to catch me with a very visible look of disdain on my face. I knew who I was looking at, and it was embarrassing to discover how transparent my feelings were.

The truth is, if we are clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness and love (Col. 3:12-14) our sleeves simply won’t have room for our feelings. Living and walking by the Spirit leads to the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). As difficult as it is to believe that negative tendencies are in us, we have to honestly consider the enmity (hostility), strife (quarrels), fits of anger (indignation), disputes (strife and selfishness) or dissensions (which one lexicon defines as “a standing apart”) that we so casually allow in our hearts. God is very clear that if we practice those things, we “will not inherit the kingdom of God,” (Gal. 5:21). If we say that we belong to Christ—and if you are a Christian, you have publicly declared that you do—then our aim will be to crucify those things in us that are against His will.

If you have these tendencies, here are some things to think about: I can choose not to be annoyed if someone hurts my feelings. Maybe they didn’t mean to hurt me. Maybe they have a different way of expressing themselves. Maybe they have a different background, or a weird sense of humor. Maybe they’ve had a terrible day. Maybe they misunderstood me, or didn’t hear me. Maybe no one has ever loved them. Maybe no one has ever told them that God does. (Have I told them?) Maybe, just maybe, I am the one who isn’t being super nice to them. Or maybe they did mean to hurt me. Maybe they just aren’t nice. Still, I can make a choice to return good for evil, to maintain control of my own thoughts and hearts instead of giving control to them. Though not simple, it truly is a matter of training and redirecting our minds. God said that we must “with humility of mind regard one another as more important” than ourselves, looking out “for the interests of others” and not just our own (Phil. 2:3-4).

Don’t be “her”. Instead, be a woman of God, not wearing your feelings on your sleeve. Control your feelings, and wear kindness, tenderness, humility and forgiveness. It’s beautiful, and it’s biblical!

Carla Moore

The expression “name calling” conjures up memories of actions on an elementary school playground, where children were at times cruel with their words. But there is another kind of name calling that is not at all cruel. In fact, it is divine!

When one explores the Bible to find unique examples of name calling, that is, when God named or renamed someone, I immediately think of Abram and Sarai. In chapter seventeen of Genesis, Abram is nighty-nine. The Lord appeared to him and said,

“Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.  I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.  And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.  And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:1-8 ESV).

    The name Abram means “exalted father,” so it was appropriate that, in keeping with His covenant promises, God renamed him Abraham, meaning “father of a multitude.” Then God told Abraham,

    “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.  I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her” (17:15-16).  Abraham and Sarah’s new names signified they were under a new covenant with the Lord.

    There are others who received new names from the Lord, but probably the most important is the name God gave all the obedient followers of Christ. Isaiah prophesied about this a thousand years before it happened. “The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give” (Isaiah 62:2).

Luke wrote about the early church, “So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians” (Acts 11:25-26). The word “called” here, in the original Greek language, means “divinely called.” It was not a nickname or a name of derision or used in a mocking, sarcastic way, as some may suggest! It was the name God chose for His people, just as surely as He chose Abraham and Sarah’s. The name you and I wear is the name given to us by God Almighty! It signifies that we are in a new covenant relationship with Him which is the perfect law of liberty (James 1:25) under the banner of Jesus Christ, our Savior and King. May we always glorify Him as we wear the special name Christian!

Today’s Verse: “And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” (Acts 26:28), and “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name” (1 Peter 4:16).

 by Teresa Hampton

If someone asks you about King Solomon, you would probably identify him as the wisest man to ever live. You might talk about his prayer to God, his extreme wealth, and his solving the dilemma of the two mothers claiming a son. Few people would identify the sins of this great king.

It is interesting to note that he made his first mistake before the Lord appeared to him in a dream. First Kings 3:1 tells us that he made an agreement with Pharoah, king of Egypt; and he took Pharaoh’s daughter as his wife. Marrying outside the people of Israel was condemned, but Solomon made a political move that would cost him in the end.

Still, Solomon loved the Lord, and he walked in the statutes of his father, David. He offered sacrifices and burnt incense in high places because there was no house of God.

When the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, Solomon begged for wisdom. Because he had not asked for wealth and prosperity, God gave him all the wisdom he asked for and more. Then the Lord said this: “And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statues and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days” (First Kings 3:14). God repeats this in chapter 9, reminding Solomon that he must walk in integrity of heart and to do all that God commanded him.

That seems simple enough. Obey God, and He will be with you. When we get to chapter 11, we see a different Solomon. Solomon loved many strange women. He took wives from the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines, and his wives turned his heart away from God.

He wanted his wives to be happy, and he put up temples for their gods, and he was not faithful to the Lord as his father David was. As you might guess, the Lord was angry with Solomon “because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice” (First Kings 11:9). His punishment was that he would take the kingdom away from him and give it to one of his servants (verse 11).

