Navigating Challenges: Trust, Act, and Expect by Otis T. McMillan
Otis McMillan
May 16, 2019
There is safety in being God-conscious at all times. Before decisions are made, seek the mind of God.
There is safety in being God-conscious at all times. Before decisions are made, seek the mind of God.
And the soldiers—the protectors of civil order— decide to bury the truth. They take their bribe and the promise of protection from Pilate’s wrath, and they toe the party line. They protect the power of a broken world.But the women—the ones with little influence, the ones who are least likely to be believed—they run from the empty tomb with great
And in our gospel passage, Mary of course – like all of us on this side of death – is not yet fully awake. She makes first contact with the resurrected Jesus, and it’s about as awkward as Peter embarrassing himself by trying to pitch a tent on Mount Tabor. Mary’s problem is that she thinks Jesus is dead, and
In my leadership role with World Methodist Evangelism, I frequently preach and teach in international environments, depending heavily on the skills of translators and interpreters. These are gifted people! I recall teaching on evangelism in Vladivostok, Russia a few years ago. I was trying to make an important point, which in English is not difficult to understand. It’s the idea
At times it seems that people who come from Wesleyan Methodist backgrounds have an “arm’s length” relationship with the idea of providence. At its most basic level, providence is the activity of God working out God’s redemptive plans for his creation. It’s God working out a rescue plan for creation, and the idea that God is working behind the scenes
A wise art teacher used to say, “Make art that won’t be burnt up.” He meant, make art that will outlast the last judgment. Make art that will count as one of the “glories of the nations” brought into the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:26). Beauty attracts us, even when our reasons are unconvinced.
As we practice the disciplines of submission and serving, we are freed from the terrible burden of always needing to get our own way, and we find the freedom to value and serve others.
I wondered how hungry the man was to steal an egg salad sandwich from a convenience store. I also wondered how he would have reacted to the customer’s kindness. He left without knowing his debt was paid. He was free to go. The food belonged to him.
There is a moment you stand on the brink, or the brink stands on you. The inexorable draw pulls you in, like gravity, like the current; at the moment you must fight to get away or be drawn in forever, you are the most tempted to pause with quickened breath as you weigh whether the knowledge of what lies on
With the coming of spring and the anticipation of summer, many churches in the United States are preparing for the Short-Term Mission (STM) “season.” Churches frequently use a domestic or international STM trip as a standard part of regular programming for youth and adults of all ages. STM has been billed as a way for American churches to spread the
“The grace of redemption can come upon us all at once like a crashing wave. It can reveal itself over a season of life similar to how the autumn leaves move from green to vivid orange, red, and yellow. It can even be relentless in how it floods our souls over and over again.”
“Now some Calvinists clearly understand the logic of their position, and do not shrink from this implication. Classic Calvinist theologian Arthur W. Pink wrote: ‘when we say God is sovereign in the exercise of His love, we mean that He loves whom He chooses. God does not love everybody.’”
I encountered Jesus on a trip to a mercy ministry in Bangalore. The people at this particular place were a mix of old, disabled, infirm and insane. But in some pairs of eyes, I could see what Mother Teresa talked about: Jesus in his most distressing disguise. I sat by a woman who was skin and bones. Half-naked and not fully
Each season has its ebb and flow, its ups and downs. Why is it, then, that we are still wrapping our minds around change management and leading change within local congregations? Think of change like you think of the seasons.
“Like divine sovereignty, predestination is not a Calvinist doctrine, it is a biblical doctrine. And indeed, as a theologian steeped in Scripture, Wesley not only affirmed the doctrine, he affirmed a very strong version of it…”
Prayer. It is as natural as breathing. Most of us, regardless of faith, will find ourselves praying instinctively at some point in our lives. Typically, the prayer that flows unbidden from our heart is a prayer formed in our soul that expresses our deep distress as a plea of boldness for help or guidance. Or the prayer might be one
How can a loving God send people to hell? The text comes from John 3:16-21: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not
Intuition is a direct knowledge or awareness of something without conscious attention or reasoning; it is non-intellectual perception. Nothing innately spiritual is either stated or implied in that definition. When a person allows the Holy Spirit to take control of his or her natural intuition, the result is spiritual intuition. Discernment through spiritual intuition provides deeper understanding and expands the
“I was headed in the wrong direction, even though the church was headed in the right direction.”
The sovereignty of God is a vitally important truth Wesleyans badly need to recover. This is not only because it is crucial for understanding the biblical drama, but also because many Wesleyans have tended to neglect it because Calvinists often give the impression that it is one of their distinctive doctrines. But the sovereignty of God is not a Calvinist
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