Caffeine Intelligence About how many cups of coffee does the average person drink daily? (1,3,5,or 7) ANSWER: 3 More than three-quarters of us drink coffee. And more than half say they drink it every day. Experts aren’t sure what the health risks are — if any — if you drink too much coffee. That’s […]
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“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” Luke 15:20 Christmas is prodigal. At some point in the Advent season we simply have to silence the the cynic and just […]
“This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 3:6 Christmas is Family. On that first night two very important people were present for the birth of the Messiah. Mary, His mother, and Joseph, the man […]
See Part 1 of the Spiritual life of a Hoarder The TV show “Hoarders” documents people who are unable to part with their belongings – to the point where they are on the verge of a personal crisis because their “stuff” takes over their homes and even their lives. “Hoarders” features the true stories about […]
The TV show “Hoarders” documents people who are unable to part with their belongings – to the point where they are on the verge of a personal crisis because their “stuff” takes over their homes and even their lives. Sometimes we’re no different – especially as it concerns our gifts, forgiveness, or even our money […]
There is a lot being written these days about wholeness in a fractured world. We may be very healthy in our body by working out daily, but our emotions and relationships are a mess – we’re broken. Or we may have all kinds of degrees hanging on our walls and books galore, but […]
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18 Dr. Alien Meiner from Asbury University imagined two twins talking inside the womb. One said to the other, “isn’t it wonderful to be alive!? What a great thing this gift of life is!” […]
It begins with a question. In the 1979 Paramount pictures released the first in a series of movies based on the popular 1960 TV series “Star Trek”. Though the TV series had a cult-like following ever since it first began in 1966, producers were not so sure how it would translate onto the big screen especially when […]
Soccer isn’t a diversion from life. Soccer is flow, finesse, focus and fair-play. Life in 90 minutes or less. For the last couple of years I’ve been more intentional about getting outside the church instead of looking at the world through stained glass window and polished brass. If you haven’t gathered my now, most of […]
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:29-31 (NIV) With the development of the Internet comes all kinds of fun tools to become more intentional about healthy living. That means stretching our perspective, our muscles, our compassion […]
This is one of the best descriptions of Christian Discipleship I’ve ever read! Be Inspired! Discipleship—being willing to move on every level, leaving the old life behind, following Jesus wherever he may lead, sitting at his feet so to speak, taking in not only what he says but who he is on the deepest level […]
I had to take my car into the garage last week for a tune-up. It was running very rough and wouldn’t even idle when in gear, which meant I had to put it in neutral every time I came to a stoplight or traffic slowed down. What a pain! I think it was actually misfiring […]
I know that there are hundreds of different ways to describe the church as it exists today, some good, some not so good. This ambiguity leaves many confused and struggling to create a definition all their own, often with disastrous consequences. I though I would give several definitions a try. See which one describes you best and then take a stab […]
What would you like to improve Spiritually about your life this year? Wisdom Gratitude Joyfulness Reverence Wonder Peace Unless we think and consider such questions, the future will always be a surprise and an annoying inconvenience. I suppose there will be some that would rather not consider these things, but then maybe we’re becoming Apatheist […]
New Birth – A Living Hope Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3 Hope for the Future “For I know the plans I have for you,” […]
Everyone has rules or principles they live by, unfortunately most people don’t give them much of a thought. As a result we are often swept away the winds of changing attitudes, fashion and expectations. We all feel pressure to conform and become something different. But unless we know who we are, or who we want […]
“How often have you wondered why Christ should set His heart upon such a one as you!” – Octavius Winslow Related posts: 2010 Christmas Blessings 21 Days of Christmas – Pregnant
Origins of the Moral Law. An good review of the power of the moral Law to transcend science and philosophy. It’s a good CS Lewis summary. Related posts: A Year with C.S. Lewis Finding My True Country Gratitude is a Choice! Screwtape Letters: Spirituality in Action
All people long for God. Period. Some may say the exact opposite, but our desires, actions and values suggest something completely different. We all long to connect with something greater than ourselves, we long for the heart of God. There is simply no better way to connect with God than to learn who God is […]
“We fear the search for who we are. Perhaps because we’re afraid that having located our true souls, we might not like ourselves that much. So, we shrink to step across the threshold to our inner selves and invite God in. … But no matter how we love the busy world of our relationships, the […]
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you. FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, Beyond Good and Evil Apathy and evil. The two work hand in hand. They are the same, really…. Evil wills it. Apathy allows […]
I just returned home from a weekend of spiritual reflection and renewal with some challenging thoughts. We did an exercise where we were asked to draw a picture of OUR spiritual journey. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, put your thousand word journey of spiritual growth in a pictorial representation. My initial thought was […]
Deuteronomy 11:1-32 Most of the greatest Biblical dialogues were recorded and preserved because they contain within them a powerful message that spoke to the heart of a people longing for a word from God, a word that in most cases either clarified the present or changed the course of the future. In typical fashion these […]
The Challenge of Leadership When you’re in leadership it is tempting to think your job is to get the people to the Promised Land. But that’s actually God’s job. Your job is to bear their burdens while they’re in the wilderness. We prefer just the opposite. Let God love the people and we’ll just move […]
My Membership Covenant Today I am stepping across the line. I’m tired of waffling and I’m finished with wavering; I’ve made my choice, the verdict is in and my decision is irrevocable. I’m going God’s way. There’s no turning back now! I will live the rest of my life serving God’s will with God’s people […]
