Blog
We are all going to die, so why waste the impending certainty of that event? Death and its inevitability will be ignored by people who fail to grasp the lessons it can provide. As I read Scripture certain verses will get my attention. A particular verse will capture...
I saw a photo that was taken in the 1800s of a family standing in front of their sod house on the prairie. They were working hard trying to make ends meet, but joy and peace were on their faces indicating they had discovered something that wealth, prestige, and...
It is important to know the source from which we speak, either by the Spirit of Truth or from the world's viewpoint. Some in the Church have leaned dangerously close to the latter and are diminishing the message about the distinctiveness of Jesus Christ. John defined...
One of the great challenges we face is the need to always be in control. This need for control can extend into every area of our lives and eventually stifle the deeper works God has planned. When Jan and I lived in Europe, I was invited to speak at a conference....
With every transition in your life, God will give you a word to guide you forward. Waiting for that word is wise. Stepping over the threshold of the doorway into a new season without knowing the content of that word will create confusion and doubt at some point in the...
In 2017, we celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Actually, the Reformation took place in the years that followed Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther had no idea he was starting the Reformation. He was...
Today, December 31, would have been my dog’s 15th birthday. Abby died Thanksgiving weekend. I have missed her so much in the last month. A few minutes ago, a most beautiful and amazing thing happened to me. When I opened my iPhone calendar to check any...
The most significant message delivered in a prophetic word is hope, not a prediction or the revelation of a previously unknown fact. We seem to rate the ability to declare hidden things like dates, names and what might happen in the future as more significant. While...
This morning, just a bit after 4:00 am, I drove my daughter, Anna, to the airport to catch a flight that would take her to Mexico. Her travels will end with a ride in a converted fishing boat from Puerto Vallarta to the remote village of Yelapa, Mexico. In Yelapa,...
The last few days of a year, just before the coming New Year, can be a depressing and stress-filled time for some people. This feeling of anxiety comes because compression is taking place. All of the unresolved, unfulfilled and unhealthy things that walked with us...
The term, “cut and dried”, is a term first used to describe an herbalist cutting and drying herbs and then packaging them for sale. It was also used to describe the process of cutting, drying and bailing grass into hay bales as a final product. The term has come to...
In the last few days, we have set a lot of timers in our home. Timers were set to bake pies. I set one to check the Christmas prime rib smoking on our Traeger barbeque. A timer was set for the rising dough for Jan’s crazy-good holiday cinnamon rolls. Our house was a...
A full life is not one where each moment is always occupied with something to do or experience. Fullness is the result of a rest produced by a willingness to choose peace over strife, hope over despair. Rest is the evidence of a life of fullness.
When I traveled to Russia, I came home with gifts for my family. On Arbat Street in Moscow, I purchased a matryoshka doll, also known as a nesting or stacking doll. These dolls are cylindrical wooden containers with the picture of a person painted on their surface....
When I was a little boy, I would awaken each Christmas morning and for just a moment, not realize it was Christmas. In that pause, I thought it was just another day until my young mind kicked into gear. When the realization - THIS IS CHRISTMAS MORNING! - finally hit...