Another shooting. Funnel clouds forming. People dying. Families broken. Lives shattered. Hatred rules. Where is safety? It was another quiet Sunday. Church had just ended. All seems normal until some motorcycles ride onto the church property. The pastor and 5 other men are pulled out and ordered “Convert to Islam or die.” They refuse, and they are executed, one-by-one behind the church.* Yes, this is a normal Sunday afternoon in Burkina Faso and in many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Many news agencies, including the BBC, are reporting that thousands and thousands are being slaughtered for their Christian faith, to the point it is being called genocide. Where is safety? Twelve people in Virginia Beach are murdered by a co-worker […]
Worldview
My father served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. Winston Churchill served as Prime Minister of Great Britain. My father served in the Pacific Fleet. Great Britain is in the Atlantic. My father earned the respect of the 120 men he led as skipper of his warship. Churchill earned the respect of millions with his brave leadership against the Axis powers. My father admired Churchill. Churchill never knew that my father existed. “So,” you might be asking, “why is this article is titled the way it is?” In the providence of God, Winston Churchill made a decision that impacted my father’s life. Churchill was concerned about how Allied Forces could successfully invade European beaches and drive out a […]
The twenty-third psalm is often read at funerals to give hope and comfort for mourners. However, the psalm has a powerful message for life. It is a message that will center you on God’s care. The psalm looks at life from God’s perspective. Here are the first two verses: The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. These words are from David. If you think about his life it was not one of idyllic peace that these words describe. David’s life was filled with the ugliness of sin, both his own and the sins of others. David was constantly surrounded by betrayal, bitterness, violence, […]
There are times when everything goes wrong all at once. The kids are out of control. There are problems with the car, with the house. You are tired to the bone. You try to pray but it is like God is on a coffee break. Life gets like this sometimes. Jehoshaphat had such a moment. However, instead of wondering where God was he turned to the praise of his God. Praise often is the last thing thought about when life becomes crazy. We associate praise with good times but not so much with the chaotic times. However, praise is always the appropriate attitude of our hearts, regardless of whether times are good, crazy, or awful. God is still God, he […]
Men, pornography is a lie. You think you are attracted to it because of sexual temptation. That is a lie of the enemy! Yes, the lure is about sexual lust is real. But the attraction to pornography is also about the degradation and humiliation of women for your own lusts. Indulging in pornography promotes and aids human trafficking, slavery, physical abuse, emotional abuse, rape and, in some cases, death. In short, viewing of pornography is finding pleasure in the slavery and destruction of women. The enemy has deceived you into thinking that pornography is about fulfilling your sexual fantasies and lusts. The enemy is laughing all the way to hell as, literally, tens of millions of men and women believe […]
One of life’s hardest lessons is to realize that true satisfaction is found only in God. There are many pretenders but only God is sufficient to give meaning and purpose to your life. Apart from God every single relationship and endeavor you pursue carries the reality of disappointment. One of the cruelest things you can to do is to expect others to provide for you what can only be found in God. No human can bear the weight of being God for you. Practically, what does this mean? Children cannot bear the weight of being your satisfaction in life. This will cause you to either ask too much from them or to ignore their weaknesses. In either case, you will […]
Is heaven something that dominates your life? God means for heaven to be the anchor that helps you make sense of a world dominated by sin and injustice. The Holy Spirit has guaranteed you an inheritance, which includes the reality of heaven. What a huge blessing this is! The most wonderful and spectacular destination any human can have has been secured for you by God’s Holy Spirit. God wants you to see heaven as relevant to your everyday life. Life without heaven is a life that makes no sense. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. (I Corinthians 15:19) In other words, life without a vision for heaven […]
Are you obsessed with tomorrow? People assume that tomorrow will come. However, there is no guarantee that tomorrow will actually happen. Even if tomorrow does come, there is nothing that you can do to control the events of tomorrow or the impact they will have on your life. Yes, you can and should be responsible with the choices you make today. But there is no way to control or predict what will happen tomorrow. Still, thoughts of tomorrow dominate our plans, our thinking, our worries and our hopes. Jesus puts tomorrow in proper perspective. Your well-being for today and the arrival of tomorrow is connected to the purpose and plan of God. Here is what Jesus says (Luke 12:25-26): Who […]
In the twenty-third Psalm, the Holy Spirit provides what you need to make your life count for God in 2019. Whatever issues you may face this Psalm provides the biblical framework for you to make a difference for God. This wonderful psalm is for everyday life and the trials and pressures of each day. The psalm provides two great truths to give stability and comfort for your life: God is your shepherd (verses 1-2). The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. The first two verses of Psalm 23 make a beautiful, comforting statement: God is your shepherd! What kind of shepherd do you […]
What makes a Christmas a good Christmas? Think about that for a moment. There is danger that lurks for Christians when we evaluate the quality of life with the standards of our culture. Using the world’s standards as the measure of what is good in your life will bring dissatisfaction. This is exactly what happened to the psalmist in Psalm 73. His overwhelming discouragement came directly from evaluating life the way God’s enemies do. Parents, this applies to you, as well. If you work hard at your parenting, but use the culture’s standards of success, you will become like the psalmist—embittered and discouraged with life and with God. What is good cannot be found by looking at our culture. Christians have a […]