I care deeply about human behavior. For one, behavior shapes a society. If a significant portion of the population doesn’t see anything wrong with stealing, then that community will be quickly devastated by thievery. So I am all for putting place measures with teeth that discourage behavior that is detrimental to a society. However, there…
Read More
Have you ever stopped to listen and ponder just how noisy our world is? From the time our alarm clocks obnoxiously awaken us, we are inundated with noise. Conversations, vehicle noise, music with volume pumped up over the noise of the car, machines at work, screens everywhere spitting images caked with sounds at our faces. Our world is noisy. Imagine no cell…
Read More
So what do I do with my kids for family devotions or one on one discipleship of them? (Please note: if your children are grown, keep reading). I’ve had that question a fair amount and my answer is simple and the same every time: buy and read Sally Lloyd-Jones’ The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name. I’ve read five or six children’s…
Read More
You gotta love modern medicine! My first semester in seminary I came down with a nasty sinus infection. I went my local Urgent Care. The Doc prescribed some really potent antibiotics and I was back to my studies within 36 hours. Amazing and awesome!! But this must be frustrating for some docs because not every ailment can be treated with pills. I…
Read More
There is a really interesting scene in the movie, Groundhog Day, where weatherman Phil Connors is trying to figure out what is going on. He sits at a bar in a bowling alley with two local guys who are drunk, and he asks them this question: “What would you do if you were stuck in one…
Read More
You read a title like this one and think, “Yeah, right! Nobody knows that.” Well, that may be true, but you’ll have to decide for yourself after reading this. I think there’s something to be said for the secret I’m about to share. What makes life unhappy? Hardship. Suffering. Trials. These make life unhappy. But…
Read More
Titus 1:1-4 tells us about Paul’s ministry patterns and principles. Because we are part of the apostolic ministry, these patterns and principles Paul adopted, ought to be patterns and principles we adopt as we execute God’s game plan for the Christian life. We’ll consider two patterns of Christian practice we need to cultivate in our…
Read More
While it may not jump off the page at you, the main theme of this chapter is idolatry. So we’re going to ask and answer the following questions: 1) What is idolatry?2) How is idolatry diagnosed?3) How is idolatry cured? 1) What is idolatry? When we hear the term ‘idolatry’ we think of wooden or…
Read More
It’s my prayer to see the local church be a place where people are given a taste of the new heavens and the new earth. The church is meant to be a harbinger of heaven to come. If the church is going to do that well, it must possess compassion. Without compassion, a church will become judgmental,…
Read More
How does God’s grace affect change in people? I don’t know for sure, but sometimes I wonder if our mental picture of God’s grace is something that is soft, warm, and cuddly. If grace was personified it would be that newborn baby in the hospital nursery swaddled while everybody on the other side of the glass…
Read More