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Words from the Lord are coming that will challenge our assumptions. These words will not challenge the exclusivity of salvation found in Jesus Christ or the historic mission of the Church. They will challenge our assumptions about how the Lord will work as the end of...
When we sell our souls to evil, at some point, the enemy will come to collect our indebtedness to him at the cost of our very souls. “Now there was a man named Naboth, from Jezreel, who owned a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria" (I Kings...
There is a deep spiritual darkness that the natural mind cannot see or define. Isaiah the prophet wrote, “Darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples” (Isaiah 60: 2). There are two different words for darkness used in this verse. The first use is a...
As a young pastor, I listened to a wise older pastor who once said, "Let God be the one who makes a way for you." He was talking about a self-promotion that comes when we feel our calling is not moving along fast enough. In our insecurity, we think we can jumpstart...
Along the ridgeline above me, I saw the remains of an old barbwire fence. Only a few of the posts survived. Those that did were pockmarked with holes the work of decay and weather. On the north-facing side of a solitary post grew a layer of green moss. Tacked to the...
The greatest loneliness is not to be single. It is to be married to someone who does not share the same spiritual oneness with God that you experience. As impossible as it can seem, especially in moments of deep discouragement, never forget that you are already...
When the Lord began to speak to me about the reformation currently taking place, He said it would be a reformation that began with a sound – the sound of truth spoken in love. As I pondered the subject, I watched a video that gave me an image of what this reformation...
I used to wonder why Jesus did not provide clear answers to some of the questions people asked Him in Scripture – questions that seemed divisive in their composition. I think He leaves some things unanswered because it creates a relational tension as we pursue answers...
I read a sad social media interchange between a church leader and the people responding to something he posted. The comment he made appeared flippant and out of tune with God’s heart. I assume it is a comment he now regrets making, maybe not in content but in his...
Once, I was asked by another believer if I would consider a debate. I said, “No.” When asked why I replied, “Because one of us would walk away being considered the winner.” I was pressed further and shared, “When the world looks at the Church I want them to see...
One of the most beautiful things about love is choice. If you remove choice from either side of a relationship it is no longer love. I remember the day I asked Jan to marry me. I asked and she said yes. I offered love and she accepted. I did not take Jan by force...
The old dead oak tree stood on the hill above me, a bark-less memory of another life. This old gray wooden statue held his head high among the young oaks still generations away from the gray of death. They were prospering in the insulated virility of their...
As a young cop, I had to learn about the judicious use of firearms. In my training, there was a term called, “Pray and Spray.” Pray and Spray means that when a threat appears that could cause death or great bodily harm, the undisciplined person will start praying and...
I have stood before the church door in Wittenberg, Germany where Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses five hundred years ago. Luther's act sparked the Protestant Reformation. The Wittenberg Door represents how reformation can begin in the Church with a single act of...
In a television interview today, I said to my interviewer, "Some of those labeled as 'forsaking the assembling' of the Church have not walked away from God. They have simply forsaken the model of the Church we have presented to them." Be careful making flippant...