Blog
The early church faced the same issues and schisms over false teachings that we face today. Fragile churches are left damaged and heartbroken. The Apostle John wrote his letters to bring the church back to clarity of faith and unity. He writes that the whole...
Make a place for wonder and mystery to always be present in your life and ministry. If you pastor a church, grow a family, or develop a business plan, there will be times when you find yourself falling into ruts of predictability. When you realize you have slipped...
Our global civilization is in an epoch cycle of change. This cycle of change will test the things we know and believe. Human solutions will fail with ever-increasing frequency because earthbound realities will not meet the needs of desperate people living in desperate...
Continuing on from my previous post about a Gospel of grace, Paul wrote a warning to the churches in central Turkey. Speaking with apostolic authority, he pronounces judgment on Jewish preachers who were perverting the Gospel of grace. They were mingling grace with...
It’s not pleasant to buck an evil world system that also includes a religious system, It is uncomfortable to face the mixture of half-truths that have infiltrated and compromised the Church by that same system. It’s not easy to face our own propensity to live from our...
At this time in my life, I am struck even more by this writing of Paul’s: “As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has...
I’ve never wanted to be prideful. Yet, I laugh because even that desire hides a point of pride. In fact, I’m full of it! And I am grateful when the Lord points out all the many facets. Here is a big one. I never want to be or appear to be weak. I’m the protector of my...
I’ve been thinking of new ways to appreciate, expect, and desire the Holy Spirit’s warnings and corrections. I’m well aware of how easy it is to try to escape the discomfort it brings. I have been praying for years to have and keep a teachable heart. In 1980, at a...
This morning, I turned on some quiet instrumental worship music. I listened and waited. Then I was impressed to say, “Lord, I love you above all things.” I began reciting a list of people and situations. I love you above my family and friends. I love you above the...
The Old Covenant ended, and the New Covenant began with the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God. Rather than a repeated yearly ritual, reconciliation on this side of the cross is a finished work we receive. God’s mercy seat isn’t in a tabernacle. The mercy...
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). On the other hand, those who do not know God are blind and deaf because they are not alive spiritually. Paul described it as a veil...
Of late, I have seen well-rehearsed heresy hunters broadcasting their evidence on social media. It’s nothing new in Church history. At times, it can resemble a public burning at the stake for the offenders. A few days ago, I wrote about a house church in Corinth that...
When I was a young pastor, another pastor more experienced than I told me that one of the most concise representations of our faith is found in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians. The importance of Christ’s resurrection is mentioned at great length in these verses. Paul...
When I read Paul’s description of the Corinthian church, it’s similar to what we see in the Western church today. The Corinthians boasted about their spirituality, but lacked a demonstration of what it meant to be consecrated—set apart to God. The leadership had...
I got saved when I was 8 years old. But it wasn’t until age 29 that I allowed Jesus to become my Lord. I knew that to be saved was a complete work, but it also meant I had entered a process of being saved from the things that stood in the way of my knowing...