Do you know where you are going? The place? Dublin, Ireland. The time? Toward the end of the nineteenth century. The event? A series of blistering attacks on Christianity, especially the “alleged resurrection” of Jesus of Nazareth. The person? Thomas Henry Huxley. You remember Huxley. Devoted disciple of Darwin. Famous biologist, teacher, and author. Defender of the theory of evolution.
Read MoreCategory Archives: God’s Will
A Willingness to Go with God
WHEN GOD CALLS A SERVANT, there is little room for negotiation. The most striking example of this is when God spoke to Abram, lifting him from obscurity and setting him on a course that would change human history. The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous. GENESIS 12:1–2
Read MoreAppraising Your Life
IT’S BEEN A WHILE SINCE you took stock of where you are going, hasn’t it? And how about an evaluation of the kids? Or your marriage? Or your own future? You know what I mean: trimming off the fat of lazy thinking and taking a lean, hard look at your remaining years. As I write, I’m now in my eighties. If Christ doesn’t return (and I don’t die in the meantime), I figure I’ll keep going until I’m at least one hundred!
Read MoreI, Me, Mine, Myself
Let’s admit it; ours is an age of gross selfishness. The “me” era. And we get mighty uncomfortable even when God begins to make demands on us. Of course, our inner “self” doesn’t want to dump God entirely.
Read MoreSurrendering Your Will
THE PSALMIST WAS CORRECT: the heavens do indeed proclaim the glory of God. The skies do indeed display his craftsmanship (see Psalm 19:1). And when you mix that unfathomable fact with the incredible reality that He cares for each one of us right down to the last, tiniest detail, the psalmist is, again, correct: “such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand” (Psalm 139:6).
Read MoreOvercoming Discouragement
BEING A PROPHET IN Israel wasn’t an easy gig. That’s the understatement of the year. Most of the men God called were expected to boldly bear the bad news of God’s displeasure with the attitudes and sins of His people. One such prophet often found himself in the pit of despair. Oh, that I had died in my mother’s womb, that her body had been my grave! Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame. JEREMIAH 20:17–18
Read MoreDon’t Wait
I’M THE GUY WHO PROMOTES WAITING and allowing the Lord to open the doors and shove you through. You know, all the stuff you expect a preacher to say. I even quote verses that support doing all of the above. Right about now, we may need a change of emphasis. I’m not suggesting we forget about waiting and trusting. What I am suggesting is that we realize the possibility of running it into the ground.
Read MoreMove toward the Unexpected
MOST FOLKS I KNOW LIKE things to stay as they are. Being creatures of habit, we resist change; we protect our comfort zone; we are uneasy with the unexpected. We admire pioneers . . . so long as we can just read about them, not participate in their journeys. We applaud explorers . . . but not if it means we must load up and climb and crawl with them. Creative ideas are fine . . . but “don’t get carried away,” we warn. Plans that involve risks prompt worst-case scenarios from the lips of most who stand back in the shadows.
Read MoreGoing . . . and Not Knowing
THERE IS A STRANGE STATEMENT IN Scripture that flashes like a bright neon sign. Paul made it while he was saying good-bye to a group of friends standing near him. It was a sad moment heavy with emotion. Most of the men were choking back tears, realizing they would never see him again. Looking around, the aging apostle, with his weather-beaten hand pointing south toward the stormy skies above the Mediterranean Sea, voiced these words:
Read MoreLetting Loose
ARE YOU BETTER AT smothering than loving? That’s why you are blown away with the thought of relaxing your gargantuan grip on the things and people you love the most. Letting something precious go is, on occasion, unbearable. The parting cannot happen without inward bleeding. It’s hard to let go. Turning loose heightens our stress.
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