Two funerals last week for folks related to members of my family. Neither funeral was expected. Both were younger than me: one eight years; the other, eighteen years. It reminded me that the value of a life is not determined by the years accumulated. It also reminded me of what James wrote, “You do not…
While mega-churches get most of the spotlight in our day, this is also a day of mega-egos, not necessarily connected to mega churches. After a stirring testimony of conversion, a young man was asked who was responsible for his decision. “I don’t remember” he replied, “I only heard from God.” Those of us who share…
I attended two funerals this week. In both and in most I’ve attended in my life, and in many obituaries I’ve read, I’ve heard and seen the phrase, “gone home to be with the Lord.” Why do we use home as a reference for heaven? God’s Old Testament people and many of God’s New Testament…
I’ve just spent a week visiting and praying with young pastors and church starters in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They are courageous (only 2% of their city is in church on any given Sunday, the same percentage as in Bagdad, Iraq). They are committed at all costs (most spend 60 to 70% of their income…
As you read this, I will be leading a prayer team in a major North American city. Among other places visited, we will tour an Islamic Mosque, A Hindu Center, A Sikh Temple, and a Buddhist Temple. We will listen patiently and respectfully as their leaders tell us of their beliefs. Then we will move…
Having spent more than half of my vocational ministry in theological education, it has always been a wonder to me why we spend so much time teaching would-be ministers how to talk for God and how little time we spend teaching them how to talk with God. We teach them much of how to relate…
We live in a day of urgencies and emergencies. We have addresses but we may not be there. We have e-mail addresses but we may not answer. We have phone numbers but we also have answering machines to take our messages. Planned agendas often get bumped in favor of some sudden need either of our…
How many times have you used or heard someone use the phrase, “unanswered prayer.” Where did that phrase originate? Not with Jesus. In His teaching on prayer, our Lord never once referred to unanswered prayer. Sometimes the answer is “no” as it was for Jesus when in Gethsemane, He asked the Father to let the…
Have you ever balked at something God impressed upon you to say? Sure you have and so have I. Well, we’re not the first to do so. Jeremiah’s response to God’s instructions was that he was too young to speak. You and I might respond that we are too old to speak, too untrained to…
Birthdays are usually about gifts and gains and growth. They can also be about losses. Shortly after Jesus’ twelfth birthday, his parents took Him to Jerusalem and lost Him. In the midst of the return caravan, they discovered Him missing and hurried back to Jerusalem to look for Him. They found Him in the Temple,…