Have you ever felt completely out of place? Have you ever been in a situation where you were in a room full of people, didn’t know how to act, and weren’t sure how to meet anyone to help you feel more at home? Some years ago, a pastor friend of mine got married. I had met his fiancée, now wife,
Scripture Focus: O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more. Psalm 10:17-18 (NRSV) Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for
Pain and our ability to cope with pain are problems common to all people of all cultures. For years, mission organizations have realized that helping people deal with physical issues opens the door to deeper discussions about Jesus. Many people have benefited from this work worldwide. However, we do not always do an adequate job helping our people connect to
Scripture Focus: Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For
Scripture Focus: A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all. The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages
Are you primarily a fiction or a non-fiction reader? I’ll confess I can’t remember the last time I picked up a fiction title. I know, it’s bad. But ever since my dad gave me a copy of Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” when I was 14, I’ve been hooked. I have bookshelves packed with non-fiction titles, from
When we hear the word evangelism, most of us think of the ways people communicate the saving message of Jesus. Witnessing and preaching are two biblical and effective methods of evangelism. In an earlier article, I introduced a tool for this type of ministry – Words That Shine: Creating a Verbal Witness that is Effective Anywhere. If our churches were
Scripture Focus: Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I
Scripture Focus: I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Psalm 108:3-4 (NLT) You are my rock and my fortress. For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger. Pull me from the
Someone will say “You have faith; I have deeds. ” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham
So it is with evangelism and discipleship. If we are engaged in both well, they become a seamless movement and we cross the threshold between one and the other without even realizing.
Father, you have made all in your image…you love all. Help me to love all, even in the midst of such fear, hatred and strife, may I reflect you and your love. May I be a beacon of hope and life in a world spinning out of control with chaos.
Much of the time, officers do exactly what they are supposed to do, and for this we can be grateful.
But they are armed. And the weapons they carry can easily kill people. This means that police officers must be trained to be extraordinarily disciplined in their perceptions of situations and people, and extraordinarily restrained in their use of
I am writing this while “on mission with Jesus in Ecuador,”* serving together with seventeen genuinely kind and faithful people from two churches in Georgia and the United Methodist seminary of Venezuela. We are being hosted by Sharon and Graham Nichols, who serve Christ through The Mission Society. Back in the day, church folk took suitcases of shoes, toys or
Always a lover of history, currently I’m partway through Ron Chernow’s excellent biography of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton – the book, incidentally, which son of Puerto Rican immigrants Lin-Manuel Miranda turned into the hit Broadway musical. With a decent dose of Scot in my blood, I can get into any story of a struggle for freedom easily. Why else
What would it look like to follow the Great Commission without freedom?
As those of us in the United States celebrate Independence Day today, it may be difficult to imagine that. How would we “go and make disciples” if our government made it illegal?
Would we disobey? Go in secret?
Those are questions facing our brothers and sisters in the
We as a faith community must focus on how we can work to love our neighbors well, both in this and in our daily home, work, and play. This is an unspeakable tragedy and we should take extended time to mourn, to pray for the families of those murdered and injured, and to consider the depth of evil in the
What would worship look like if it was more about giving than getting? Less about “being fed,” and more about offering praise?
It might look like worship in Nigeria and other places in Africa, where praises are not the only thing lifted through dance and song, but tithes and offerings as well, as dancing and singing Christ followers come forward
I moved into my dorm room at college and unpacked a few suitcases and boxes. I took up half of the dresser and half of the closet. I had a long move-in-day to myself getting ready for classes the next morning. At nearly midnight my roommate showed up. After bringing in a few books and assorted items, he then carried in
The Institute for Ethics at Duke University conducted an online survey of about 1,500 people as part of a project designed to measure the morality quotient of Americans. They asked people to rate how likely they’d be to do certain morally questionable things like, for instance, kicking a dog in the head. As it turns out (happily), seven of eight
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