Lest you think marrying strange women was his only sin, Solomon committed others. He collected horses and gold, engaged a foreigner in a business transaction in building the temple, and apparently worshipped the gods of his wives. All of these acts were condemned.

Have you ever thought about the fact that, other than Rehoboam, none of Solomon’s children are mentioned in Scripture? With that many wives and concubines, he surely had more than one child. It is as though Solomon had nothing to show for his life.

Solomon was indeed a wise man. First Kings 4:32 tells us that he wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. Though he did not write all of the proverbs, he wrote things that tell us Solomon knew what he should do. It is though the theme of the book is “Don’t be stupid.”

Though Solomon came from an environment of dedication to God, he let wealth, position, pride, and other worldly desires get in his way. No matter how good his father was, (and yes he made some mistakes), Solomon had to make his own choice—obey or disobey. Unfortunately, he chose disobedience to God over obeying all the statutes and commandments of the one who put him as king over God’s people.

The lesson for us is simple. Study the Word. Know what God wants us to do, and then do it. Don’t make the same mistakes Solomon made.

Sandra Oliver

A year ago, Jackson and Emmy (and their parents) came to Denver for the Bear Valley lectureship, and while they were here, we made a trip up to one of our happy places: the beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park. We drove along many of the park’s winding roads, admiring God’s breathtaking panoramic peaks and valleys. Herds of elk were spread out in Moraine Park, and huge bulls would occasionally lower their heads, shake their enormous antlers and, with a decidedly non-masculine high-pitched squeal, chase off any young whippersnapper who dared to flirt with any of their harem. Under our watchful eye, Jackson and Emmy, oblivious to danger, scampered over rocks and ran through the prickly grass, clambering to the tops of small boulders and throwing their arms wide as though they’d conquered Everest.

Later we made a trek around Sprague Lake, and their daddy set up his camera, hoping to capture images of resident moose. John and I followed the kids, loving their sense of adventure as they peered under rocks, inched their toes perilously close to the water’s edge, and packed their pockets full of forest treasure: tiny pine cones, pebbles, and snail shells. They jumped and ran (well, Emmy pranced) and tripped and stumbled and got tired of walking. They didn’t always want to stay on the paths…they wanted to struggle—by themselves—over every fallen tree and jagged stump, only occasionally looking up and reaching for our helping hands. Rather than going around them, they wanted to climb over big rocks and take the difficult route through the trees. They fell and cried and then got back up to do it all over again.

At one point, Jordan had walked out on a fallen log and Jackson wanted to follow him. His little feet kept slipping off and he was getting frustrated, until Jordan said, trying to help him balance, “Jackson, look at me, and you won’t fall off.” With those words, immediate tears came to my eyes. I thought—isn’t this ME? All of my running around and struggling to make things work out my way, on my terms…even the treasure I pack into my proverbial pockets is so earth-bound. So often I choose a zigzagging route when the Lord has already laid out the straight path for me. I stumble and fall and get tired and cry, so often resisting the mercy and the strong hand and the outstretched arm of the One who wants more than anything to provide me with all that I need. If I would simply keep my eyes—my life—focused on Him, I would not fall.

There are a lot of ways I’d love to be like Jackson and Emmy: they are quick to forgive, innocent, and genuine. They are guileless. They smile freely and make others smile and laugh in return. I love them with my whole heart, and I learn by watching them. But it’s not good for me to be childlike in this regard, resisting the Lord’s guidance and insisting on my own way. Their childish feet toddle and stumble in their little daily wanderings, and their eyes tend to be fixed on inconsequential things. But my mature feet are running a race of utmost importance, and my eyes must be fixed on the Lord, the “author and perfecter of faith,” (Heb. 12:2). I will run with endurance, looking at Him, and then I will never grow weary or fall.

Carla Moore

We’re currently studying the book of Acts in our Sunday morning Bible class. Chris Young is doing a great job teaching and he recently pointed out that there are multiple “growth reports” throughout the book. That sent me on a little quest to find them all, and just reading them one after the other was thrilling!

• Acts 2:41- “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”
• Acts 4:4- “But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.”
• Acts 5:14- “And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.”
• Acts 6:1- “Now is these days when the disciples were increasing in number…”
• Acts 6:7- “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.”
• Acts 14:1- “Now in Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.”
• Acts 14:21-22- “When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith.”
• Acts 16:5- “So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.”
• Acts 17:3-4- “Explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.’ And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.”
• Acts 17:12- “Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.”
• Acts 17:34- “But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.”
• Acts 18:8- “Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.”

These growth reports are exciting (and I probably missed some), but what’s even more exciting is the fact that it’s all still going on!

