Disappointment is His Appointment

“Disappointment is His appointment.” Have you ever experienced a major disappointment in life? I’m talking about one where you believed it to be life-altering. Loss of job, major health concern, loss of a loved one, a wayward child, financial crisis. Think about some of the biblical stories you may know and you’ll find this to [...]

Pain has a Purpose

Loneliness. Fragmented relationships. Divorce. Emotional instability. Verbal abuse. Physical abuse. Unsuccessful career. Dreams unfulfilled. Promises broken. Favoritism. Financial uncertainty. Strained family relationships. Children who abandon their walk with Christ. Is it really possible that God can take the pain in our life and have a purpose for it? First, a couple premliminary thoughts: God is [...]

Stop Talking :: Start Modeling

Enough is enough. Stop talking. Start modeling. The next generation silently pleads for an older generation to model. They say, “More walk. Less talk, please.” A model does not “sell” the clothes. They wear them. They display the items. A younger generation yearns for authenticity. Whether their four-year old eyes, twenty-four year old eyes or [...]

Remaining Joyful During Difficult Times

Do you find your circumstances dictate how you feel? Do you find that happiness exists only when “good things” happen in your life? an unexpected pay raise a refund check the kids get an “A” on the test your spouse surprises you with a gift While all these could be sources of joy, what about [...]

“Freely Eat”

“It’s a free country!” In our sarcastic society, we’re used to hearing that phrase when someone wants to excuse their obnoxious or inappropriate behavior. “Don’t run in the kitchen!” But it’s a free country. “Don’t spit your gum out on the sidewalk!” Free country. Of course, we all know that real freedom exists within sensible [...]

Convicting Questions

James 5:16 exhorts us to confess our faults to each other. In our individualistic society, our personal sin struggles get pushed back into our private inner world, unknown to our fellow believers. This is unfortunate, due to the fact that the church is designed for believers to help each other grow in Christlikeness. How can [...]

Fightings Within

Am I the only one who lives in a household where there is arguing and bickering?  Or am I supposed to keep that a secret?  Last week we had everyone write down “a few of their favorite things.”  Favorite things included praise, a clean house, a waveboard, orderliness, etc.  I wanted us to be able [...]

Training “Jim Elliots” in a Seinfeld Generation

I am totally aware of the fact that Seinfeld is no longer prime time television and that we are a few years now into the show’s reruns.  What I am addressing is the fact that the show’s portrayal of “today’s man” still lingers on. The passive, non-aggressive nice guy mentality seems to have influenced even [...]

“Make of Me a Crisis Man”

The last blog post I made introduced the subject of heroes.  I ended the article asking you who your heroes are.  I hope you have some great memories of great lives like I do.  For a few articles I am going to be reflecting on some people God has used to challenge me and inspire [...]

Heroes

As I have begun the process of moving back into my newly remodeled (and awesome looking) office, I have been hauling books back and forth to be boxed or put on shelves.  The other day, I came across one of my favorites that I had not seen for some time, Shadow Of The Almighty by [...]