The Apostle Paul offers here one of the classic texts regarding Easter and how Jesus’ resurrection demonstrated that He was bigger than death. It reminds me of a great story I heard some time back about a pastor in Minnesota who enjoyed a working relationship with the local funeral home director.
Read MoreThe original recipients of this text would have heard these words with an awe and wonder that we could never know. They were very familiar with the curtain of separation described here. Sixty feet tall, thirty feet wide, and six inches thick it hung in the Temple in front of the most sacred of all spaces – the Holy of Holies. This was an area that was completely off-limits. Worshipers in that day were governed by strict rules of access.
Read MoreMost of us are familiar with the gospel accounts of the crucifixion on that gray Good Friday afternoon: the brutal nails pounded into Jesus’ hands and feet, the cruel mocking of the onlookers, the callous gambling of the soldiers, and the last words spoken by the dying Savior.
Read MoreOne of the goals of companies these days is to come up with a high-impact logo that has the potential to get indelibly fixed in people’s minds. A symbol with enough appeal, that when people see it, they will not only think of the company, but will want to buy the company’s product.
Read MoreElephants are powerful creatures, capable of amazing feats of strength, yet trainers can keep them in place with a rope and a small stake in the ground. No chains, no cages. How is this possible? It’s obvious that the huge animals could, at any time, break free. But they don’t. Why is that?
Read MoreIn his book, If Only, Dr. Neal Roese makes a fascinating distinction between two types of regret: regrets of action and regrets of inaction.
A regret of action is “wishing you hadn’t done something.” In theological terms it’s called a sin of commission. By way of contrast, a regret of inaction is “wishing you had done something.” In theological terms it’s known as a sin of omission.
I have my fair share of action regrets.
Read MoreI recently came across a great quote from a pastor named Ray Johnston. He wrote: “The road to a better future is never traveled on an empty tank.” I think Ray hits the proverbial nail on the head here.
Think about it. You can have all sorts of dreams regarding your destination. You can make all kinds of plans for how you’re going to make the most of the journey. But if you run out of fuel along the way, none of that will matter.
Read MoreMy wife loves to watch a television show called “Fixer Upper.” It features a couple from Waco, Texas, Chip and Joanna Gaines, who design and renovate houses. The goal is to build a solid structure on a firm foundation. And great is the joy when that is accomplished.
Read MoreI miss my friend, Mark. He passed away suddenly from a deadly heart attack in the fall of 2017. Months have gone by and I still miss him.
I miss him as a dear friend and special fishing buddy. I miss him as a ministry partner who (along with his dear wife, Diane) poured out time and energy for the youth of our church.
Read MoreAmazing strength can be found in the most amazing places.
My favorite example of this is a story about a strong man at a circus. At the end of his act, he used to squeeze all the water out of a sponge and then offer $100 to anybody who could squeeze one more drop out of that sponge.
Nobody ever collected, such was his strength, until one day…
Read MoreEveryone has their favorite biblical character…My choice is David. Shepherd, musician, giant-killer, faithful friend, fugitive turned Robin Hood, military general, king. David, to my way of thinking, was one of the most incredible individuals who ever lived.
So, what was David’s secret?
Read MoreHave you ever noticed that some people have 20/20 vision for the flaws and misdeeds of others but complete myopia when it comes to themselves? They have a keen eye for the faults of others, but a serious case of “I” trouble when it comes to their own.
Jesus recognized this issue and uses this metaphor. "The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad…" (In other words, if you cannot see the truth about you) "…your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!"
Read MoreThe following account appeared in both Reuters and in the New York Times Magazine: Earlier this year (1996), the dazed crew of a Japanese trawler were plucked out of the Sea of Japan clinging to the wreckage of their sunken ship.
Their rescue, however, was followed by immediate imprisonment once authorities questioned the sailors on their ship’s loss. To a man they claimed that a cow, falling out of a clear blue sky, had struck the trawler amidships…
Read MoreAccording to A. W. Tozer, the most important thing about you is what comes to your mind when you think about God. “Were we to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, ‘What comes to your mind when you think about God?’ we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man.”
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