Faith
Wonderfully made
Your brain is one incredible, complex organ. It consists of 100 billion neurons and over 100 trillion synaptic connections. Let me give you a context and frame of reference for that number. There are more neurons in a human brain than stars in the Milky Way galaxy! Wow. I hate to use such an obvious…
Read MorePersecution
Do you know that there’s a “bent” against Christianity? Not necessarily against religion or politics, but specifically against Jesus and the Gospel. Very few would ever come right out and say that, but it’s true. Jesus’ own words in Luke 6:22 give us a pretty good definition of persecution. “Blessed are you when men hate you…
Read MoreMembership has its privileges
American Express had an advertising meme that was used for years. It’s still used today. It was dropped by American Express, but tons of people picked up the phrase. “Membership has its privileges.” Comedy clips, Facebook reels, and late-night monologues often use it as a “punch line.” The original ad implied that if you were…
Read MoreMixed feelings
I was thinking about the response I gave a colleague concerning a troubling text he had received. I said, “I’ve got mixed feelings” about it. We’ve all used that phrase. What do you mean when you use it, or in my case, “What did I mean?” If you have mixed feelings about something or someone,…
Read MorePrejudice in our thinking
Here’s an observation that might be more “anecdotal” than actual. It seems that once adults make up their minds, they very rarely change them. For example, when it comes to watching or listening to the news, one person is drawn to the right and another to the left. You just don’t see people approaching the…
Read MoreGod shows up
What does it mean when we say, “God really showed up!” We tend to say that from time to time when we’re in the middle of an awesome Christian concert or at a moving church service. It can be an expression used when you have a difficult conversation with someone, and it turns out positively.…
Read MoreUsing your platform
At the end of a championship game, I’m always encouraged when the MVP or another significant athlete immediately gives a “shout out” to Jesus Christ. ◊ The Kansas City Chiefs won their fourth Super Bowl in franchise history this year. When the MVP and quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, spoke while receiving the trophy, he said, “I…
Read MoreGrieving well
Today’s blog has to do with a subject that many of us avoid. It’s the subject of grieving, or maybe better said, “grieving well.” We tend to think of grieving as a major season in our lives. Like the loss of a loved one or a career change. It would certainly include a divorce or…
Read MoreWaiting for the other shoe to drop
I talked with a wonderful friend today. She’s had her fair share of life challenges. Those challenges include breast cancer, abandonment, and some financial struggles. But, she shared today that these past six months have been the best of her life. Then she confessed, “I’m just waiting for ‘the other shoe to drop.’” I understand…
Read MoreHistory is Written by Victors
“History is Written by Victors.” The quote gets attributed to Winston Churchill, but nobody knows ‘for sure’ who the original author was. It implies that history is not grounded in facts. Instead, it’s the winners’ interpretation of the facts that prevail. That statement is alarming, but is it true? Clever statements get turned into present-day…
Read MoreDumpster diving
I’m sitting in a restaurant looking out the window to a large construction project. There are several enormous dumpsters on the site. It reminds me of an old friend who built an entire storage unit from materials he found “dumpster diving.” For those who are not familiar with the term, let me define it. It’s…
Read MoreTrust
Trust is one of those words we often throw into a conversation when we’re uncertain about the future. It’s a great word. It can mean belief, hope, conviction, expectation, dependence, to depend on, to count on, or to be sure about. you get the idea of the depth of this amazing word. In the New…
Read MoreHe holds it all together
It seems like every week I have a “new” favorite song. I’ll share it with you in a sec. But let me begin this blogpost stating the obvious: “It often dawns on me just how significant music is…for all of us.” I read some notable words from Albert Einstein. “If I were not a physicist,…
Read MoreWithout hope nothing works
Without hope, nothing works, at least in the “long term.” Dale Carnegie once said,”Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” One of the primary, central themes of the Bible is hope. The need for hope…
Read MoreBait and switch
Bait and Switch. You heard the phrase, but what does it mean? Webster defines the phrase as “the ploy of offering a person something desirable to gain favor (such as political support) then thwarting expectations with something less desirable.” When you’re told one thing, but are delivered something else, you feel “used” or worse –…
Read MoreSmall is the new big
“Orange is the new black”. It’s the title of the 7 season TV series that began in 2013. Interesting title. Let me clarify. The ‘orange’ in the title refers to the color of correctional uniforms the female inmates wear. The ‘is the new black’ is a fashion reference, meaning the new hot thing. “60 is the…
Read MoreI’m especially fond of you!
