goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

Walk It Out

By Linda Tancs

We often hear advice to “walk it out.” It’s often used prescriptively as an exhortation to process one’s emotions.

Walking is a common theme in the Bible, designed to illustrate and encourage a relationship with God. For example, in the story of Enoch we’re introduced to a man who walked faithfully with God for 300 years (Genesis 5:22). In Genesis 17, God invited Abram to “walk before” Him (Genesis 17:1). Also, when the patriarch Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph, he recounted his ancestors who had walked faithfully before God (Genesis 48:15-16). And in the New Testament, Paul instructs us to “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). Walking is a healthy activity. When you add God to the equation, you get an unbeatable benefit.

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES (a teaching and speaking ministry), Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

The God Who Sees

By Linda Tancs

El Roi is a name for God in the Old Testament that is usually translated as “the God who sees me.” (Genesis 16:13). His eyes are always on you, which is boasted of by natural parents as having “eyes in the back of their head.” Nothing escapes a parent’s attention, or God’s. That doesn’t mean you never feel invisible or perhaps have indeed been forsaken. When others can’t, don’t or won’t see you as you need to be seen, just remember that God always sees you.

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES (a teaching and speaking ministry), Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

The Kite of Faith

By Linda Tancs

I once read a story about a boy who was flying his kite so high that it was obscured by low clouds. The only way he knew the kite was there was when he felt a tug on the string. Faith is like that. (2 Corinthians 5:7). You don’t have to see it to believe it, but you’ll know it by the tug.

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES (a teaching and speaking ministry), Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

Take the High Road

By Linda Tancs

There’s an old Scottish song about Loch Lomond, the largest lake. It features the lyrics, “You take the high road and I’ll take the low road.” That’s a geographic reference, of course. But, in life, we’re challenged with choosing between the high road or the low road, whether it be in thought, word or deed. That’s because there’s always a person, or circumstance, that will test your resolve to love like God loves. When others go low, take the high road. It’s the only one that leads to a life of peace, joy, love and self-control (Matthew 7:13-14). The low road only leads to destruction, ruin, regret, pain, brokenness and emptiness.

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES (a teaching and speaking ministry), Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

People Pleasers

By Linda Tancs

A 2022 YouGov survey found that 49% of American adults identify as people-pleasers, commonly defined as one who places the needs of others above one’s own, often to one’s detriment and out of fear of rejection or disapproval. Can you relate? Be a God pleaser, instead. He’s the One who matters. Your time spent here with other people is but a vapor (James 4:14). Your time with God, whose opinion matters most, is without end.

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES (a teaching and speaking ministry), Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

The Golden Years

By Linda Tancs

Writer C.S. Lewis once observed, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” Even in the Bible, the concept of retirement is mentioned only once (Numbers 8:23-26). Levite priests retired at the age of 50, at which time they entered service as mentors of sorts to younger priests. Even then they did not retire in our modern sense of the word; they transitioned to other roles instead. Moses remained fruitful right up to the end of his life at age 120 (Deuteronomy 34:7). So did Job (Job 42:16-17). God desires that you continue to bear fruit in your old age (Psalm 92:14). History provides plenty of examples: Benjamin Franklin was 70 when he signed the Declaration of Independence; Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize at age 69; Leonid Hurwicz received the Nobel Prize in Economics at age 90; and Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa at age 75. You get the point. The older you are, the more you have to share with others. Don’t hide your light (Matthew 5:15). Be a beacon.

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES (a teaching and speaking ministry), Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

Tomorrowland

By Linda Tancs

Tomorrowland is a Disney-themed attraction. Although the attraction may be fun, in real life “tomorrowland” is a place we might park. We dream about tomorrow; we put off for tomorrow what we can do today (James 4:13-14). Like the Disney attraction, tomorrowland is a fantasy. Be present. Stay in the present. Enjoy where you are on the way to where you are going.

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES (a teaching and speaking ministry), Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

Treat Your Bible Like Your Phone

By Linda Tancs

Statistics about phone usage indicate that people check their phones about 60 times per day. Nearly 40 percent say they can’t go a day without their phone. Almost a majority believe that they are addicted to their phones. Can you relate? What if you treated your Bible like your phone? Take it everywhere you go. Check it for messages all day long. Spend hours a day in it. Allow the Word of God to live in you and have a home in your heart and mind (Colossians 3:16).

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES (a teaching and speaking ministry), Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

Procrastination or Preparation

By Linda Tancs

Novelist Charles Dickens once said that procrastination is the thief of time. We should generally avoid procrastination (Proverbs 21:25). Sometimes, though, there’s a fine line between procrastination and preparation. Another way of looking at it is to consider whether there’s such a thing as productive or positive procrastination. For example, experts identify this as waiting to study for a test if waiting until the final hours will result in retention of the necessary information. That kind of waiting can also be productive if the student does something else before studying, like other homework. Consider your motives for procrastinating and discern whether any real benefit results from it.

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES (a teaching and speaking ministry), Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.

goforwardinfaith Christianity, Religion, Theology

The Meaning of Work

By Linda Tancs

Man versus machine is an age-old debate. It reminds me of the remark by theologian Andrew Murray that a machine can do work but only life can bear fruit. Machines are guided by humans who alone can create and invent new things, even new ways of working. Today’s technological advances can make it difficult to define what “work” is. Don’t sacrifice the beauty of creating work by relying on technological shortcuts. Exercise dominion over machines as over other things (Genesis 1:26).

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As part of FOOT FORWARD MINISTRIES (a teaching and speaking ministry), Go Forward in Faith represents faith-based meditations for personal and professional growth. Join the Facebook group @goforwardinfaith.