Blog
Jan and I have commissioned leaders in the Church, graduating students, and those in the business world with this Scripture from Isaiah 11:2 and Revelation 1:4; 4:4-5; 5:6). Jesus Christ is the Spirit-Endowed One. May the sevenfold dimensions of His Spirit be your...
It’s God’s nature to save His people and overthrow His enemies—an action we did nothing to earn or win. His salvation has always been for Israel and the whole world. His love moves Him to make our deliverance His cause. Yesterday, I wrote about those who walked in...
I am writing about people who were betrayed by their political and religious leaders. Internal dissension, civil war, and deterioration had opened a door to self-destruction. To devour one’s brother or sister is to devour oneself. There had been two hundred years of...
From time to time, we need a reminder about how we speak about our leaders. It happened to Paul after his arrest when he declared he was a Roman citizen. An angry mob surrounded Paul and shouted that he was not fit to live. Paul was brought before the high...
I got a year older today. January 1 marks my 76th year. On my 65th birthday, I joked with Jan and said that we had now become old. She shot back and said, “We aren’t old yet!” On my 70th birthday, I asked the same question and received the same response. Last...
I used to hike, doing what is called “bush-wacking.” I hiked for miles across trail-less terrain using a topographical map whose imagery revealed the various elevations of a mountain range and the locations of deep, dead-end canyons. Following that map saved me a lot...
Our faith is a connection with the hope of God found only in Christ. That connection remains secure over time, even when our disappointments and failures make us think it has been severed. This is especially true for the prodigal sons and daughters in our lives...
In the week leading up to the New Year, voices within the Church are prophesying what will happen in 2026. Some of these words are from God. Others are declaring what they hoped would happen and call it prophecy. Paul was speaking to Jews who needed to be convinced...
As a result, Peter was now free to enter the home of Cornelius, a Roman officer, and be used by the Lord to lead Cornelius and his family to the Lord. The vision of the blanket was given to Peter as permission to step over Jewish customs of not entering the home of a...
The Lord is in the process of stripping away the blinding scales from the eyes of His Church. These scales have prevented us from seeing what God sees. One of the most dramatic salvations occurred with Paul, who was known at the time as Saul. “Saul was...
The more advanced our thinking about theology becomes, the simpler our assumptions must become to understand God’s heart. A complicated faith does not work. Over the years, I have reduced my theology to two simple truths – Jesus is the only way to God, and those...
It’s important to think supernaturally. That kind of thinking prepares us to do what God asks of us now and in the future. It also defeats feelings of despair when life is moving and changing so fast that we want to give up in the face of an unimagined acceleration....
It’s never about our power or godliness that miracles occur. It is because of the power and authority of Jesus’ name that miracles happen. One day, when Peter and John went to the Temple, a man crippled from birth begged them for money. Peter said, “I don’t have...
Each Christmas, my father and Jan’s father received a single gift. It was an orange. Nothing more. Just an orange. In the Depression, some kids received no gifts on Christmas. Life was hard in those days. There were no toys or special vacations like we have...
There are two words that indicate the depth and specificity of Jesus’ love in a simple yet profound way. Those words were “including Peter.” Those words were spoken by the angel who waited in the empty tomb after Jesus rose from the dead. Those words were spoken to...