Sound Words (Page 31)

In Loving Memory of Lost Children “Where is Théodred? Where is my son?” If you are not familiar with this sad quote, it comes from the film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. In it, a king named Théoden awakens from a cursed stupor to find that his beloved son Théodred is dead. During an exchange with Gandalf, following Théodred’s funeral, Théoden utters what everyone is thinking. “No parent should have to bury their child.” There is a…

Choosing Godly Leaders All it takes is an election to get people thinking about the importance of leadership. It concerns me, though, when I hear Christians who will obsess over the people leading this country but who will not think twice about those who are leading God’s people. What concerns me even more is that there are Christians who do not think God’s plan for leadership in the church is even necessary. Nevertheless, a reader would have to be blind…

Tempted by Pain Relief “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (James 1:13–15 ESV) As we conclude our look at our desires and the ways…

Tempted by a Shortcut “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (James 1:13–15 ESV) As we continue to look at our desires and the ways…

Tempted by Acceptance “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (James 1:13–15 ESV) As we continue to look at our desires and the ways in…

Sin Beneath the Surface Sin is like a weed. If you do not get it at the root, you have not really gotten it at all. If you are trying to overcome sin without dealing with it at its roots, then be prepared to fail. And even if you manage to overcome one sin, some other sin will take its place if you do not figure out how to cut it off at its source and replace it with what…

Resisting Sin Begins with Prayer At some point during each day, you feel a familiar tension: immaterial objects of your fancy tug on your worn heart strings while you vacillate between what you want to do and what you ought to do. We all have been in that battle. And we all have lost. Perhaps the struggle concerned clicking an internet link that led to a pornographic webpage. Maybe the struggle regarded releasing a verbalized rage that destroyed the spirit…

An Appetite for Abomination If you have lived with someone who has a severe allergy or some havoc-wreaking malabsorption condition, then you know what it means to be concerned about most everything you touch. Hopefully you do, at least, or you probably have paid many visits to the hospital. Having a Celiac spouse is one of those things that demands such increased conscientiousness. Most days, I am concerned about everything I touch. Is it safe for her, or is it…