The Right Personal Influences and Being Mindful of Them
I credit many people as being positive personal influences in my life. Some are long-time influences, while others are short-lived. Likewise, there were many events and happenstance that I pinpoint as personal influences of both me and my entire generation. Take a...
Self-Examination is a Key to Refining Life, on Purpose
It’s safe to presume Jonathan Edwards was devoted to self-examination. Perhaps that’s one of the things that has made this the perfect topic for the year of listening up. That’s because, though 1Glories is ever-evolving, one element is pretty constant; “refining life,...
Are You Too Comfortable in the Gray Areas of Life?
Life comes with a lot of gray areas. We meet them in many situations, whether it’s in business, marriage, following laws, or otherwise. Too often, though, when someone says, “it’s sort of a gray area” they say it to infer “yeah, it’s not right, but it’s a gray...
The Call to Speak Truth in Love and in Unity
A former co-worker once told me she was meditating on the idea of Speak Truth in love, and she saw me. She said she saw me and visible words literally flowing from me. It was both awkward and humbling. We spoke very little of it ever again. As she explained, it was...
Why We Sin and What Can We Do About It?
The inquiry into why we sin has to be one of the most asked questions of all time. And that is probably true of both believers and non-believers. Though the latter may not ask specifically why we sin, they probably wonder why we do bad things. Jonathan Edwards...
Resolve to Have Personal Accountability in Life
There often seems to be a lacking of personal accountability in our world. In fact, it seems like personal accountability is a dying skill, much like cursive and Latin. That’s why I love that Edwards built personal accountability into his 23rd resolution. And I...
The Hypocrisy and Reason for Judging Others
Not a day goes by that I don’t find myself judging others. On the one hand, I grow angry with myself because I am judging others. On the other hand, I thank God for revealing to me those things I should seek to rid from my life and being. In that regard, it is a...
What’s the Right Christian Response in Big & Small Moments?
One of my former pastors encourages people to ask “what is the right Christian response to this?” when faced with conflict. It’s not just conflict, though. It’s an appropriate question for all matters of life. Being able to press pause for questioning an...
The Art of Christian Living – World but Not Worldly
I tried to find the origin of the phrase, Christian Living. I failed. It’s not overly surprising to me. However, I have seen it in many avenues over the last several months, so I thought there was a chance. But the art of Christian Living may be one of the most...
Keeping the Sabbath is Not Part of a Holy Checklist
What seems like an age-old debate is whether or not Christians should work on Sunday. It would seem that doing so is in direct violation of the fourth commandment of “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” (Exodus 20:8). While I cannot even begin to present a...