Dr Paul Allen

English: An image of Psalm 23 (King James' Version), frontispiece to the 1880 omnibus printing of The Sunday at Home. Scanned at 800 dpi. Français : Illustration du Psaume 23 (version autorisée par le roi Jacques), en frontispice de l'édition omnibus du Sunday at home. Version numérisée à 800 dpi. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) I am to love God by loving His Word. Therefore, it is my delight to receive it. Again, think about receiving a present. The word present is just another way of saying "gift." And what does the word gift mean? It means an act of grace—that a person gives you something not because you deserve it, but because they decided to express their love. Ten times in the great Psalm 119 we read of the psalmist praising the Lord for receiving the Lord's Word, saying he "delights" in the Word (Ps. 119:14, 16, 24, 35, 47, 70, 77, 92, 143, 174). Why? Because the Word is the living Word of the Lord to us, His people. The psalmist also describes...

All About Evil (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) ‎Evil (Heb. ra’; Gk. kakos, ponēros, phaulos). Evil has a broader meaning than * sin . The Heb. word comes from a root meaning ‘to spoil’, ‘to break in pieces’: being broken and so made worthless. It is essentially what is unpleasant, disagreeable, offensive. The word binds together the evil deed and its consequences.  In the NT kakos and ponēros mean respectively the quality of evil in its essential character, and its hurtful effects or influence. It is used in both physical and moral senses. While these aspects are different, there is frequently a close relationship between them.  Much physical evil is due to moral evil : suffering and sin are not necessarily connected in individual cases, but human selfishness and sin explain much of the world’s ills. Though all evil must be punished, not all physical ill is a punishment of wrongdoing (Lk. 13:2, 4; Jn. 9:3; cf. Job). Related articles Banality of Evil and Heroism ...

Most leaders periodically talk to their teams about how they value honesty and why they want more of it. This talk on honesty has become one of the classical management talks in the business world. However, judging by their behavior, I have noticed that very few of these leaders actually encourage honesty. And I’m confident this doesn’t apply just for the leaders I know. It’s very easy to state that you want honesty from people; it’s much harder to create a culture that actually fosters it. With this is mind, I offer this four-step guide to encouraging honesty in your team. Lead by example . If you want to receive honest input, start by giving it. As the people on your team observe your honesty, this will make them feel more comfortable being honest themselves. On the other hand, if you don’t practice what you preach, it’s much tougher to influence others to practice that same thing. Where I find that most leaders have the biggest problem related to honesty, is in saying tho...

Image via Wikipedia "Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" ( Jeremiah 23:29 )   One of the most picturesque of the figures used to describe the Holy Scriptures is that of the hammer striking and shattering a rock. In this text, however, the "rock" is literally a mighty rock mountain.   Furthermore, the effect of the hammer is to "break in pieces." This phrase actually is a single Hebrew word which normally means "disperse," or "scatter abroad," usually used in describing the worldwide dispersion of the children of Israel . It was used even earlier for the first dispersion at Babel: "So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth" ( Genesis 11:8 ). Perhaps most significantly of all, it is used in the prophecy of   Zechariah 13:7 : "Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered."   This verse was quoted by the Lord Jes...

Image via Wikipedia "Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" ( Jeremiah 23:29 )   One of the most picturesque of the figures used to describe the Holy Scriptures is that of the hammer striking and shattering a rock. In this text, however, the "rock" is literally a mighty rock mountain.   Furthermore, the effect of the hammer is to "break in pieces." This phrase actually is a single Hebrew word which normally means "disperse," or "scatter abroad," usually used in describing the worldwide dispersion of the children of Israel . It was used even earlier for the first dispersion at Babel: "So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth" ( Genesis 11:8 ). Perhaps most significantly of all, it is used in the prophecy of   Zechariah 13:7 : "Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered."   This verse was quoted by the Lord Jes...