Jim Novell

I would like you to ponder the following:  What motivates you to live like you do?  What is it that compels you to do certain things and constrains you from doing other things? What ultimately and primarily influences your decisions to act and behave in certain ways and not in others? For some, the answer […]

I noted in my previous post that what makes the “love of God” the greatest love of all is first and foremost that it is “His own love” (Romans 5:8), love that emanates from the heart of the infinitely glorious eternal God, whose nature and character is that of love (1 John 4:8), love which

In my previous post I acknowledged what is evident in the glory of the creation, in redemptive history as it is recorded in the Bible, and in the person and work of Jesus Christ, God the Son; namely that God’s love is the greatest love of all, far exceeding any love that man has for

Whitney Houston’s rendition of the song, The Greatest Love of All, was number one on the “Hot 100 Chart” for three weeks in 1986. The song melodiously informs us from both a psychological and existential perspective that the single most important aspect of our existence is self-love as she renders this worldly wisdom: The greatest

In my previous post I looked at some very sensible and logical reasons why we should obey God’s command given in 1 John 2:15-17 to not love this world nor the things of this world. Love for the world is seen in these verses as being contrary to love for God.  In fact, James 4:4

In 1 John 2:15–17, God, through the Apostle John, gives us a very clear, concise and all-encompassing command, “DO NOT love the world nor the things of this world”. It is given as an emphatic warning such as one would give to a young child to not play in the street or touch a hot

I would like to begin this post with a series of questions that are not meant to be judgmental, but diagnostic. # 1 – What is it or who is it that gives your life meaning and purpose, value and significance? # 2 – In what or whom do you pursue and find your greatest

Hi. My name is Jim and I am an idolater. My idols of choice have been me, as evidenced by my pride, selfishness and self-centeredness.  They have at one time or another in my life included the idols of sports and athletics, the idol of money/financial security, the idols of physical comfort and ease, the

Jesus Christ matters as the One who is preeminent among all mankind because: He is the One who Joseph was instructed by an angel to give Him the name of Jesus, for He would   save His people (those who believe and entrust their lives to Him), from the eternal consequences of their sin (Matthew 1:20-21).

In my previous post I noted that it is right and good to believe and say that all lives matter, that every person is equal in dignity and value as a being made in the image of God for the glory of God.  Yet there is one whose life matters more than that of any