“I’m especially fond of you.” That’s a quote from the 2007 novel “The Shack” by William P. Young. The main character is Mackenzie Phillips and four years prior to the setting of the book, one of his children is abducted and killed while on a family camping trip. It turned him bitter at life and…
Read MoreReflection time
I just returned from attending the funeral of a friend. He was a courageous Christian friend who, because of his faith in Christ, I will see again one day in heaven. He pastored in an inner-city church. I listened to some incredible stories, many of them I heard personally from my friend. He never passed…
Read MoreChristmas in nine words
What’s your favorite Christmas verse in the Bible? Isaiah 7:14? “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Matthew 1:21? “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and…
Read MoreYour life as a headline
Much of the history you read is in summary form. “Washington crosses the Potomac.” “Japan surrenders ending World War II.” “Elon Musk set to buy Twitter.” But history books don’t have the bandwidth to tell every back story or every detail that led to the headline. I get the same sense when reading what the…
Read MorePurpose in the pain
Sometimes life is just plain hard. People we love get sick. Governments do idiotic things. The news we hear is often negative. Careers don’t always work out. Kids don’t constantly express their love for their parents. Has it ever crossed your mind, “why?” Here’s a thought. Crisis and difficulty in your life have a purpose.…
Read MoreMagic 8-Ball
When I was growing up, my best friend had a Magic 8-Ball. It was a round plastic sphere that looked like an 8-Ball from a pool table. My friends and I used it for seeking adolescent advice. It was invented in 1946 by Albert C. Carter and Abe Bookman. You’d ask a question, then turn…
Read MoreBold proclamation
I’ve been fortunate to travel to India five times. Each time I come back to the United States, I return with fresh insights. They often come as a result of looking at the world through a different “lens”. Mission trips have a way of doing that. Most recently, my observations didn’t come from my eyes,…
Read MoreGeneration to generation
Christine Caine shared this story at Catalyst West Coast. In the 2000 Olympics in Australia & 2004 Olympics in Athens & 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the 4×400 meter Women’s Relays, the American team should have won each time. They had the best individual runners and had the best record of any other team. They lost…
Read MoreThe “ripple effect”
You never know who you’re going to sit next to at a baseball game. It goes something like this. You get a ticket, you sit down, and then someone invades your personal space and sits next to you. As you begin to enjoy the game, this guy next to you, usually with a painted face and…
Read MoreBeing Superman
When I was a kid, I did what you did. You pretended to be somebody you’re not. For me, it was Superman. I would get a towel from the closet and some safety pins and I’d pin it to my shirt and run through the house, sometimes down the street with my cape flying. OK.…
Read MoreNaive faith
I heard an amazing testimony of faith the other day. This extraordinary leader came to believe in Jesus when he was at his absolute lowest point in life. Addicted and broken, he entered into a real relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Things changed…some quickly…some not so much. He grew in his faith…
Read MorePraying for Ukraine
It’s hard to believe what we’re seeing right now. The country of Ukraine is being invaded and the citizens are in peril. Our mission agency, Missions Door, has several missionaries in the country, but you may not know that all of our missionaries are indigenous. In other words, Ukraine is their home and therefore they’re…
Read MoreGod has a plan?
God has a plan. If I’ve heard that once, I’ve heard it a hundred times. In fact, I’ve said it myself many times. I believe it. God does have a plan…for everything. The Bible is clear, God is personal and He is in control. Proverbs 19:21 says Many are the plans in the mind of…
Read MoreWhat do you know?
How much do you know? I mean, how much knowledge do you have? You may be well educated or you might have gone no further than grade school. You may have received your education from the streets. You may be even smarter than Albert Einstein. But here’s an interesting perspective. It’s not how much you…
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