by Bert Harned, MD

The word “some” has interesting implications. In Luke 21:16, Jesus said “some of you (not all) will be put to death…” He didn’t tell them who that would be, and that leaves us knowing that the Christian life involves risk (exposure to possible loss or injury). The risk and its outcome are not made known to us. Have you thought about that? John Piper’s book, Don’t Waste Your Life, has incited me to do some serious thinking here. I looked up the word “some” and found it everywhere. I realized that these things refer not to ugly sinners, but in most cases, faithful saints.  It made me take a deep breath! Continue Reading »

by Y-Jesus.com

Christmas means different things to different people. To most, it is a heartwarming time with family and friends. To many children, it’s about presents and Santa. To merchants, it means a season when many retailers finally begin making money.

But if you were go back seven hundred years before the birth of Christ and ask the prophet Isaiah what it means to him, he would tell you Christmas is about the birth of a special child: Continue Reading »

The Gospel writers all anchored their historical narratives in the Old Testament, beginning with messianic passages from the Hebrew prophets.  These passages foretold the coming Messiah, using a fulfillment formula stating that “that” is “this.” One such passage is Isaiah 9:6-7:

“A child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David.” (Isaiah 9:6-7, NLT) Continue Reading »

by Bert Harned, MD

A homeless drunk, with a $10 billion bank account, sleeping under Chicago bridges is not nearly as pathetic (foolish, insane) as a Christian, indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, who is still living a spiritually crummy, self-centered life. Continue Reading »

by Bert Harned, MD

I heard an E.R. doctor say the other day that no one ever takes responsibility for his troubles. When a man comes in with a bullet would, he almost always says, “I was minding my own business, and this guy walked up and shot me.” The truth–he was doing a drug deal that went bad. It’s human nature, when things go badly, someone else is to blame–the boss, the other driver, a co-worker, your spouse, your background, the economy, the neighbor’s dog–whatever. Continue Reading »

by Bert Harned, MD

When you lose, you muse, and then choose. That is a potential pathway for depression. You lose something, (or are blocked, thwarted, diverted from what you wanted) then you muse (think about it) and then . . . choose what to do next. The loss may be something material like your tooth brush, or intangible such as information you need for a test. It can be insignificant, or extremely serious, such as the death of a loved one. It happens to all of us, and frequently! How you think (muse) and choose to process these daily losses is of tremendous importance to you. Continue Reading »

by Bert Harned, MD

Suppose your old roommate had become an insane, paranoid, vicious, convicted serial killer. The police called to tell you that he had just escaped from a nearby maximum security facility five miles from your house and had left a note that because you had offended him once, he was planning to come to your house to kill you and your family. What would be your response to that news?

Well, it would depend. It would depend on whether or not you believed it was true–was it from a source that you could really trust? Continue Reading »

by Bert Harned, MD

God has been opening my mind to some great stuff regarding the fact that a Christian is one who has God as his Father, which means I have been justified first, and then adopted into His family–an incredible bottomless truth. It is little emphasized today.   Continue Reading »

by Bert Harned, MD

I have always felt that meditation is an extremely good thing, but that most people take very little time for it. That is the cause of a great deal of shallow thinking on the part of many Christians. But I read something very interesting this week . . . “worriers are meditators!” Isn’t that interesting?! Continue Reading »

by Bert Harned, MD

It is a delightful privilege to be stimulated by books like John Piper’s book Don’t Waste Your Life, and by the written insights of great men of God like Bill Bright, and to consider the incredible value of being content. This week I have been reading about the life of George Müller, the story of a man who utterly wasted his early years, only to become a nearly unbelievable example of what can happen–what God can do with a person who learns to trust Him. Müller never told anyone that he needed anything, but simply prayed and trusted God to supply everything he needed from day to day–and God did! A remarkable story indeed!

John Piper writes eloquently about how most of us waste our lives on all sorts of activities that do not matter, but I have been thinking lately on this thought:  When do we waste them? Continue Reading »