The Little Mermaid Ariel expressed the hearts of many. She had lots of “neat” “stuff.” Most would think her “collection’s complete” and that she was “the girl who has everything,” with “treasures untold…gadgets and gizmos a-plenty…whooz-its and whats-its galore.” Even with all that she had, her heart poured forth, “No big deal. I want more!” Are we like that? Look around at your “neat stuff.” Look around at…

The Bible draws a sharp distinction between that which is “temporary” and that which is “eternal.” Unfortunately, we have a hard time keeping that distinction clear and foremost in our minds. It is so easy to get “fixed” on money (having it or not having it), houses or cars (having nice ones or needing new ones), our jobs (having one or not having one,…

One of the greatest, most comforting, most reassuring, most empowering verses in all of the New Testament is Romans 8:1. After establishing that those seeking to be justified by the law were in fact condemned by the law, Paul assures New Testament Christians, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the…

We like to receive credit for things that we do. We like to receive recognition and a pat on the back. And, if someone else receives credit for something we did, it almost feels like we’ve been robbed. But, is that really a big deal? Think about some Biblical principles. “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each…

Of course, we know that we need to be a good example around everyone, but sometimes we may be tempted to think, “Well, they don’t even realize this particular thing is a right/wrong issue, so they won’t know that I’m even setting a good example for them.” Does that matter? When it comes to remaining sexually pure before (and after) marriage, to being…

In the kitchen, stirring is necessary. In the paint shop, stirring is necessary. But, in our relationships and interactions with others, we need to be oh-so careful when we stir and when we don’t. There are times to stir the right way, like “stirring up love and good works” (Heb. 10:24) and “stirring up by way of reminder” (2 Pet. 1:13; 3:1). But, more often than…

Before I heard it from Chick-fil-A, I heard a friend saying it years ago. Anytime that they would help us or do something nice for us and we told them, “Thank you,” this friend would always say, “Our pleasure.” For some reason, that always struck me when he said it. He didn’t say, “Sure,” or “No biggie,” or “You’re welcome,” or “No problem,” or any…

We all understand the concept of deposits into and withdraws out of our bank account. We understand that we must deposit more money into our account than we withdraw, lest our account is overdrawn, we have a negative balance, and we are penalized or cut off entirely. In his book, His Needs, Her Needs, Willard Harley introduced the concept that you have a “Love…