Faith and intellect both have their roles in the journey into God’s arms. Faith is the song in our hearts with which God draws us, increasingly, to His love. The intellect is a tool God gives to help lead us to the invitation already resounding in our hearts. I’m not sure if I’m explaining my ..read more

(Last in a series on Evangelism.) Now, what am I to do with myself today? The bills need to be paid, the kids gotten through school, the grass cut into pieces (Aside: Why is the last grass row always on the outward cut? Answer: Fallen world), and in-between, I’ll likely worry I haven’t, once again, been enough of what God calls me to be. In other words, it’ll be an ordinary day. To top it off, I must tell you, I can get down in the disarray of these post-postmodern times—you know, these times of a nation gone off its God-founded rocker, its mass of people long-skedaddled from godly common sens ..read more

(Second in a series on Evangelism) I rant, occasionally. I can go on a bit (confession is good for the soul), especially on matters of faith. It might come across as if I don’t have the confidence of my convictions about God and so I repeat myself, louder each time, to shore up my own flagging beliefs. But that’s not it.  It’s more like, I’m passionate about what I believe and so I try like crazy to impart, hold forth, and otherwise urge my passion onto the next guy so that he gets what I so much want him to always know and never doubt again—I’m ranting, aren’t I? But, on the good side of ..read more

(This is the first of four parts on our role in spreading the Gospel message.) We sometimes think that reaching others for Christ is a competitive numbers game (in our flesh we do), where our side of the responsibility, now that Jesus died for the sins of the world, is to notch beaucoup saved souls for Jesus.  “Jeepers! I’ve only ever helped lead one person to Christ. I know people who have led dozens, hundreds even. What is wrong with me?” We routinely say things like this (not counting the “jeepers” part), as if there will be a ranking of merit in Heaven based on how many people we infl ..read more

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37). “I love you,” God tells me, tells me forever. “But if you knew the things I’ve done, the things I’ve said, the things I’ve thought.” “Yes, I know all about them son, and I love you more than you can imagine, always have, always will.” John Piper, in The Pleasures of God, writes, “A mountain spring is self-replenishing. It constantly overflows and supplies others. But a watering trough needs to be filled with a pump or bucket brigade. [Now] if you want to glorify the worth of a watering trough you work hard to keep it full and us ..read more

At times, unpredictable to me, throughout my Christian pilgrimage, occasionally doubt comes to my mind like a cloud crosses in front of the sun. I don’t panic: “Oh no! Where’d you go this time, Lord?” I’ve learned that the “light of the world” (John 8:12) is always there shining away whether I see Him or not, and that the issue can only be with me, not with my ever-loving God, certainly.  Having come to the pinnacle of faith the inquiring way, most notably the examining road of apologetics (“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that ..read more

“Or whatever brings You the most glory, God; ’cause what do I know?”  Now there’s a clumsy prayer ending for you, prayed just yesterday. I started off my prayer eloquently, I thought, doing my best to be polished enough to be heard by God over the demands of my own flesh. In other words, apparently I slip into old habits of acting as if I have to earn my Father’s love. I know the reality: He loves me so much that He wants to hear all of my heart-felt, unvarnished, non-measured words of authenticity. No reason to try to hide myself or put on airs. He already knows my flaws, my pride, my si ..read more

Pertaining to God’s attributes, whenever I stop long enough to ponder them deeply, I always draw closer to Him. Let me stop now. He is… -Sovereign (Meaning, He’s in charge) -Forgiving (He sent His only begotten Son to die for my sins) -Merciful (He doesn’t give me what I deserve) -Grace-ful (He gives me more than I deserve) -Loving, Kind, Trusting, Caring, Compassionate (Those five mean He keeps me nurtured and near) -All-knowing (He knows what I need and when I need it) -All-powerful (His plans and purposes for me won’t ever be stopped) -Creative (He brings those purposes about in myria ..read more

I am walking through the loss of my cherished dog, Tracker. I realize with each loss in life the losses don’t get easier; they get tougher. That’s because the preciousness of every second of life is not as often lost on me as it once was. I know that God will cause this to “work together for good” (Rom 8:28). I believe the redemptions He has planned for me, for you, are bigger than we can even dream. But I am still adjusting. Without Tracker to take me on my walk, I see that I pick up the slack in my evening routine by spending more time checking on the birds in the feeder—pine warblers mostly ..read more

(This is the third of three messages on the goodness of why we are here.) Assignment 1: Walk through any luxurious neighborhood and see how many people are taking time to enjoy themselves on their front porch. In the 1979 comedy, The Jerk, Steve Martin plays simple-minded Navin Johnson, a man who loses his fortune when his eyeglass invention—the Opti-Grab—causes eye impairment instead of eyeglass improvement, prompting consumers to sue. In reacting to the calamity, Navin says to his wife, Marie: “Honey, why the gloom? It’s not the end of the rainbow! I’m Navin Johnson, inventor. This is no&nbs ..read more