If we can learn anything from the first-century churches of Asia Minor, it is the propensity of Christians and churches toward decline.

Our spiritual birth into God’s family is a miraculous love-filled moment, as well! When Nicodemus came to Jesus by night seeking answers for his spiritual questions, Jesus told him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). We know that Nicodemus was initially confused by this statement. But, Jesus explained to him that salvation is a re-birth—a spiritual birth.

You’ve probably heard the old fable of the man and his son bringing their donkey to market. En route, they encounter so many people who give their opinions as to who should ride the donkey and who should walk that by the time they reach the market, the man and his son are carrying the donkey.

There are a lot of different opinions—some that can be very strong—concerning the matter of “loyalty to the pastor.” One extreme is pastor-worship and the other extreme is no loyalty to the pastor at all.

Someone wisely said, “Aim for nothing, and you’ll hit it every time.” When it comes to goal setting, there are no more important areas for Christian men to set goals than their personal walk with God, their spiritual leadership in the home, and their relationships and service in the local church.

The eyes are said to be the most sensitive parts of our body. Eyesight is a precious gift from God! If our eyes are most sensitive to physical light and pain, how much more are they sensitive to what enters into the heart. Proverbs 7:2 says, “Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.”

I can hardly imagine a more difficult task than the one Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, was given. Eliezer was to find a bride for Isaac. He was given the full trust and confidence of his master Abraham in this important mission. The way he handled the request is instructive to those of us who want to be faithful servants to our Master.

No one begins the New Year with aspirations to quit. We want to finish the year well, and we want to finish our life course well.

In truth, we serve a God of miracles (hello, just read Luke 2), but our tendency when peering into the future is to predict it based on the rate of past progress. We pray desperately for God to do what we can’t, then we rise from our knees, look at the date the prayer request was first entered, and sigh. “Not gonna happen, at least anytime soon,” we feel, even if we don’t say.

Recently, I began thinking of the intangible gifts that staff members give to me on a regular basis, and I came up with a list of ten. (I’m sure there are many times more.)