GOD CALLS US TO PERMANENT EXTRAORDINARY COMMITMENT Mary Lou Retton was an American gymnast who took the gold medal in the individual all-around competition in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Her groundbreaking performance, as well as her buoyant spirit, made her one of the...
THERE ARE THREE REWARDS FOR GOING ON GOD’S GREAT ADVENTURE In J.R.R. Tolkien's book, The Hobbit, the good wizard Gandalf encourages the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, to go on a great adventure to help recover a vast treasure from the dragon, Smaug. Gandalf: The world is not in...
IN THE MOVIE OF LIFE WE NEED TO BE ROY ROGERS, NOT TRIGGER Roy Rogers was an American actor who was one of the most popular Western stars of the 20th century. Known as the "King of the Cowboys", he starred in over 100 movies and...
TRUTH IS WHAT GOD SAYS IT IS, REGARDLESS OF WHAT WE THINK On one level, yes, something can be true for you but not true for me. For example, I actually like broccoli. It’s not that I don’t hate it. It’s that I like it. I...
THERE IS A BALANCE BETWEEN HAMMERING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR AND ACCEPTING THAT IT MAY NOT OPEN Last week, I shared my struggle with the fact that God instructs us to importune (ask someone pressingly and persistently for or to do something) Him for things that are...
GOD GIVES US THE DIGNITY OF CAUSALITY I was struggling with the Lord a while back over an issue in my life that I wanted to have resolved. It has gone on so long that some time ago I had concluded that I either needed to...
THERE ARE TIMES WHEN OUR JOB IS TO DO NOTHING A number of years ago, my wife and I attended a dog show highlighting canine obedience trials. Inside a large performance arena, one at a time, the dogs had to start, stop, change directions, return to...
GOD MAY HAVE TO DO SOMETHING IN YOU BEFORE HE CAN DO SOMETHING THROUGH YOU As we turn the page on a New Year, it is natural to think ahead to new goals and purposes. Ephesians 2:10 speaks powerfully to where this tendency comes from: “For we...
THE LIGHTS OF CHRISTMAS SYMBOLIZE THE LIGHT THAT JESUS BRINGS INTO THE WORLD I want to close out this year’s blog posts with a final reflection on Christmas. The lights of Christmas, which adorn homes, businesses, and public places at Christmas, make the world sparkle and as one “takes...
IF YOU CAN’T SEE HIM, HEAR HIM, OR TOUCH HIM, WHY BELIEVE IN HIM? As a Christian, and as a discipler, it is possible that life can become so hard that someone might begin to question the existence of God. It is best to have that...