Blog
When I was a young pastor, another pastor more experienced than I told me that one of the most concise representations of our faith is found in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians. The importance of Christ’s resurrection is mentioned at great length in these verses. Paul...
When I read Paul’s description of the Corinthian church, it’s similar to what we see in the Western church today. The Corinthians boasted about their spirituality, but lacked a demonstration of what it meant to be consecrated—set apart to God. The leadership had...
I got saved when I was 8 years old. But it wasn’t until age 29 that I allowed Jesus to become my Lord. I knew that to be saved was a complete work, but it also meant I had entered a process of being saved from the things that stood in the way of my knowing...
As another Easter comes and goes, and they seem to roll by faster as we grow older, I have felt an increasing receptivity to God’s love. His love was demonstrated for all eternity by the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. The power of that love was mightier than any earthly...
Paul quoted the prophet Isaiah: “As the Scriptures say, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.’ So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of...
Thirty years ago, Jan and I began to pray over our remaining time on Earth. We have prayed that we would end this life having remained faithful to the Lord and to each other. Our hearts greatest desire is that we would finish well. We want to live without bringing...
I can relate to Peter in so many ways. There were two times when Jesus asked Peter to follow Him. The first call was simply, “Follow me.” The second call came after Peter had utterly failed Jesus by denying Him (see John 21:19). The first call brought Peter into...
Over the last few decades, there has been an increased focus on defining ministry/leadership gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially the gift of prophet and apostle. These gifts are meant to be used in all walks of life, in every sphere, not just at ministerial meetings...
Some of the most intense truths in Scripture are the final words of Jesus to His disciples after the Last Supper. His words were spoken in recognition of a world that rejects the truth and persecutes those who follow Him. We want to get along with all people, but a...
I was hiking a trail on the hills above our home when I came across a rare flower in full bloom. The flower was from the lily family of plants called the Gentner’s Fritillaria. This little lily only grows in a microclimate found in Southern Oregon. God was very...
We are familiar with the stunning miracle of the healing of a blind man at the Pool of Bethesda and the Pharisees' negative reaction. The healing of the blind man took place on the Sabbath—a day no one was allowed to “work.” They called his parents in for questioning....
In every generation, something is revealed that seems to scorch the reputation of God’s people. Betrayals, lust, and greed are nothing new to Him, but they still surprise us. We are often unaware of our heart’s true condition. These exposures of sin remind me of what...
We don’t fully understand what God says or does when we don’t have the full picture. Anything beyond what we have personally experienced is naturally questioned and doubted when our human reasoning kicks in. Our natural mind cannot believe or accept it. In fact, our...
On a brief trip, I bumped into someone on a city street I had not seen in many years. For a short time, she had attended one of the churches Jan and I pastored. From her appearance, it seemed the intervening years had been challenging. Immediately after our...
In His sovereignty, God chooses the timing to expose and cleanse what has become corrupted by demonic activity in His people. He will tell us to clear out anything that gives people the wrong impression of who He is and how we should represent Him. He will address the...