It’s Thursday evening. Darkness falls on a Middle Eastern city and a group of men gather around a table. Some men want answers, others want power, others conceal their furtive motives and plans, and still others resign to die. Tonight is different. In the past, their times of feasting were filled with so much laughter…
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It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
Fresh ideas energize a church. I’m no church historian but somewhere along the line someone said: “Hey! Why don’t we meet on Wednesday night?” “For what?” “To kind of give ourselves a midweek shot in the arm.” “We could pray for the sick, discuss church business and have youth worship with fog machines in the…
Some Candidates Remind Me of Church Members
This has been a difficult political season for America to say the least. Campaign presentations are louder, angrier and crazier than this country has ever experienced. However, I hear a faint whisper in my head that says “I’ve seen these people before.” Most pastors have. Who would these candidates resemble if they joined the church?…
Jehu: A Character Study
Jehu storms his way through 2 Kings 9 and 10 with fury and reckless abandon. He stands in history as one who did God’s will but with dangerous and ungodly means. The story illustrates God’s disdain of evil and idol worship when it ravages God’s people. In verse 20 we see that Jehu had a…
40 Things to Pray when Your child is Heading Back to School
Father God, would you…. Strengthen my kids’ resolve to follow You. Protect them from worldviews that will challenge their faith. Allow my children to be influenced by godly men and women within our school. Protect my student from bullies and others that would shame and destroy self-confidence and joy. Make my child bold and…
The Belly of the Beast
Everybody ends up in the belly of the beast. There are few exceptions from the greatest to the least. You stumble into quicksand. You’re weary of the world. Lies wreck your reputation. Insults, viciously, are hurled. Addiction lies in dormancy then rears it’s ugly head. Depression sinks in slowly, Like the whispers of the dead….
Sorrow: Day 13 of 39 Days
Man of sorrows what a name for the Son of God, who came. Phillip Bliss I may not know you, but I know something about you. You’ve learned so much more about life through failure, suffering and pain than you have through pleasure and success. Your sorrow is intimacy and the people all around you, with…
To Be Known
There is so much more to YouThe ways of mystery and hiddennessThe pain of testing like the threshing of the wheat.The crowning of each day with the setting sunThe movement of the windThe waves of seaAnd yet the greatest joy of my lifeWorthless as I so often amis this:You know me Every part of me…
Barabbas
Can you believe it? I’m free! After months of chains, the stench of the prison, the hopelessness of my existence—I’m free! I waited for the guards to call my name and to lead me to the Place of the Skull. They arrested me, chained me, and sentenced me to die. I heard the crowds scream…
I Wrestle NOT
I have a confession to make. Love really hurts these days. It all began when my 14 year old got MMA lessons for his birthday. Often I come through the door of the house and somewhere lurking in the shadows is a 140 pound guy with the body fat of a coat hanger who will…