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When I read Scripture, I look for repeats. Repetition is something used to drive home a point. Jesus repeated Himself as He taught parables. One set of repetitions had to do with the function of angels at the end of the world. “The Son of Man will send his angels,...
Two unique events took place when Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection. He appeared to His fearful disciples who were shut behind closed doors. Among other words of affirmation, He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins,...
When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples, He gave them instructions on how to express their faith. The Lord said, “I am sending you out as sheep among wolves” (Matthew 10:16). The calling to follow Jesus would not be a faith walk in the park. The Lord did not...
Be careful in the coming days regarding the decisions you make and where you allow those decisions to lead you. What seems obvious can actually be a danger hidden within a false hope. Trust the Spirit, not the practical sounding advice you receive from your...
For the last few months, I have had the desire to dig down through the current level of my faith to find the bedrock of what I believe. Like the geology of the Earth, our faith has layers. Some of us have assumed our current depth of understanding is the final layer –...
Today, I saw the image of a large colorful bounce house. A bounce house is one of those inflatable rubber devices that are brought to life by a motorized air pump. Kids jump and bounce around in them at birthday parties. When I first saw the image, I simply thought it...
I remember the day when, as a 27 year-old undercover cop, I wanted to return to being a street cop with short hair, a visible uniform and a marked patrol unit. Something went down with a crooked cop that forced my hand. My partner and I exposed a criminal...
Growing up our family weekends were times of exploration. We were what some would call outdoorsmen. Hunting and fishing were our primary activities sprinkled with seasons of baseball and football. On one fall weekend my father took my brother and me out into the...
It was on this day, January 1, 1962, that one of the most meaningful days of my life took place. For Christmas week, our family was visiting my uncle’s ranch in McArthur, California. I loved driving to the end of Lewis Road and seeing the ranch each summer for hay...
Some of you feel like a satellite that has been faithfully orbiting a marriage, a business vision or a ministry calling, but you have lost communication with those who sent you on the mission. You feel lost in space. Some of you have given up hope because it has been...
For some of us who use blogs to store and transmit what we write, it is always interesting to see the audience source for our writing. One of the tools used to track readership are the graphs provided that track the number of reads that take place in a given day. Just...
I experienced two significant events 36 years apart that were strangely similar. In 1981, I turned in my badge as a police officer to step into the new role of pastor, a calling to which I had no understanding. Jan and I were rookie church planters traveling to a new...
Each morning, I sit down and ask God if there is something He wants me to write. It is never a challenge to find something to write. What is the challenge is finding something He wants me to write. This morning, I asked that familiar question once again. Immediately,...
Jan and I have experienced 43 Christmas mornings together. After the birth of our two children, we created a Christmas morning family routine that has become a tradition. Jan and I get up early for coffee and Jan’s homemade cinnamon roles, a recipe given to her...
I wonder what the meeting would have been like if Eve, the mother of all humanity, could have met pregnant Mary, the mother of Jesus. I can only imagine the flood of emotion that would overwhelm Eve as she remembered tasting the flavor of forbidden fruit and receiving...