What’s something that makes you uncomfortable? Maybe fingernails on a chalkboard? Or the sound of a fork scratching on a plate? As children of God, we are called to “speak the truth in love,” something that is often very uncomfortable for all parties involved. But like taking a distasteful but life-giving medicine, the truth is vital for health.

If we are to understand Biblical Conduct, we must have a solid grasp of truth and love, especially since our culture has distorted and materially altered the meaning of these two vitally important words.

You and I are engaged in a titanic spiritual warfare. The destructive forces unleashed upon the world—forces aimed at our children, our families, our freedom, and our values; our compassion, virtue, justice, and our very humanity—are not the fault of misguided politicians of either party. They are the designs and agenda of the evil one.

The little boy stared nervously at his Sunday School teacher. He was trying to remember the verse. He thought for sure he knew it.

“A lie is an abomination to the Lord.” He grinned with satisfaction. “And a very present help in time of trouble.”

We smile at a child’s mangled memory. We smile too because the boy’s rendition is often the case. Lying one’s way out of trouble is a time-honored and quite dishonorable resort for many who are caught doing something wrong.

John the Baptist did not mince words — like the prophets of the Old Testament, he clearly told the religious leaders of his day that they were wicked and needed to repent.

One of the most effective teaching methods employed by Scripture is the telling of stories, and there is a treasure trove of instruction for us in the accounts of men and women who lived by the fear of the Lord.

“So he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side.”

Have you ever been tempted to refashion bad news so that it will land more gently on the ears of those who need to receive it?

Humans, as emotional beings, can rarely tolerate pure honesty without discomfort. What is it about the truth that makes it undiplomatic and unsafe? Is it possible to present the teachings of the Bible and not be offensive? This is a very important question and is essential in understanding how Christians should live.

Ministry Resurrects Bible Leadership Principles to ‘Rebuild America’s Broken-Down Walls’

The disciples did not understand the scriptures and did not expect the resurrection, and yet we have the hope of the resurrection.

Now — more than ever — our hurting and confused culture is a raging battleground between the very real forces of good and evil and light and darkness. America is at a crisis point, yet the Body of Christ is still asleep in many places and non-existent in our communities where our light must shine.

The resurrection gives purpose and value to our labor. All our efforts to alleviate suffering, show compassion, advance justice, combat corruption, educate for virtue, and create opportunity are never in vain. Never. Why? Because Jesus Christ has risen. He lives and reigns, and in due time he will make the world over.

As Aaron, Moses’ brother, placed his hands on the goat’s head he had confessed “over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. . . The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert” (Leviticus 16: 21-22).

This goat would carry the sins of the people to a lonely and forbidding place.

It seems that being a woman isn’t what it used to be. Nor being a man.

Seeds, though tiny, were central to the outcome of the entire gardening enterprise. I’d watch Dad as he’d take a seed or two, carefully opening the moist, cool, cultivated soil—cultivation was essential—and inserting the seed into the soft dirt and gently covering it up. Then pressing it down.

Seeds contain the mysteries—and the success or failure—of growth, the outcome of the harvest, and the enjoyment of the bounty. They had to be planted in the right manner in the right soil.

The year was 1986. The boy, raised in church, knew God and knew how to pray just as Jesus taught his disciples in Luke 18:1 – praying always and not giving up.

He was without recognition or honor. Or money. He painted more than 1,500 works of art in his lifetime. He sold one.

“One must go on working silently,” said the artist, “trusting the result to the future.”

Evil is manifested more clearly in politics than in many other professions or activities in our culture. The shades of grey seem to be darker. Ethics are twisted to produce the results that politicians desire

In our culture today, politics is seen by the Body of Christ as one of those yucky, muddy things that we don’t want to have anything to do with. Yet, whether we realize it or not, politics and government affect our lives more than anything else.