Blog
Yesterday, I was preaching in Portland, Oregon – a city that has been in the national news of late. Early in the morning, my sermon was ready, so I spent time in prayer about the service. It was during that time of prayer that the Lord gave me a prophetic word to...
It’s interesting how far our personal history extends into the past, and how far into the future it will be revealed. Yesterday, Jan and I were driving on I-5 in Oregon when we stopped at a rest stop north of Woodburn, Oregon. When I got out of our truck, I parked in...
I was driving my truck through town last week and noticed a vehicle in front of me being towed away. At the stoplight, I took a photo of the car. What caught my attention was the bumper sticker attached to the vehicle – "Please be Patient. Student driver." A student...
Reading the Old Testament prophets can scare some people. They read the harsh treatment of God upon the rebellion of His people and miss the point that before God’s harshness was displayed the people had plenty of opportunity to repent. They confuse God’s judgment...
I read a phrase that connected me to a time in my past life. I first heard the phrase when I became a cop. The phrase is “Old School.” It can refer to old timers in any field of endeavor who have been there and done that. The phrase and its meaning stirred my memories...
Over the years, I've had people who were personally connected to me walk away from our relationship without offering any explanation for their departure. After repeated attempts to reach out and make things right, I was never given a response. In the process of our...
Where Jan and I live, we have four ways to leave our neighborhood. Each exit leads to a different way out of town. We don’t live on a dead-end street or within the confines of a cul-de-sac. The way of escape, should we need to do so, is open with several options...
For those who love the Church and want to see her prosper, it’s important to understand the conditions in which people live. To ignore those realities will remove the power of the Gospel to overcome those issues and suffering they create. The Gospel is meant to be...
Our home was built 80 years ago. We still have the original wood floors. When we moved into our home 22 years ago, we discovered that someone had painted over the wood floors. After we moved in, Jan and I spent a couple of weeks removing the paint to expose a...
As the election cycle ramps up in America, and as turmoil in leadership within the Church becomes visible, we all need a dose of spiritual sanity and clarity to hold the course of our faith. That sanity and clarity will resemble the last words of King David who knew...
There is no spiritual giant that can stand before us and overcome our faith if we are trusting in God. While the confrontation with Goliath made David famous in Israel, it was not the end of giants living in the land. The remnants of this race of giants, descendants...
As I walked through the historic pioneer cemetery in our town, I noticed a small placard resting at the base of a large tree. The placard was only a few inches in size. I walked over to the tree and read the notes on the placard. It was about a man named Samuel B....
I visited the USSR just months before it fell apart in 1991. The delusions presented by the ideals of Communism to keep its delusionary ideas afloat dissolved and finally dismantled the nation. Nothing lives forever if delusion is the foundation. Today, we have...
This morning, something unique happened. As I was praying and taking communion, I began to sing some old worship choruses. After I sang several choruses, I tried to sing one song whose lyrics escaped me. Normally, I would just move on to the next song lodged in my...
No matter how imposing a spiritual obstacle might appear, there is always an access point through which God will move to express His will. Discovering that point is strategic. Scripture talks of a city called Jebus where the Canaanite tribe, the Jebusites, lived. The...