Blog
My wife, Jan, inherited the DNA of her father. He was a missionary who built churches and seminaries in Central America. Jan is a very feminine woman – a woman who caught my eye and captured my heart over 50 years ago. There are some Christmases when Jan would prefer...
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...
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.
One of the greatest enemies of our faith in a moment of conflict is panic. Whether you just received a surprise announcement of a divorce or got a notice of the loss of your job or any unexpected event that alters your life profoundly, each one initially produces the...
Last night, the Lord told me when I woke up this morning that I was to begin thanking Him for the people in my life. I thought it would be one of those quick offerings of thanksgiving for my immediate family and close friends, but God had another plan. Without...
For the last few days, a team of workers has been clearing the forest above our home of dead trees and debris. When a forest fire ignites and advances, it’s the dead wood that creates an overly destructive fire threatening nearby homes. The workers are stacking the...
Death is a personality not a vague and widespread expression of the presence of evil. We cannot fight against Death without being specific regarding the existence of his personality and mission. The Book of Revelation assigns a capital letter to denote Death as an...