Blog
When the Lord created us, He placed in our hearts an instinct to know what is right or wrong. Paul wrote about people who live a life in violation of God’s original creation, he described them this way, “They began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a...
There will be times when some of those who we thought would support us, will turn their backs on us. One day we are loved and supported and the next day we are held at arms distance and rejected. Some of those attacks will go further than just a disagreement. People...
Insidious is an interesting word. It has been defined as creating a gradual and cumulative negative effect. This gradual change prepares us for attack by building upon a series of deceptions that will lead us to a harmful end. Insidious is formed by two words. The...
Because of time and distance from historic events, we tend to sanitize our interpretation of what happened. The massive sacrifices that took place in the Old Testament are such events. They were a bloody mess. During the temple dedication, Solomon had 22,000...
Only those who know the joy of Huy Fong Sriracha sauce will understand the agony of an empty bottle. It’s like a spicy manna from Heaven. For the last year, it has been out of production awaiting the arrival of its special peppers to begin the production of its...
We all walk through life in a bubble. We define reality by what we see taking place within our limited personal understanding. When our bubble finally pops, it will reveal a much larger world we did not know existed. The puncture of our bubble of assumptions takes...
This morning while reading the word, an image appeared in my spirit of a hand reaching over a fence and dropping a note. The fence separated the present from the future. The note was a promise from God assigned to a time and place of future fulfillment. The fence...
When your daughter honors her parents on their 50th anniversary. It messes with one's emotions. https://www.facebook.com/1442665059/videos/2707469992737958/
It would be a surprise to denominational leaders what some of their pastors believe and, in some cases, no longer believe. That same surprise would occur for local pastors regarding some of their staff members or for their congregants who assumed their friends...
Jan and I were invited to a conference where I was one of the speakers. The conference host put us up in a beautiful Airbnb with a swimming pool. After a long day of meetings, I wanted to unwind. I donned my swimsuit and grabbed a towel and headed to the pool. The...
When we are surrounded by the enemies of truth and it seems that evil alliances are ruling the day, it is too easy to forget our most important weapon in spiritual warfare – worship. Worship can become just another item on our spiritual checklist reducing worship to a...
Twice, I have seen the image of a great ship at a dock with its mooring lines unattached. The vessel represented the United States. Over time, the mooring lines had been cast off through deception and delusion leaving the vessel vulnerable. Our ship of state has...
I love to find profound verses tucked away in obscure biblical narratives that cut to the chase of our faith. That is one reason I read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Those verses are gems of truth and words of encouragement waiting to be discovered. Here is...
Our native gifts and talent are overrated, especially when it comes to leadership. God chooses leaders because of their hearts, not their style, image, or earthly accomplishments. The epitaph of a leader’s life will be written with the pen of the love they had for...
In southern Oregon, the smoke from several large fires burning in northern California has filled our valley. The smoke has created hazardous conditions for people’s health. It is so bad we are being advised to remain indoors with the windows closed. A report was just...