Last week we celebrated National Sibling Day. You say you didn’t know there was such a day. Well unlike Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, Sibling Day is not yet a national holiday and Hallmark has not yet flooded the market with Happy Sibling Day cards, although the Siblings Day Foundation is working to change this….
How many steps of faith does one take in a lifetime? For a believer, the answer is many. As one who has taken more than an average share of faith-steps I am disturbed by the misunderstanding in today’s new age, post-modern culture. The prevailing misconception embraced by much of the unchurched world is that church…
When will you have prayed enough? If you ask God once for some thing or on behalf of someone is that enough? Can God respond to one single prayer? Of course He can, but does He desire more? It reminds me of the child sitting in front of the TV at Christmas time watching every…
Do you ever ask for divine direction in your daily life then blame God when the results don’t please you? Your early morning prayer is for God’s direction through the day, then your car won’t start so it must be God’s fault. It may also be your fault for not attending to the battery light…
A casual observance of society reveals loyalty is a lost art. In earlier days, sports fans could expect professional athletes to remain with one team for the life of their career. Now loyalty yields to a “show me the money” mentality. My grandparents believed, to guarantee a long marriage they should leave the word “divorce”…
While teaching a class on Prayer at the Hong Kong Baptist Seminary, I quoted Isaiah 30:15 to illustrate prayerful meditation, “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” The blank look of the faces of the students told me I needed to stay on this subject a bit longer. Facing me was a classroom of…
Bellmead, Texas – the home of my early childhood. Thomas Wolfe was correct, you can’t go home again, but you can go through what’s left of home again. I did that recently. The house where we lived is no longer livable. Many of the houses my grandfather built are gone. The family grocery story is…
I’ve had more than my share of introductions in life. From the Pastor who read the entire Seminary produced Biographical Information – both pages, to the man who said, “This man needs no introduction to us. So, here he is.” Some times I’ve had to live up to my introductions, other times I’ve had to…
What causes people not to finish well? The question lodged in my mind following an illustration used by my pastor in a recent sermon. Noah, served God faithfully, followed God’s instructions to the letter (or maybe to the cubit), saved his family, then ended in a drunken stupor (Genesis 9:20-21). Jacob dreamed of God’s promise…
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…