It’s a Wonderful Life
Who will ever forget the film classic, It’s a Wondeful Life starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed? Jimmy played a character named George Bailey who simply had taken all he could of life. But, when he found a hasty wish had come true, he discovered what life would truly be like had he never been
They Come for the Show but Refuse to Grow
American evangelical Sunday evening attendance has collapsed, Sunday school is in total meltdown, even our latest discipleship effort — homes groups — are now in a tailspin. But morning worship attendance is still doing quite well, thank you, especially in big churches. In the last ten years these other meetings have languished, but we’ve given
Are You Usable? (Part 2)
It seems we think God blesses just because people like it. We have confused popularity with power. We’ve confused the applause of men with the approval of heaven. We are being used, but by who? How can we be used by God when we have nothing more than feel-good theology that demands nothing of us.
James: The Glory of Suffering (Part 1)
Let’s focus our thinking on a man who does not get very much attention among most Christians—the Apostle James. We have looked at the Transfiguration through the eyes of John, who emphasized the glory of the Son. And we have looked at the Transfiguration through the eyes of Peter. He saw the glory of the
Landmark Lives
No matter where you travel around the world, historic events have been preserved in special places by the erection of some type of landmark. Whether it is a granite stone or an engraved steel plate, we can easily visit the location of a famous war, the birthplace of a prominent person, or the site of
The Infrastructure Back Door
A year ago I was a cyber-unregenerate. I was satisfied with a rattle trap 286, DOS, and my old dot matrix printer. I considered modems a toy. But my friend Dan kept ‘witnessing’ to me. He described the joys of the on-line world, told how it enriched his life and ministry, and warned me of
Peter: The Glory of the Scriptures Part 2
Why do we need the written Word of God? For several reasons. Peter wrote, in effect: “One of these days I am going to put off my tabernacle—I’m going to die. One of these days I won’t be able to minister to you anymore. Therefore, I am going to write you a letter so you
His Heart’s Desires
After I safely secured my son in his carseat, we headed out for “boys night out.” He had no idea where we were going or what we were doing, but he knew it was supposed to be a night filled with fun and excitement. An hour into the drive, my son asked, “Dad, where’s the
On Listening to Our Critics
It is a lot easier to criticize than to be criticized. Most of us think it is bad for people under us to criticize, but we think the people over us deserve a bit of it. In the local church, we see ourselves as Moses, and our critics as the grumbling people (Numbers 21). But
Are You Usable? Part 2
It seems we think God blesses just because people like it. We have confused popularity with power. We’ve confused the applause of men with the approval of heaven. We are being used, but by who? How can we be used by God when we have nothing more than feel-good theology that demands nothing of us.
Peter: The Glory OF The Scriptures Part 1
In the first chapter we looked at the Transfiguration through the eyes of the Apostle John, and we discovered that John emphasized the glory of the Son. What did Peter emphasize? Second Peter 1:12-21 says, “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and
Soaring on Eagle’s Wings
Every year when autumn arrives, millions of monarch butterflies begin their lengthy migration from southern Canada and northern United States to spend the winter under the protection of the pine forests in central Mexico. As they migrate to such extensive distances, the butterflies will encounter numerous extreme challenges in their survival. For over three months,