READING: One-year plan: 1 Samuel 5-8, Luke 16 Two-year plan: Numbers 2, Mark 5:9-20 ———- More than ever in my 43+ years of ministry, I hear from parents who grieve deeply the departure of their children from the faith. Even this day, I’m ministering to some strong, faithful believers who did the best they could do in raising their kids, but their adult children have wandered. I grieve with them and join them in praying for the day when their offspring will return like the prodigal son.  I think of these stories today when I read these sad words about Samuel’s sons: “However, his sons did ..read more

If you’re a preacher, I assume these words from H.B. Charles will be encouraging to you: It is said that imitation is the best form of compliment. But this is not true in the pulpit. If preaching is truth through personality, to proclaim the truth dressed up as some other personality is not to preach. It is pulpit identity theft. No preacher is completely original. We are all influenced by other preachers. We are shaped by our teachers. We are reflections of our pulpit heroes. It’s inevitable. But it should not be intentional. God has called you. God has gifted you. God has prepared you. God h ..read more

READING: One-year plan: 1 Samuel 1-4, Luke 15:11-32 Two-year plan: Numbers 1, Mark 5:1-8 ——— Maybe you’ve been there. The needs of your heart are great—overwhelming and agonizing, even. It seems they never go away—not unlike the anguish of a barren woman named Hannah in today’s Old Testament reading whose rival had continually taunted her for her infertility. The phrases throughout the reading take us into her heart: “Hannah would weep and would not eat.” (1 Sam 1:7) “Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears.” (1 Sam 1:10) “I am a woman with a broken heart. I ..read more

READING: One-year plan: Ruth 1-4, Luke 14:15-15:10 Two-year plan: Leviticus 27, Mark 4:26-41 ———- Naomi and her daughters-in-law found themselves in a most difficult situation. Naomi’s family had settled in Moab years earlier because a famine had stricken the land of Judah. There, Naomi’s sons took Moabite wives – but then Naomi and both of her daughters-in-law lost their husbands to death. In a most heartbreaking statement, Ruth 1:5 summarizes the situation: “the woman [Naomi] was left without her two children and without her husband.” The story to this point was tragic, indeed.  Bu ..read more

You might have assumed that my point in the title is a negative one—that is, that I’m railing against churches that elevate fun and fellowship over content and conviction. That’s not my point at all, however. Rather, I want church leaders to think about times when church really is fun – and to long for that to happen in their own congregations.  When lives are being changed. There’s nothing quite like it when God saves a soul, the church rejoices in that new believer’s decision, and they celebrate baptism together. It’s fun to see a transformed heart.  When worship singing is g ..read more

This week, I read this article about a pastor under persecution. Take some time this morning to pray for pastors around the world who face persecution simply for standing up and speaking the gospel. We who face no such pressure are blessed, indeed ..read more

1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” Serve well today — and know your labor is not in vain, no matter what you experience ..read more

This list about being a “drive-thru” Christian challenges even me, even though I’m the author ..read more

READING: One-year plan: Judges 20-21, Luke 13:18-14:14 Two-year plan: Leviticus 26, Mark 4:10-25 ——— Nothing would stop Jesus from completing the Father’s plan. Nothing. Not even the king who wanted to kill him.  Word came to Jesus that Herod wanted him dead, but those words hardly concerned Jesus. Rather, He simply continued His work, casting out demons, healing the sick, and making His way to Jerusalem. In that holy city, there He would indeed die – but according to the plans of the Father rather than the plans of the king. No earthly king could interrupt the plan of the true ..read more

READING: One-year plan: Judges 16-19, Luke 12:49-13:17 Two-year plan: Leviticus 25, Mark 3:31-4:9 ——– I have written other devotions about the woman bent double under the influence of an evil spirit in Luke 13. She had been that way for eighteen years—surely long years of discouragement and pain. My guess is that she had surely sought help, but no one had an answer.  Until Jesus showed up, that is.  When Jesus showed up, the evil spirit faced his demise in the woman’s life. With His few words directed to the woman (rather than to the spirit) and with the touch of His hands, Jesus fre ..read more