Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by James MacDonald (2015-06-18) from his book, Lord, Change My Attitude: Before It's Too Late (p. 150). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition. ( Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) You may then ask, what do I do when there is a serious issue? James says, “Failure to take action will produce big fallout. In those instances, love does not sit passively by.  ‘ I love him, so I won’t upset him. ’  Wrong! Love takes action on things that are major. You say, ‘What’s major?’” James gives three guidelines to determine what are major things where love means taking action: “1. Is this a critical path? If failure to take action will produce major fallout, biblical love is on the move. If it’s a major doctrinal error, a case of marital unfaithfulness, a criminal act, or an abusive behavior, please don’t collect stories for ten years and sit passively by. Step up! Get involved! Say something! Love takes action. If the person you love i

A thought by James MacDonald (2015-06-18) from his book, Lord, Change My Attitude: Before It's Too Late (p. 149). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition. ( Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Did you realize that?   Did you know that Biblical love is both truth and affection put together? James says, “An imbalance of biblical love has often infected the church. On one hand is radical fundamentalism that emphasizes all truth and is legalistic and screaming, ‘This is what the Word says, boy!’ That’s not what Jesus did. On the other hand, we have a liberal Christianity that says, ‘Bag the Bible; we have Jesus! We have His heart for the hurting, and we’re going out to make a difference in this world.’ Jesus didn’t do that either.” He goes on, “Neither one of those is what Christ intended. It appears we need a balance between these two: truth and acts of mercy; acts of mercy and truth. Anything less is not biblical love. For instance, Jerry isn

A thought by James MacDonald (2015-06-18) from his book, Lord, Change My Attitude: Before It's Too Late (p. 136). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition. ( Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever taken a shower and started noticing that the drain is plugged up and the water won’t drain?   That can be a problem can’t it?   Well, James says, “Criticism plugs the flow of God’s blessings in our life.”   James quotes Oswald Chambers who made a brilliant observation: “Whenever you are in a critical temper, it is impossible to enter into communion with God.”   Have you noticed that? James goes on, “That’s a scary thought! Criticism makes us hard and vindictive and cruel. It leaves us with the flattering notion that we are superior persons. It is impossible to develop the characteristics of a saint and at the same time maintain a critical attitude. Criticism harms our relationship with God and others, and that will block the flow of Go