All Blog Posts (1,441)

Albrecht Durer   Praying Hands 

What a day of crushing trouble! What a day of confusion and terror

the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, has brought upon the Valley of Vision!

ISAIAH…

We celebrated the Lord’s Supper at church Sunday. We had not been at church in person for more than a year, and we rejoiced to be there. The pastor began by saying, “Communion is a serious celebration.” I immediately thought of the words, “solemn joy.”

We do not often use those two words together. But they describe a greater intensity of joy than candles on a birthday cake. The closest picture I can think of for this is weeping for…

The Bible will never lead you astray. That is what inerrancy means.  It doesn't mean the Bible is an exact history.

This makes complete Evanlogical sense.

So, why is “inerrancy,” at times, preached arrogantly?…

WHAT?!?!  WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?  SOME KIND OF EVANLOGICAL?

Yes, I’m an Evanlogical.  Before you go all “4^th century” on me, let me share about re-imagining.

Charles Spurgeon is a great theologian.  But, he was just a man.  Jesus also was a man, but not for His whole Lifetime.  There is the…

I walked around in a joyous daze after Jesus raised my brother from the grave. But Jesus knew there was danger there for Him, for all of us. Many people who came to comfort my sister and me after our brother’s death believed in Jesus when they saw what He did. Others went immediately to tell the Pharisees. Jesus took His closest…

David’s throne will be established by love. 

From that throne a faithful king will reign, one who always does what is just and right.

ISAIAH 16:5 NLT

Scripture repeatedly records a resounding promise I intend to keep—

     the King of kings will…

Humans like to be recognized and rewarded for things they have created.  They had the idea for the book, the story, the new invention, the improvement to an existing object, discovering a procedure, cure or vaccine to treat medical illness, etc.

They refer to these creations as “my innovation” or “my book.”  Others refer to them as “produced by” or “written by.” …

                                        The LORD God is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.  

                                                                                      ISAIAH 12:2  NLT 





How can you go on when…

I was standing near the river remembering some good times we had had in this remote setting. We had been here many times before. We had just come from Jerusalem to this place where John first baptized. This week Jesus barely got away from the Chief Priests and the Pharisees. The crowd had picked up rocks to stone Jesus. I thought they had Him for sure. 

Peter broke into my reverie, “Thomas, people seem to have found out where we are. There are not…

I was preaching in a church where I knew no one, not even members of the ministerial staff. No one had contacted me prior to the service to inquire as to my subject or scripture. It so happened that I was preaching on “The Fullness of Joy” from Psalm 16:11 - “In Your presence is fullness of joy.” To my shock, just prior to my sermon, a soloist sang, “Come, Ye Disconsolate.” That is a wonderful old hymn, with lyrics by Thomas Moore, with powerful lines like, “Earth has no sorrow that heaven…

God's people need to learn to fear and hate lies.

We live in days of great deception. Believers need to know how seriously God takes falsehood and deception. We seem to think some little lies are okay. They are not. It no longer seems to be a big deal to post a list of things on social media about a politician or public figure you fear or dislike, some of which you cannot verify.…

Rembrandt  Jesus Calming the Storm 

   The LORD said to me in the strongest terms: “Do not think like everyone else does.

Do not be afraid some plan conceived behind closed doors will be the end of you.

        Do not fear…

"#ReimagineDISCIPLESHIP...as planting the Gospel"…

New comment/quote just added to

"A Rare Prayer for the Church"

on…

There was always great excitement in those early meetings of the church in Jerusalem. The opposition mounted by the leaders of our people and even Roman authorities added to the thrill of gathering in the name of Jesus. Some of us met every day of the week. Our largest gatherings were on Sundays because we did not have to compete with the Sabbath services led by the priests, although many of us still preferred our Sabbath traditions. People began gathering in the…

#ItSeemsToMe...

employing a “Prohibition Era” strategy will never eliminate abortions.

But how much decline could be seen if the 380,000 Christian congregations each mobilized as a #PrayerCareShare movement?

•Prayer~ for people by name and need.

•Care ~ for practical and financial needs.

•Share ~ the invitation of the Gospel to be part God’s compassion…

The LORD himself will choose the sign.  Look!  The virgin will conceive a child!

She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel – “God is with us.”

ISAIAH 7:14 NLT

You are not alone, though you sometimes feel lonely—I am with…