Imagine a young couple going to a 5-star restaurant. It is a restaurant without Styrofoam hamburger shells, chicken nuggets or soda fountains. This is a five star restaurant, the kind that makes a suit and tie for guys and dresses for ladies seem natural and appropriate. The couple enters and are greeted by maître dee who […]
Our church has a large screen in the front of the santuary for visual support of the worship experience. Now I realize that for some the screen is a nuisance and for others a sign of the decline of true worship. But for a new generation, images are more apart of their vocabulary than the […]
THE POWER OF C-H-A-N-G-E Part 1 – Connect I’ve always heard that religion is about reformation. But Christianity is about transformation. Those two things are not the same. The former is about what a person can do to make self-improvements – Ladder People. The latter is about a person totally yielding to the Person of […]
The Story (Extravagant Grace!). The Story of God calls to us every moment of our lives. It whispers to us on the wind, invites us through the laughter of good friends, reaches out to us through the touch of someone we love. We’ve heard it in our favorite music, sensed it at the birth of […]
The crisis of hope that afflicts the church today is a crisis of imagination. Catholic philosopher Peter Kreeft writes: Medieval imagery (which is almost totally biblical imagery) of light, jewels, stars, candles, trumpets, and angels no longer fits our ranch-style, supermarket world. Pathetic modern substitutes of fluffy clouds, sexless cherubs, harps and metal halos […]
And they lived happily ever after. Stop for just a moment, and let it be true. They lived happily ever after. These may be the most beautiful and haunting words in the entire library of mankind. Why does the end of a great story leave us with a lump in our throats and an ache […]
THE POWER OF C-H-A-N-G-E Part 1 – Connect I’ve always heard that religion is about reformation. But Christianity is about transformation. Those two things are not the same. The former is about what a person can do to make self-improvements – Ladder People. The latter is about a person totally yielding to the Person of […]
THE POWER OF C-H-A-N-G-E Part 1 – Connect Part 2 – Help Others I’ve always heard that religion is about reformation. But Christianity is about transformation. Those two things are not the same. The former is about what a person can do to make self-improvements – Ladder People. The latter is about a person totally […]
Here’s a topic sure to wet your theological appetite: How can you say there is only One way to God? What about other religions? Objections: People say that since there are so many ways to find God, Christianity is only one among many valid options. The other religions of the world have […]
In the recent aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, many people have begun to ask why such things can happen. How should a Christian respond? If God is good, righteous and loving then why is there such devastation, death, and destruction through “natural disasters” like earthquakes and tsunamis Of course some people have been quick to […]
I think we all love a good story about an underdog that has been discounted and ridculed, only to rise above and be far more than anyone ever thought. These are the stories that leave us speechless and crying out for more. They are little glimpses of light that not everthing is as it appears. […]
I’ve had this thought rolling around in my head lately and I thought I would share it with my friends in the hopes that you could help me work through the details. In the story of the Prodigal Son which I’m sure you know very well as found in Luke 15, we follow the experiences of […]
Living with critics is never an easy thing but we all have them. Imagine after a major event you received 100 comments and 98 of them were very positive, what do you think would capture your attention the most? Probably the 2 negative comments. We alway give much more attention to negative critics than to the postive […]
Recently, thanks to the help of Facebook, I’ve reconnected with some high school friends that I’d lost track of during my college days over 20 years ago. Even thought in some cases the names have changed and for an instant I had forgotten who they were, their faces gave them away. In every case it was always the smile […]
Life is a story, not a task, not a script, not a competition, but a love story GOD God is the author of life’s story. The greatest commandment of all is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. The best, most enduring joy is found in Him. He is our greatest […]
I was thinking the other day about how incredibly important the Law is to Jewish identity and their relationship to God. Through the Law, God was calling to Himself a people He wanted as His very own. Since the Law is about defining a new kind of relationship with God perhaps we can think of it […]
Church is unlike any other organization on earth and yet we try to apply principles to the church that are inconsistent with it’s purpose. It’s like trying to play football on a baseball field with hockey sticks. You’re like to come away with a lot of bloody and very confused players, to say nothing of […]
In his new book, “What is Your Church’s Personality? Discovering and Developing the Ministry Style of Your Church”, Philip D. Douglass defines eight different types of church personalities. Here they are: Fellowship Churches are conscientious, hard-working, orderly, and sensitive to the needs of the people in general, but especially those who are members of their […]
“Suppose We really Found Him?” “There comes a moment when people who have been dabbling in religion suddenly draw back. Supposing we really found Him? We never meant it to come to that! Worse still, supposing He had found us?” – Miracles Lewis suggest that for the most part we’re just playing around […]
At a recent Conference in Seattle, Pastor Darrin Patrick from The Journey in Saint Louis spoke frankly of the burden that pastoral ministry is. I have pushed myself to the edge and over the edge of burnout many times throughout my years in ministry. As a leader I commonly set the pace of ministry for […]
If you’re facing a difficult problem, maybe you should consider the following questions. They’ll help you get to the solution side. 1. Is this a problem – or is it a fact of life? You can do something about problems. You can’t do anything about facts of life. If you can’t change it, you don’t […]
I’ve heard this song a number of times on the radio and really love the message from Casting Crowns. I hope you enjoy it and that it brings a measure of peace to your life. I want you to listen to it and then share with me what comes to your mind. Have you ever […]
Isn’t technology wonderful? It allows us to do so much more than we could ever have dream of before. We can touch so many more lives than we ever could before, some we will never meet and some may even live on the other side of the globe. But like every change that has come before, some […]