February 2015 Blog Posts (15)

I grew up believing the maxim, “If you waste a minute, you’ll never get it back.” No wonder I have tendencies to be a workaholic, struggling to have days off, take regular vacations, or even enjoy a lazy, unproductive evening.

Although I’ve made some progress in reversing this mindset in recent years, the whole issue got triggered again when I called a friend recently and asked him what he was doing. “Oh, I’m just killing time tonight,” he said.

Killing time? I…

“To be ‘on edge,’ you are literally not centered — not being in your spiritual center.”  (Carrie Latet)

When life gets confusing, Christ is our personal Tour Guide.  If we trust and obey the Lord, He will accompany us on our wilderness journey to the promised land. Christ is our Comforter, Coach, Guide, Defense Counsel, and Teacher. He is right beside us—praying, cheering, advising, forgiving, and instructing. If we yearn for Christ to be more real to us,…

Seventy years ago today, 33-year-old Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal, having being rejected from serving in the Army due to poor eyesight, took a photograph that would become widely recognized and reproduced. The image records U.S. Marines and a Navy corpsman raising an American flag atop Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, site of the only Marine battle where the American casualties, 26,000, exceeded the Japanese. Not surprisingly, today’s USA Today headline describes this war…

“I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.” – Abraham Lincoln, U.S. president from 1861 to 1865

President Lincoln’s statement prompts us to reflect on several dimensions of the truth about progress.

Walking forward is the best course. Our Creator made us in such a way that walking backward is awkward. Physically, it’s challenging. Emotionally, it’s counterproductive. Spiritually, it’s discouraging. Our bodies can trip if we attempt this.…

I’ll never forget the day I met James “Buster” Douglas for the first time. His fiancé, Bertha, worked for my dad and me in our law office in Columbus, Ohio, and he came straight from the gym to visit her.

Bertha was clearly in love with this guy, and I could see why. He had a great smile and personality, and his highly toned body soared to 6’4”.

But when I later asked her what kind of work her fiancé did, I couldn’t help but laugh at her response. “Oh, he’s a boxer,” she said…

I really like the concept of miracles. As a writer for a Christian ministry, I find myself regularly penning articles and books about God’s desire to give “supernatural breakthroughs” to His people in their health, finances, emotions, and relationships.

It’s not entirely hype. I’ve seen breakthroughs like that, and they are awesome. We desperately need to see more of God’s supernatural power manifested in the American church today.

However, like almost any Biblical…

If you aren't on my email list or a friend on Facebook, you wouldn't know that I have been posting a FREE series of prayer training videos online. In response to a comment last night, I posted the following manifesto on Facebook...

 

MY PRAYER MENTOR MANIFESTO--

For the life of me I can't find it, but on one of my video prayer posts someone commented, "Prayer is just talking to God. Don't over complicate it."

 

I absolutely agree that prayer can be just…

Dear fellow laborers,



We are very impressed with a 9 week series produced by OneHope. (The "Book of Hope" Cru Inner City Jacksonville Ministry uses for Boxes of Love, Easter Bags, Power Packs are produced by them).



This series is directed toward at-risk youth, using high quality video, rap, spoken word and lesson plans. Here is the video promo:  …

We’ve all done some moon-gazing—charmed by the beauty of this object reflecting light from the distant sun. At times we may have wondered what the “dark side” of the moon looks like. Now, thanks to a recently-released NASA animated video, we can get a glimpse of the other side. There are faith implications to consider. Read “A View from the Other Side” on my blog at…

In a group meeting we were discussing the negative features of a recent experience. One member blurted out, “It was a God thing!” When reminded of still other negative features, the self-appointed super-saint insisted, “Everything is a God thing!” I am aware of God’s sovereignty, omniscience, omnipresence, and even the fact that it can be a God thing in the midst of multiple negative features, but “everything” is not a God thing. My first question would be, why did Paul label Satan, “the…

It’s beautiful, but also exasperating, that the Bible often points out two seemingly opposite and contradictory sides of a subject. For example, Jesus is both God and man, a paradox that is hard, if not impossible, for us to fully grasp.

And have you ever studied the issue of “eternal security”? If so, you’ve found verses that seem to state the absolute impossibility of losing your salvation (e.g., John 10:28-29, Romans 8:31-39, Philippians 1:6), while other passages warn about…

With the approaching of Valentine’s Day, I found myself Googling “The Greatest Love Songs of All Time.” Wow. Pretty interesting list.

Many of the “secular” love songs could be described as mushy…overly sentimental…even corny. And some of your favorite songs probably didn’t make the list (sorry, but Kenny Chesney’s “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” was overlooked).

One of the striking things about the tabulation of great love songs is that often they’re just a dim reflection of the…

Is there a disciple-making crisis in the world today?

No doubt. It is well acknowledged that the global Christian movement is not really making disciples as we should, regardless of where we are in the world. Here in the U.S. we can look at the decline of the American Church over the past twenty years, with a doubling of the “Nones”[i] and know that something is not right about how we have been making disciples or even if we have. That was the…

“Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars, but remember to keep your feet on the ground.” (President Theodore Roosevelt)

Private quiet time with God in rarefied spiritual heights is enjoyable. In fact, His company may be so sweet we consider constructing a shrine to revisit now and then; we may even feel we’d like to permanently move to our mountainside retreat. To escape the world’s polluted atmosphere and breathe pure…

Even on this dreary Groundhog Day, with multiple bad news headlines, hope hears the melody of the future and faith dances for joy. Read “Mizzle and Music” on my blog at http://GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized.com/