As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
Reposted from Rooted Thinking.
When I was just a little guy, my parents planted a peach tree in our back yard. The tree grew as I grew. By the time I turned seven, the first few peaches appeared on that tree. I was so excited. However, the next year, we moved from that home. I never got to enjoy the fruit from that tree again, but someone did because that tree kept on bearing fruit.
Would you like to have a glorious year in 2022?
The Biblical data regarding the issue of glory says that you can—indeed, it commands that you must!
What is the source of any glory that we hope to obtain? Is it to be found in achievements, investments, promotions, windfalls, victories or some other form of worldly success? Does its inspiration come from the sparks that flare from the fireplace on a cold January afternoon?
Many Americans have welcomed 2022 by making New Year’s Resolutions. “A new year resolution,” according to one dictionary, “is a commitment that an individual makes to one or more personal goals, projects, or the reforming of a habit. This lifestyle change is generally interpreted as advantageous, and it’s done to improve [a person’s] wellbeing.”1 According to a recent study by Statista,2 the 10 most popular New Year’s resolutions are as follows (which I’ll list in reverse order):
Reposted from Rooted Thinking.
The lights dim as the music begins to play. The energy in the crowd seems to almost crackle audibly. You feel a surge of anticipation for the songs you know, the empowering words you always hear, and the inspirational, larger-than-life people you see standing before you. At a well-designed worship service, Bible conference, or summer camp, God seems real, close, and exciting.
“Guinness sets out to show ‘a healthy understanding of doubt should go hand in hand with a healthy understanding of faith.’ He is very careful not to encourage doubt but goes out of his way to show that wrestling with doubt is not wrong because it is not the same as unbelief.” - Brad Paulsey
“The best of us are like these few acres of natural beauty in the midst of a city chock-full of suburban sprawl and industrial ugliness. But there is one who perfectly mastered the art of living a true, beautiful, and perfect life.” - Challies
“MIT Technology Review recently showed that troll farms had reached over 140 million users on Facebook before the 2020 election. A troll farm is an organized group of users (or even bots) who intentionally craft content to exploit division and sow discord in society.” - C.Leaders
“Six weeks later, one morning I woke up deaf. The ‘bad ear’ was its normal self, but the ‘good ear’ was just gone; it was now by far the ‘bad ear.’” - Olinger
“Leading a local church in a pandemic and coming out of a pandemic has been filled with both pain and beauty. God has done exceedingly more than I could ask or imagine.” - Eric Gieger
The Other Beatitudes, Part 4: Discipline - Olinger
Discussion