Blog
Over the last several decades, Jan and I have done quite a bit of traveling. We have traveled to 50 nations in total. Most of our travel was for ministry assignments. During that level of travel, we learned something important about preparing to travel. We packed two...
The photos of our wedding day have faded over time, but not the love God has given to us. It increases with each passing day. Today, we celebrate 52 years as husband and wife. We didn’t get here by being perfect by any measure. We got this far by the spirit of...
When we read the Old Testament, we need to read it with an understanding of the completed work of Jesus. All the ancient Scriptures point to Jesus. These books have been given to us to appreciate the depths of Jesus' sacrifice. Without that understanding, our faith...
Those living off the fat of personal gain at the expense of those they are assigned to sacrificially lead will eventually be challenged by God. The Lord will raise truth-tellers who will thrust truth into the gut of these abusers to set His people free from their...
Integrity in all its forms, whether it is spiritual, sexual, or financial integrity creates a protective layer. It keeps us from selling our souls to the highest bidder or being blackmailed into silence when we should speak the truth in love. The stage where our...
Every life has spiritual boundaries. The Lord sets these boundaries. They are not limitations; they are definitions where our spiritual authority functions best in concert with God’s empowerment. To not know the boundary of our Kingdom assignment will cause us to...
A faithful wife is a gift from God. A spiritually faithful wife is an even greater gift. Jan has always been faithful to never let me self-describe myself as anyone less than the man God created me to be. Whenever I allow myself to think less of myself, Jan will say,...
Our faith can be reduced to a point where we no longer expect God to do something amazing in the cosmos that would dramatically change our world. We can accept dogmatic interpretations of the end of time that remove the possibility of cosmos-shifting events occurring...
I saw a news clip where reporters were all declaring the same phrase. It started with one reporter appearing on the screen, then a second one appeared followed by more reporters until the screen became a concert of images all saying the same prepared line. There was a...
The life of each believer is marked by the blood of Jesus Christ. When evil passes our way, His blood covering becomes our shield of protection. Of all the things that cause the devil concern, the blood of Jesus Christ is at the top of his list. The blood marks us as...
Of all the gifts God gives to us, intimacy with Him is the greatest gift of all. From an intimate face-to-face relationship with the Lord, everything else that matters in our life will flow. The very short yet profound last chapter of Exodus notes the last days of the...
For twenty-plus years, I’ve walked the trails above our home. Last week something unexpected happened. As I walked along, I glanced uphill and saw an old, abandoned plow. It was out of my normal line of sight and could easily be missed. A plow sitting in the middle of...
Recently, I wrote something that I was led to delete. My most trusted advisor, my wife Jan, helped me come to that decision. Her comment, “What you wrote doesn’t fully represent the love of God”, is what caused me to delete the article. When Jan first brought this to...
When God calls us to obedience, He offers both the blessings of our obedience and the consequences of our disobedience. The determining factor is our willingness to obey His voice. Moses detailed for Israel the blessings that would visit the nation if they remained...
I know Anna married the right man when he added 16 ribeye steaks to the Thanksgiving meal, along with the turkey I cooked. Wasn't a vegan in the group. Thanks, Jared.