Blog
This morning, I was reading the last chapters of John where the crucifixion of Jesus was described. The Lord had been arrested like a common criminal after Pilate yielded to the demands of an angry religious mob and nailed Jesus to a Cross. Jesus was mocked, beaten,...
We all deny the Lord in different ways. The worst kind of denial comes when we are overconfident in our faith, relying more on our strength than on the Spirit. This is what happened to Peter when he denied the Lord three times. The setting for Peter’s denial is...
We don’t like to consider the fact that the world hates us because we believe in Jesus, but it does. Jesus said the world would hate the message of His salvation and those who carry it. This sounds very strident to our tenderized ears, but it’s true. When Jesus told...
This afternoon the sun came out and passed through my truck window to warm my face in the middle of a cold winter day. As soon as I felt the warm sun rays, Bob Marley’s reggae song, Jammin’, came on the radio. In a moment of memory, I was transported back to Kingston,...
“You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end” (Matthew 24:6). An unholy alliance of nations is forming, a...
Before you change the course of your life, be careful to rightly discern the direction the relational and spiritual winds are blowing. Some of the first indicators of a positive way forward might not be telling you the whole truth. Paul was being transported as a...
The most dangerous enemy is never the most obvious. He plays the long game. Over time, this kind of enemy will use our naivety, personal compromise, and spiritual blindness to construct his dark plan. The products of this deception are things we would never have...
Our faith can be radicalized negatively in isolation. We need the iron of another person’s honoring critique to sharpen our thinking to make sure we do not become a religious lone wolf armed with misinformation and a distorted understanding of God’s heart. Yesterday,...
If our New Year resolutions are limited to weight loss programs, gym memberships, or planning our next vacation, we may have lost our way as followers of Jesus Christ. Around the world, fellow believers are paying for their faith with blood. In our nation, dark...
Last night in a dream, I was asked to speak at a conference. The church where the conference was being held had been a cutting-edge ministry. The sanctuary reflected what at the time was a very innovative form of architecture but now looked outdated and tired. The...
Women who are pregnant possess a unique beauty. They are carriers of new life and the life they carry illuminates something in their expression only seen during pregnancy. I remember when Jan was pregnant with our children. She has always been a stunning beauty to me,...
A wise mentor once said, “Your authority will never be established until it is challenged.” Over the years, there were times when I wanted so badly to respond in fleshly tones to the challenge but held back my negative response. Through personal failure, I...
When my father passed away 30 years ago, I wanted to keep one of his hats. He was from a generation where if a man went outside, he wore a hat. I remember several years after his passing that I picked up one of his hats and held it to my face. I could still smell a...
In the remaining days of 2019, you will be invited to look back over the events of the last year. Publications and newscasts will have special end-of-year reports. While a review has some merit, God is asking many of us to look ahead into 2020 and see the coming year...
Those who mock you are mocking from a place of personal sorrow. They are not sure they will ever have what you have, so their defensiveness uses mockery as a form of emotional insulation distancing them from their sad reality. Be willing to look past the mockery into...