When it comes to making purchases I am a research guy. By that, I mean that before I reach the store I have used my computer to research what my best purchase would be.
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Christian Living
Setting SMART Goals
Do your new year’s goals ever feel repetitious? Do you find yourself making the same goals year after year with little progress? It may be that the weakness isn’t so much with your resolve as it is with your plan.
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3 Principles from Joseph’s Response to an Impossible Situation
I’ll never forget hearing Dr. Tom Malone say, “When God wants to do something great, He starts with the difficult. But when He wants to do something miraculous, He starts with the impossible.”
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The King Became a Man
I’ve always liked hearing oxymorons. They are often ironically humorous. The word oxymoron itself comes from oxus which means “sharp” and moros which means “dull.”
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It’s inevitable! This Thanksgiving season we face several harsh realities–our biased media, high prices, indefinite restrictions as a result of COVID-19, and I can go on and on.
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A Call to Be a Faithful and Involved Member of your Local Church
As we recently celebrated our 70th anniversary as a local church, I have been thinking of the role that a local church has played in my life. I am so glad that my parents taught and showed me the importance of belonging and being faithful to the local church.
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Spiritual Leadership Conference 2021 has begun! Our theme this year is “Declare the Gospel.” And what a needed theme this is! In a world that is pushing declarations of division and hatred, we must be the people who declare the salvation and redemption available through Christ. Every service and session of this year’s conference is centered around helping Christians and churches more effectively declare the gospel in their communities.
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A new Gallup survey reports that for the first time in American history, church membership nationwide has dropped below 50 percent. This past year has been a challenging one for pastors and churches. Although there are multiple factors that have contributed to...
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3 Aspects of the Normal Christian Life
It’s a question I have heard frequently—perhaps daily—for over ten months: “When is life going to get back to normal?”
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Considering how crazy 2020 turned out to be, the “20-20 Vision” goal-setting and planning puns that were going on this time last year are almost humorous. In reality, if there is anything 2020 has taught us about biblical vision, it is that it must be developed in faith-filled confidence of God’s sovereignty.
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It’s true that Christmas may not be as festive or lighthearted as past years, but even in the face of the bad news of our world and in our lives, the good news of God should resound in our hearts and minds as we enter the Christmas season: God is with us. I am reminded of the angel’s message to the shepherds:
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.—Luke 2:10–11
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Four Ways Christmas Is a Gift
There have been years on which Christmas Eve was my best day of Christmas shopping—not because it was the best of several good days, but because it was my only day! Covid-19 put me a little ahead this year, because I purchased my gifts online.
I love giving to Terrie, our children, and our grandchildren. But as we approach Christmas this week, I’m mindful of the fact that Christmas itself is a gift. Christmas is when we received Emmanuel—God with us!
And with Jesus’ very presence, He gives us gifts:
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In a fast paced world where we often try to see how many things we can “multi-task” at a time, it’s easy to forget the importance of spending real quality time with those we want to see grow spiritually. There are many aspects to this, and I think all of them are important, I’m going to simply mention a few from a missionary/pastor point of view.
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One of the great desires of my life is to finish well. At the end of my race, I want to be able to say with Paul, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).
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We have hope in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that our Lord died for our sins and was resurrected from the dead. In Him, we have a victorious hope.
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3 Aspects of Moving forward When Your World Is Stuck
When the Lord laid a phrase from Philippians 3:13, “Reaching Forth,” on my heart for our church theme in 2020, I had no idea that less than three months into the year, our plans would be derailed by a global pandemic.
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The Creator desires the best for each of His children. For centuries, royal families had silk as a luxurious commodity in their wardrobes.
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As a private citizen of the United States of America, I still believe that:
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What Should Factor into a Christian’s Vote?
As Americans, we are blessed to live in a nation where we choose our own leaders and where we have freedom of speech in the process of doing so.
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As long as we sojourn on this earth, we will encounter struggles. However, God is not taken by surprise with our challenges, problems and trials. He knew about the Corona Virus, for example, well before it hit, as well as the human responses to it. Governments shut down many businesses, a multitude of employees lost their jobs, citizens were kept indoors; and yet God remains sovereign—His promises, power, and provision still stand.
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