Blog
Someone once said, “He who spares the wolf sacrifices the sheep.” My pastor, Roy Hicks, Jr., who pastored Faith Center in Eugene, Oregon, told a group of us young pastors-to-be, “You don’t try to convert wolves -you shoot them.” Roy wasn’t talking about actually...
Jan just completed Volume 5 of her 5-book series of Blessings from the Prophet Isaiah. This completed work has been an 8-year journey for Jan. She studied Isaiah's prophecies in depth and then created from those prophecies her five books of blessings. I call this...
Some of you do not have a prominent place in God’s Kingdom by human standards or measurement. You did not stand behind a pulpit or get asked to speak somewhere. You never wrote a book, published a blog, or sat for an interview to tap your wisdom. Instead, you have...
I’ve watched videos of people wanting to summit Mount Everest. These explorers attempting to summit such an extreme attitude relied on sherpas to carry the weight of the equipment they needed to make these ascents. Sherpas offered advice, prepared the trail, and...
Flying through the cloudy conditions of life when all the measurements we use to show us the way forward are no longer functioning reminds me of when I lost all electrical power in an aircraft I was flying. I was flying in instrument conditions when my instrument...
No matter how well-informed one might appear, the New Year and all the events that transpire within its borders are still unknown. I am sensing that 2024 will provide more surprises than it will security. Our trust in God will be our best ally when surprising and...
On several occasions when a topic causes people concern, I’ve heard people too quickly toss out the dismissive label, “Fear sells.” At that point, they ask their listeners to relegate the issue to the sidelines and move on with life unconcerned. We should never be led...
I’ve been reading through the book of Jeremiah. It has been a depressing read even though an occasional nugget of hope will appear in its pages. Chapter after chapter we see Israel disobeying God and the Lord sending foreign troops to overcome them. I was exhausted by...
On the side of our property is an old fence. It’s at least 40 years old, maybe older. A vine was planted along the fence years ago and has since grown up and outside the original supporting structure of a trellis nailed to the fence. Over the years, the vine grew and...
There’s a fine balance between making known the spiritual gifts we use to serve the Church and self-promotion. This is not just for pastors and prophets. This is a check of our integrity that applies to all of us in every setting of life. I’ve stopped following some...
As 2024 approaches and our nation processes yet another election cycle, our faith must be built upon the victory of the Cross of Christ, not on the dangling bits of false hope offered to us by a change in government. Pursuing the latter as our primary goal will lead...
Recently, I found out there are morgues on cruise ships. I never thought people would die on a cruise, but when you have thousands of people comprising the population of a small town, the odds are someone will die along the way. It reminded me of some of our...
Over the years, I’ve preached about the potter’s wheel in Jeremiah 18. When I preached the story, I stopped short of the other events in that chapter. I wanted to portray a word of hope. But there is more to the story than just a pot being reformed. It was the events...
It was almost 50 years ago when the Lord told me to stop reading the daily horoscope in our local newspaper. It wasn’t like I followed any advice offered. I was just curious. In all the years since I was given that instruction, I haven’t read another horoscope....
Every morning, I sit in my writing chair reading Scripture, remembering Jesus in communion, and praying. During that time, I am both looking and listening in the Spirit to see and hear a confirmation of His faithfulness. He reminds me in new ways of who He is for me,...