Tag: God

Rejection of Authority in the Human Heart

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Why don’t we have good leaders? Why don’t we have a moral society? Why do the good, the true, and the beautiful seem so scarce in our society? Why do we have so few good men and women? What can we do about it?

By Mark D. Harris

The conscience that God has placed in the heart of each man, and the Law that He has revealed to His people, tell us how He commands us to live. We don’t like it, preferring to go our own way. As a result, we often despise anyone who keeps God’s commands. We pretend that universal moral standards do not exist. We scream and cry that no one can make us do what we don’t want to do. We resent and tear down those sent to help us. Finally, in our rejection of godly authority, and often any authority, we destroy ourselves, and cause terrible suffering to others.

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How and Why to Praise the Lord (Psalm 100)

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Praising the Lord, acknowledging all that He is and does, is the best way to experience joy. How can we do it?

By Mark D, Harris

How many people that you know lack joy a lot of the time? What do they do about it? Some people eat. Others sleep. Many binge watch movies. Some drink or use drugs. What do you do when you lack joy? How does a lack of joy impact your confidence, your clarity of mind, your strength? Though it can be hard, the best thing that any of us can do when we lack joy is to praise the Lord.

The Joy of the Lord is my Strength is an old song derived from Nehemiah 8:10

G                             D

The joy of the Lord is my strength

                                G

The joy of the Lord is my strength

                                C

The joy of the Lord is my strength

G                     D                G

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

Psalm 100, and many other passages in Scripture, tell us that the key to joy is praise. Of course, believers don’t praise the Lord so that we can have joy. Instead, we praise God for who He is. We thank Him for what He has done for us. In acknowledging the magnificence of our Creator and Sustainer, in focusing on His truth, beauty, and righteousness, and in marinating our souls in His awesome love, we receive joy. As surely as the sun rises in the morning, honest praise with a clean heart will bring joy to all those involved. Over and over again, the Bible records God’s people praising Him. Psalm 100 provides a fine example.

How to Praise the Lord

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In Christ Alone

~ MD Harris Institute ~ 2 Comments

God exists. Or as a hard-bitten atheist might admit, at least something that transcends space and time. But how do we approach Him? Not through good works, fortune, fame, or power, but through Christ alone. 

By Mark D, Harris

How can man approach God?[1] People from the Aztecs to the Zulus have asked this since the dawn of humanity, and man has imagined thousands of answers.[2] These answers boil down to three possibilities.

  1. Man cannot do anything to approach God, and therefore can never approach Him.
  2. Man does something, or a group of things, to earn the right to approach God.
  3. Man cannot do anything to approach God, but God in His grace brings man to Him.

These possibilities are exclusive, as each includes a world view that is inconsistent with the others. It is logically impossible to select 1 and 3, for example, or some other combination.

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Good Friday

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God transforms our hardest days, our “Good Fridays,” into the glorious victories of Easter. But He does so in His time and way, and we must trust Him.

By Mark D. Harris

“How was your day?” Nancy asked as I trudged in the door from work.

“Good,” I replied, with drawn face, slumped shoulders, and a shuffling gait.

Nancy frowned, “You look like it was awful.”

“No,” I said, “Every day above ground is a good day.”

“Mark, I am your wife. You need to tell me the truth – not just lies that you think that I want to hear.”

“Today was good, in the same way that Good Friday was good. Jesus died a horrific death, but God worked wondrous acts and eternal salvation from it,” I answered.

Nancy gave up the questions and followed me to the bedroom. I changed my clothes and laid on the bed where she gave me a back rub. Finally in a safe place with people who cared, the tension rolled out of my muscles. The gates to my heart, shut tight at work since I had to be, or at least appear to be, the perfect doctor and leader, cracked open. Soon Nancy brought love into my dark castle, and we began to heal.

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The Purpose of Prayer

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Why pray? When prayers don’t seem to work, and we doubt God, what do we do? May we ask the Lord for a sign in prayer as Gideon did? Answers here…

By Mark D. Harris

A few days ago, our family dog, Serena, found wrapped chocolates that my sons had left in their bedroom. Within minutes, truffles, peppermint patties, and a host of other delectables were gone. The same day, close friends visited from northern Virginia. The chocolate and excitement were too much for Serena, and she couldn’t go to sleep. Instead of sleeping, she barked and barked and barked.

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