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 MoreTag Archives: Matthew
Monuments
THE FOUR MONUMENTS OF HUMAN NATURE: Fortune, Fame, Power, Pleasure Built in clusters, making them appear formidable . . . and acceptable. As the idols in ancient Athens, our society is saturated with them. Fortune. How neatly it fits our times! Its inscription at the base is bold: “Get rich.” The figure in the statue is impressive—a hardworking young executive, a clever, diligent businessman unwilling to admit the greed behind his long hours and relentless drive.
Read MoreFocus on What Matters
SHOPPING SEASON HAS ARRIVED! Admit it: you’re already on a roll! You’ve started swiping your credit card all over town hoping to get in on the early bird sales. And Black Friday is coming still! But in the midst of all the shopping, preparations for family to arrive, and just sheer mayhem when it comes to getting ready for this special time of year, I urge you to pause regularly as a family and consider God’s perspective on what really matters. Start by reading the following aloud.
Read MoreRedirecting Our Gaze
The Christian’s greatest goal is to be like Christ. We want to emulate His exemplary life, model His method of teaching, resist temptation as He resisted it, handle conflicts as He did, focus on the mission God calls us to accomplish.
Read MoreA Fire for Cold Hearts
It happened in a large, seventy-five-year-old stone house on the west side of Houston. A massive stairway led up to several bedrooms. The den down below was done in rough-hewn boards with soft leather chairs and a couple of matching sofas. The wet bar had been converted into a small library, including a shelf of tape recordings and a multiple-speaker sound system. The ideal place to spend a weekend . . . unfortunately, my wife and I were there just for the evening.
Read MoreCracks in the Wall
The longer I live the less I know for sure. That sounds like 50% heresy . . . but it’s 100% honesty. In my younger years I had a lot more answers than I do now. Things were absolutely black and white, right or wrong, yes or no, in or out, but a lot of that is beginning to change. The more I travel and read and wrestle and think the less simplistic things seem.
Read MoreThe Final Priority
Somebody copied the following paraphrase from a well-worn carbon in the billfold of a thirty-year veteran missionary. With her husband, she was on her way to another tour of duty at Khartoum, Sudan. No one seems to know who authored it, but whoever it was captured the essence of the greatest essay on love ever written.
Read MoreFreedom through Forgiveness
I was having lunch at my desk one day, and happened to pull up the Insight for Living Ministries Web site to read the daily devotional. That day, the devotional was Cynthia Swindoll’s testimony, called “My Story.” The devotional, I found out, was adapted from a message Chuck Swindoll preached on Matthew 18, titled “Looking […]
Read MoreForgive . . . and Sing the Song of the Soul Set Free
I haven’t been able to get the subject of forgiveness out of my mind. Perhaps the reason is that there is so much unforgiveness in our world. Violence headlines our news with the same revengeful message: “You hurt me, so I will hurt you.” Tragic, isn’t it? The cure to conflict is so obtainable. Yet […]
Read MoreGod IS Fulfilling the Great Commission!
When I heard the numbers, I could hardly believe my ears! I was at Insight for Living Ministries international headquarters, meeting with a delegation of pastors from Jiangsu in the People’s Republic of China. They told me that as many as 109,000 people in their province are trusting Christ as their Savior each year! Don’t […]
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