Blog
In God’s Kingdom, the innocent pay for the guilty. Only then is restoration possible. Jesus modeled this for us when He offered Himself on the Cross on our behalf. One of the most beautiful and powerful stories of reconciliation occurred between Esau and Jacob. Esau...
When we have been cheated and abused, the Lord has a plan to release us from our suffering by redeeming the pain we have experienced. It may take longer than we thought to reach a final resolution, but the waiting is worth the outcome. One of the most dishonoring...
We can too easily forget the magnitude and breadth of our faith. None of us are insignificant. We are part of a long history of relationships with God, first established with Abraham and continuing to the present. That relationship revealed its fullness in the person...
Our journey of faith is accomplished in stages. It is not a process of continual motion following a detailed road map. There are seasons when we have to stop and wait for a fresh word of direction from the Lord. These stages are where our faith deepens. In Scripture,...
The level of intimacy and spiritual accountability modeled by the Early Church and within Scripture cannot be attained by simply attending a single Sunday morning gathering. This can only happen in smaller settings of relationship where we look at each in the eye over...
This morning, I began to hear in my mind the soundtrack from the Sound of Music. It took me back to those times when Jan and I would visit Salzburg, Austria. On our visit, we toured the von Trapp family estate and saw firsthand the magical setting of the movie as we...
There are some negative moods that are shifted by simply enjoying good food with good friends. I’ve had negative attitudes adjusted over a plate of biscuits and gravy or a rack of baby back ribs in the presence of faithful friends. Life is best lived in the company of...
I was asked by someone “What is your dream?” I responded, “I am living my dream.” My response caused my inquirer to pause, not knowing how to craft a follow-up question. I responded in the pause by saying, “I am in a place in my life not of my own making, but God’s...
On our morning walk, Jan and I processed the subject of financial blessing and sharing. We have come to realize that a portion of each unexpected gift God gives us has another destination in mind. We are not the terminal point of the blessing. In sharing, we multiple...
A spirit of suspicion is working overtime to divide the Church. In the last 18 months, I have had people I’ve known for years doubt my integrity and motives simply because I view a particular aspect of God’s Kingdom from a slightly different perspective. When this...
A friend of mine is a scientist by training. He is a measured man who sees life from a unique scientific perspective. He evaluates available evidence to come to his conclusions. Something happened to him and his young family this week that affirmed his ability to...
This last week, I had a variety of conversations centering around the ministry of a pastor. Having spent 35 years as a pastor, even though it was not my primary gifting, I learned a few things about the role. When it comes to processing the word “pastor”, I have come...
Growing up, when my parents had adult conversations, I would occasionally hear them make comments that didn’t register with my young mind. As I grew up and matured some of those colloquialisms were finally understood and made sense. One such comment was, “They were...
When a religious spirit attempts to control the message of salvation it makes the message complicated. Additions, qualifications, and hoops to jump through are added to the Gospel to make it as difficult as possible for people to experience the love of God. Years ago,...
Throughout the day, I record brief thoughts and impressions on my iPhone. I capture them for future use for writing or teaching. This morning, I went through 27 of those recordings and deleted them all. I deleted them because they sounded good at the moment, but...