How to Move Beyond the Pain
Overcoming Obstacles to Life Change
How to Stop Playing God
Seeing God with 20/20 Vision
How to Develop Your Spiritual Gifts for Kingdom Impact
What has God Called You to Do
Finding Joy in the Worst of Times
Overworked, Overwhelmed and Overcommitted
Understanding the Power of Hope
Is the Bible Relevant for Today?
What Would Jesus Say to an Honest Skeptic?
Why I Believe in Life After Death
Learn to Cope in Crisis
How to Overcome the Pain of a Dysfunctional Family
Experiencing God in Times of Confusion
It's Not About Rules, Ritual or Religion
Welcome to the Living on the Edge Community
Keep Pressin' Ahead - Chip's Blog
Why do I stumble? |
I came into the office early this morning to get some extra time with the Lord. It seems that once the day gets going all the dizziness and people crowd out any quality time to sit, reflect and develop that calm and quiet center to live out of Gods grace. I’m reading through the book of Hebrews in my personal devotions and was struck this morning by the warning in Hebrews 3:12: “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” Later in the same chapter, verse 19 he says, “So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.” I know this is nothing new, but it struck me that at the heart of all my issues in relating to God is my struggle with temptation in sin; one simple common denominator – unbelief!
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Balance & Perspective |
If there are two words that much of life hinges on, they are balance and perspective. Left to myself I get out of balance. I lean toward working too much, trying to accomplish too much, trying to go too fast, and seeking to meet far too many needs. Part of it is a genuine desire to serve and love God; and part of it is the warped psyche that I still possess in my flesh that compels me to please people and seek my worth and value through my performance. One of my favorite people, Dr. Howard Hendricks (a professor and longtime mentor) once told me — “The only time we are more in balance is when the pendulum of our life is swinging from one extreme to another.” Maturity is learning by God’s grace over time to reduce how far we swing to the right and to the left of the balanced life God desires for us. Let’s also be careful to think realistically and not idealistically about the whole ... |
How to Rebuild Your Broken World |
The phone call came in the middle of the afternoon. I was on a flight a few hours later, wondering what could have gone so wrong, so quickly. I arrived in Durham, North Carolina, and went straight to the hospital. All the doors were locked, and it was nearly 11 pm before I walked into the room where my mother lay, affixed to tubes and monitors of every fashion. As I saw her swollen body, I honestly wondered if I would have recognized her, had her name not been on the door. For nine agonizing days, we watched her body put up a fight. The hours blurred together as we talked with doctors, paced in waiting rooms, and agonized over what medical steps God would have us take. My mom had checked into Duke Medical Center with an overnight bag to get a second opinion on a very rare blood disease. She never left. It was one of the most difficult, painful times I’ve ever experienced. Grief is our emotional response to losing something that’s important to ... |
5 Million Downloads – Wow, God! |
So I asked our director of technology, “How many free downloads has Living on the Edge given away this year?” I was astounded by his response, “Just about 5 million.” WOW, God! You are generous! Thank You for Your provision and giving us the privilege of stewarding Your Word through technology and creativity. I would also like to shout a big THANK YOU to all of you who support Living on the Edge. It is because of your partnership, millions of people every year hear the Word of God and their lives are ... |
Is it Prideful to Desire Greatness? |
I couldn’t sleep, so I stayed up half the night thinking about some questions that had been bothering me. Is it really wrong to want to be great? Is it self-centered to want your life to really make an impact? Does ambition indicate a spiritual problem? After tossing and turning for a couple of hours, I got up, made some hot tea, found my wife’s rocking chair and stared into the fireplace, mentally reviewing all the things God had been teaching me lately. One idea in particular seemed to capture my attention: what does “greatness” in God’s kingdom look like? I had recently spent some time in Luke 22, a passage that raises this question. Near the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the disciples argued about which one of them was the greatest. Surprisingly, Jesus never rebuked them for their longing to be great. He gave them a completely new paradigm about what greatness is, but he didn’t condemn their desire. I was intrigued by ... |
Does God Still Heal? |
Does God still heal people today? If so, how does it work? When does He do it and why? Do we have some responsibility to fulfill in God’s healing process? Is healing today just spiritual and emotional or does God in fact choose to supernaturally defy natural laws and heal people’s bodies as well? These are important and controversial questions that deserve solid, rational, biblical answers. Much damage has been done to Christ-followers in their desperate attempts to find cures for devastating diseases. Faulty theology and charlatans playing on people’s vulnerable state in their search for a miracle have left many disillusioned, skeptical and often abused. Non-Christians in like manner need only flip through the channels of Christian TV to watch a wide variety of conflicting claims and promises about God’s healing power. What does the Scripture really teach? How can we avoid the extremes of “believe hard enough ... |
Single… or Single Again? |
If you’re single, single again, or have a close friend who is single, LISTEN UP! Starting today and for the next eight weekdays, Living on the Edge is broadcasting a new series, “Singleness: Blessing or a Curse?”. We’ll tackle some of the questions you may have on this subject like…
Being single in this sex-saturated world can be very difficult, but it’s our desire at Living on the Edge to equip you ... |
How to Know if You’re in Love |
Do you remember the first time it happened? You caught one another’s eyes, and then you looked a second time. Something inside you wanted to glance a third time, followed by a fourth lingering look. You didn’t want to stare, but something irresistibly drew you to that other person. When you were finally introduced, your palms were sweaty and you hoped no one noticed the increased perspiration under your arms. Your heart began to race as an exhilarating but unfamiliar feeling swept over you. You were suddenly afraid to say anything because you knew that if you opened your mouth, out would flow incomprehensible babble. The experience was exciting and terrifying at the same time. As the other person began to speak, you felt drawn like a magnet to a steel ingot. You didn’t know her or where she came from, but something about the way she looked and the aura that she projected triggered an unexplainable feeling ... |
Are You a Turtle or a Shark? |
Over the years, both in my marriage and in counseling with numerous couples, I have learned that most of us fall into two major categories; we are either turtles or sharks. When there is danger or conflict, turtles pull their heads into their shells, tuck in all their appendages and withdraw to a safe place. When a turtle feels threatened, the immediate response is to withdraw. This is what my wife did in the early years of our marriage. It made me absolutely crazy! By contrast, sharks start circling their prey, looking for vulnerable areas to attack. A share feels the same insecurities and same wounds as the turtle, but to cover those feelings of fear, the shark turns instead to an “attack mode” to provide for himself or herself the same thing the turtle is seeking to achieve – protection. So, how about you? Do you tend to be “turtle-like” or “shark-like” when conflict arises? Understanding our own “protection devices” is a very ... |
Conflict-Free Marriage? That Doesn’t Exist. |
I couldn’t believe it. This couldn’t be happening to us. How could two people who love each other and love God feel so angry towards one another? We had only been married a few weeks and I found myself with feelings that were completely foreign to our relationship. As I walked out, I slammed the screen door in disgust! She was crying. I was mad. And I knew it wasn’t supposed to be this way. Welcome to Marriage 101! This was the first fight Theresa and I had in our early life together. I drove around for nearly two hours trying to figure out what was wrong. I naively assumed that couples who love God and loved each other wouldn’t have angry feelings and hurt one another this deeply. I was great mistaken and painfully disillusioned. As we launch our new radio series today, “Read Now |
