March 2017 Blog Posts (11)

 I spent my pre-college, teen-age years living in the city of Houston, Texas. My small-town parents worried constantly for my safety and sanity in the big city. Thus they set boundary lines for me. There were certain parts of the city where I was not allowed, and certain places that were off-limits to me. As the son of a Southern Baptist pastor, you can imagine where some of those places were. But I survived and to this day have wonderful (although…

Practicing the Presence of God

The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”

Judges 6:12 NLT

I am Immanuel, God with you—My Presence cheers you…

Recently I was praying with a friend who was struggling to find God’s direction for his life. As we prayed, I vividly remembered the Bible’s account of how the magi temporarily lost sight of the star that had started them on their journey:

Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right…

How can we make and grow disciples - all the way from harvest fields to full maturity in Jesus? And how can we do that in the content of a larger community, ensuring that people are not isolated from one another but moving forward together on their spiritual journeys?

How can we do that in a way that relies on…

Elijah has always been one of my favorite Bible characters, and I’m particularly intrigued by the chapter where he fights deep depression (1 Kings 19). The mighty prophet had witnessed amazing answers to prayer, stopping the rain for years before starting it again. He had multiplied a widow’s meager supply of food and raised her son from the dead. And for good measure, he called down fire from heaven and slayed the false prophets of Baal.

Huge victories, to say the least. Impressive…

D-Day

Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get ready!

Today the Lord will give you victory over Sisera, for the Lord is marching ahead of you.”…

The Difference of One

By Pastor Johnny R. Almond

Shamgar son of Anath rescued Israel. He killed six hundred Philistines with an ox goad.

Judges 3:31 NLT

Ask your neighbors…

I had never given much thought to the issue of “sustainability” until my daughter entered the master’s program in Urban Planning at the University of California Irvine. Abbie helped me see that while some activities appear to work satisfactorily in the short term, they cannot be successfully sustained down the road.

Perhaps you think of sustainability mostly in terms of environmental issues, but I’ve come to realize the wisdom of applying the sustainability question to just about…

Stress often gets a bad rap. It’s not always bad. Our goal should certainly not be a “stress-free” life, for that kind of existence would be extremely boring and unproductive.

Just as a guitar string needs some “stress” in order to be in proper tune, so do we. If you strum a guitar string that is too tight, it’s liable to snap. But the same is true if the string is too loose. Whether too tight or too loose, if the string is out of tune it becomes more vulnerable to damage.

Of…

Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, who saved them from those who plundered them.

Judges 2:16 MLB

Gaze into the mirror of My Word—and see yourself there. Like My people Israel, you go round and round in the vicious circle of obedience, rebellion, heartbreak,…

I have an exceptional ability to juggle lots of balls at the same time. I don’t mean literal balls. My hand-and-eye coordination isn’t good enough for that. But, better than most people, I’m able to successfully juggle multiple projects, activities, and relationships.

Many of my best friends are only able to focus on one project at a time. Sometimes I envy them, for being a good juggler is both a blessing and a curse.

Almost anyone can successfully juggle one ball from hand to…