People still care. Peter, Stephen, Paul…these men and others cared more about the gospel than they did about their own personal safety. They were courageous enough to tell others about Jesus. They prayed for boldness and then acted on it (Acts 4:1-3, 13,29). Still today there are men and women who love souls enough to share the Truth with them. I could name names and I know you could, too.

People are still receptive. Think of conversions like Paul and Crispus. They were both ‘all in’ with what they already believed and practiced, yet their hearts were open and they became disciples of Christ. Amazing! 2000 years later we are still hearing “growth reports” because people are still searching. I could share recent conversion stories that are surprising because of the person’s religious background or current occupation and I know you could, too.

The Word of God is still powerful. God chose His disciples to be the conduit for getting the saving message to the world. They were imperfect humans but that didn’t matter because they only had to “speak the word of God” (Acts 4:31). The power is in the Word and that’s why conversion and transformation take place (Heb. 4:12). There’s nothing like the aha moment when the Truth is shared with someone who hears or understands it for the first time. It’s amazing to watch the Word go to work on tender hearts. I could share stories and I know you could, too.

Rejoice in the growth reports!

The book of Acts appropriately closes with these words:

“Proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.”

(Acts 28:31)

By Kathy Pollard

This past weekend, John and I were in Katy, TX so he could present a seminar about counseling. He referenced something from Dr. Larry Crabb that really, really stepped on my toes. Speaking about our struggle with personal problems, Dr. Crabb said the “usual objective so passionately desired is fundamentally self-centered: ‘I want to be happy.’”

While there isn’t anything wrong with being happy, we won’t ever truly BE happy if simple happiness is our goal. But…if we “firmly and consciously, by an act of our will, reject the goal of becoming happy and adopt the goal of becoming MORE LIKE THE LORD” – that will lead to true happiness.

So, practically speaking: when we are trying to resolve a conflict, or deal with frustrating current events, or communicate with a difficult friend—how do we handle ourselves? With sarcasm? Pouting? By withholding love? Cynicism? All in the name of being happy? As our son used to say, “What kind of sense doesn’t that make?”

The next time we try to address any of our issues, what if we decided to be more like the Lord – with the heart of a servant, humbly thinking more of others than ourselves, loving unselfishly, and forgiving—sometimes without even being asked? (Read the letter to the Philippians, especially 2:1-9.) Most likely, the result will be much more satisfying, even though we are denying ourselves the “pleasure” of pouting. Like everything else in life, if we do things God’s way, it will lead to peace and joy, the very goal we began with.

My new mantra for the rest of 2024 and beyond is this: More Like the Lord. I hope you’ll join me.

Carla Moore

The story is told about a teenage boy who needed some hygiene instruction. His mom bought him some deodorant and gave him the typical “mother talk” about why he needed to start wearing it. The next morning, she found him standing in front of the bathroom mirror smearing deodorant all over his body. When she asked him what he was doing, this was his reply: “I am putting on enough so I don’t have to do this every day.”

While this story is funny to us, it is representative of the way some people feel about attending worship. They feel they get enough on Sunday morning to last them all week. We hear things like: “I come on Sunday morning. That’s all I need.” Some say, “The Bible doesn’t say we have to go to church three times a week.” Then there is the opposition to Bible Study, because that is not commanded; and besides, they would have to get up an hour earlier to get there.”

We hear things like that from our children. I have children say, “I couldn’t get my lesson because we were gone a lot this week.” “I had ball practice or ball games.” “I left my notebook at my grandparents’ house.” Occasionally I hear, “I just didn’t do it.” In other words, it just wasn’t important enough to do.

We need to look at the examples we have in the New Testament. When Pentecost was over, Luke tells us that the new Christians continued daily to study and worship God (Acts 2:48). They met at the temple, and they also went from house to house, eating together and praising God.

These people also cared for one another. They sold their possessions to share with those who had stayed in Jerusalem. They opened their homes to them. Their new-found faith was a priority. They wanted to learn.

Just as the boy’s deodorant needed to be used more than once, the studying of God’s Word needs to be read and studied more than once a week. Paul said, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (Second Timothy 2:15).

One of the reasons the people of Israel rejected God was because of a lack of studying God’s commands. The people were told to teach their children “diligently.” They were to talk to them constantly about the Lord’s commandments (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). The kings were told to copy the law. There is no indication they did. That’s why when Josiah heard the law read, he tore his clothes. It was news to him!

How are we going to learn what God wants us to do if we do not study His Word? We can’t unless we read it or have someone to teach us. We aren’t going to learn it sitting at the ball field, watching it online between eating breakfast and having our second cup of coffee.

The writer of Hebrews said, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works; not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:24-26).

The boy needed a daily application of deodorant to keep from smelling bad. We need a constant reminder of the teachings of Scripture and the meeting together of the saints to study and learn what God would have us to do.

Sandra Oliver