CATEGORY: Christian Living in the Trenches
Is My “Public” Christian Life Eclipsing My Private World?
What happens on the inside is far more important than external attractiveness. In the late spring of 1999, I was the teacher of record for a European tour that offered college academic credit for recent high school grads. The students had just received their...
5 Ways To Listen To A Sermon
Do I listen to my pastor's sermons, or do I just hear them? To listen implies engaging the mind and processing the preacher's words. To hear means the sound waves are entering my ear canal but I'm not concentrating on them. What a privilege I’ve enjoyed to take...
A MESSAGE FROM THE GRAVE: Can God’s Blessings Become A Snare?
Sobering Lessons from the Ravi Zacharias Scandal (Part 1) Stimulating lectures on university campuses serving as bastions of a liberal worldview. Stirring debates with prominent atheists and scholarly representatives of other faiths. Soul-strengthening sermons...
HOMELESS: We Know More Homeless People Than We Think
There is more than one type of homelessness. In cities across the United States, homeless individuals sleep on park benches, under bridges and on scraps of cardboard stretched out on sidewalks. In the suburbs of my hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, on busy...
Who? Me Comfort?
How has God put you together to encourage or to comfort others? When someone is needy or hurting, do you consistently give the gift of your physical presence, even when you are unsure what to say? Do you allow your nearness to express what mere words cannot? Does...
An Unlikely Source of Encouragement
Discover how an attack of spiritual warfare should encourage you! A Reassuring Perspective I am not someone who looks for a demon behind every bush, who sensationalizes every setback as a satanic attack. Often Satan gets blamed for things for which we should...
CONTRASTS: Has Your Thinking about Life and Ministry Changed?
Can you identify with any of the ways my thinking about life and ministry has changed over the years? Topics in this post include persistent praying, public weeping as a Bible teacher, a broken heart, temptation, indwelling sin of a believer, sources of identity,...
Am I Prouder Than I Thought? Lesser Known Ways that Pride Shows
I never considered myself an idol worshiper until I read this remark by John Wesley a few years ago: "All pride is idolatry." That's when I realized that I am the idol before which my heart often bows. Who hasn't had an inflated ego now and then? God must think...
THE MOST DANGEROUS KIND OF FALSE TEACHING
Some false or doctrinally challenged preachers are more dangerous than others. Scene 1 He boldly claims that the viewer will receive a transfer of wealth from the world to their bank accounts. Debts will dissolve, they’ll get their dream house or a new car, plus...
3 Things That Eclipse the Son
On August 21, 2017, Columbia, South Carolina enjoyed almost three minutes of a total solar eclipse. What majesty, to stand in the twilight on a summer afternoon, glancing (carefully) at a blazing sun that was completely obscured by a black ball, the moon....
LIVING (AND DYING) WITH FEWER REGRETS
How does God define "wisdom"? One verse that sheds light on the meaning is Psalm 90:12: "So teach us to number our days, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom." The context of this verse emphasizes the brevity of our earthly life, the inevitability of...
SOMETHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING
A SIMPLE YET PROFOUND INSIGHT FOR GOAL-SETTING AND RESOLUTIONS It is my conviction that we often fail to fulfill our New Year's resolutions and other life goals because we don't set those goals low enough. Yes, you read correctly. An enemy of succeeding with our...