Do you ever begin a new week with a pile on your desk? Scraps of notations from Sunday. Left over to dos from last week. Started projects. Unanswered emails. And on top of all of that, the needs and responsibilities of the coming week.

God’s grace has to be the greatest gift of the Christian life. It is by grace that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8), by grace that we grow (2 Peter 3:18), by grace that we have access to the presence of God (Romans 5:2), and by grace that we are motivated in service to God.

As Christians living in 2018, it sure seems that things are being turned upside down. What I mean by that is the things that used to be looked upon as right and normal are now looked upon as being wrong, out of step, and not at all normal.

In a post last week, I listed the Baptist distinctives, using the acrostic BAPTISTS, and suggested that if you believe these, you should not be ashamed of the name Baptist or of your heritage.

The generation gap seems to be widening daily. It’s obvious that a cultural gap is rapidly dividing our country. The Baby Boomers and the Millennials are in a struggle for power in business, religious, and political cultures. The debates can be intense. I think, overall, the entire debate regarding Millennials has become downright silly.

I love that I can have the joy of the Spirit; conversely, I can also grieve the Holy Spirit. My salvation has not just been an academic pursuit of the facts about God and theology. It has been a passion-filled, love-filled, and grace-filled walk with Him.

Last week, I had the blessing of teaching a new group of adults in the CORE class at Lancaster Baptist Church. I teach this class several times each year for those who are new to our church. Often it is filled with newly-saved, first-generation Christians who have lots of great questions!

When we are in the midst of a trial, it is comforting to remember that God is doing far more in our lives than we can see. Let’s look at a few ways God works through trials.

I don’t read a lot of blogs, but I use social media enough to notice an excess of what 2 Timothy 2:23 refers to as “foolish and unlearned questions.” The online world provides a perfect platform for these kinds of questions because there are so many willing participants.

Sometime ago I was with a group of pastors whom I love and appreciate their friendship and ministry. While we were exchanging blessings and burdens that each of us have experienced and shouldered, my mind wandered from the conversation to a quote that I had recently read in Samuel Chadwick’s classic book, The Way To Pentecost: “The blunders and disasters of the Church are largely, if not entirely, accounted for by the neglect of the Spirit’s ministry and mission.”