I’ve been in ministry a while now. Over the years I’ve learned a lot. As a young pastor I was pretty idealistic and thought that people would respond to the Bible if it were just accurately taught. I also thought that when there was conflict, that talking things out and...
As we’ve studied the book of John these past few weeks, we saw the disciples as they struggled to understand where Jesus was going and why. We also saw Christ’s love, patience, and encouragement toward them, even in His final hour. He knew what was coming, and still He took...
On March 14th, 2018, a bright light in the intellectual world went out. Stephen Hawking, famed theoretical physicist, passed away at the age of 76. Hawking was a genius with a passion for understanding how physics can inform our understanding of the universe. He was on the cutting edge of...
“Get out, quit, you’ll never make it.” This is what I heard from my swimming instructor. He was a retired Army drill sergeant turned swimming instructor. It was a chilly morning in the local swimming pool; I was 15 and taking the Red Cross swimming instructor course. Half-way through the...
Eighty years is a long time to wait for God to be ready to use you in your life’s great work. Even though Moses lived to be 120, he still spent two-thirds of his life in preparation. God knew exactly what He was doing with Moses, and we will see...
by Ben & Tara Orchard Shiphrah and Puah. Not particularly memorable names. But they are certainly memorable women for what they did in ancient Egypt by fearing God, standing up to Pharaoh and refusing to kill infants (Exodus 1:15-22). It is well worth noting that God chose women to save...
For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.Hebrews 2:1 If you’ve ever done any kind of boating, kayaking, rafting, or canoeing, you know that when you come ashore you must secure your craft. You must...
“This can’t be happening!” This is a statement I’ve said many times to myself over the years when life seems out of control, and there doesn't appear to be any clear answers. God has used many situations in my life to wean me from depending upon my own confidence and...
I sit in my favorite chair, feet up, sipping coffee, watching the snow come down, fireplace ablaze. Ah! This is what I love. I love the aroma of coffee early on a cold winter morning. I love the December darkness and stillness of a new day. I love this time...
I was introduced this year to a poem by G. K. Chesterton that is written through the eyes of the Magi. It serves well as a meditation on the incredible humility we must have in approaching the realities of Christmas. For Christ, this world was not safe, but a place...
In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the news that "Aslan is on the move" was good news, very good news. Why was the news so good? Because the situation was dire. It was winter, and had been winter for a long, long time and "it never got to...
"Rejoice always," wrote Paul from a Roman prison. Rejoice is a rich word, meaning, according to a leading Greek lexicon, to be in a state of happiness and wellbeing. For many, this is a fleeting experience encountered rarely, not a reality coming even close to always. As Christmas approaches, and...
“Dad, you don’t know everything.” I remember hearing this more than once from my kids as they were growing up. As parents, we want to have all the answers — or, at least, appear that we do. When it comes to theology, we often do the same thing. Since God’s...
While rummaging through a drawer this week I came across something very special. A few months ago, the pastor and dear friend who married us 37 years ago gave us the hand-typed pages from our wedding ceremony. He started our wedding out with this statement, “The two most important relationships...
The battle was ended and the field was strewn with the wreckage of war. The victorious general of the Greek army looked out upon the place where he had bested the forces of Rome. But he was not jubilant. He was heavy-hearted. Though victorious, the cost had been far too...
Valuing Local Church Investment in View of Global Evangelism Let’s call it the paralysis of empathy. It’s that feeling you get when, for example, you sit down to watch a show on TV and a commercial breaks in with the emaciated form of an impoverished child living in the slums...
My life was full of fear when I came to Christ in college. I had an overwhelming fear of judgment for my sins. But I also had another kind of fear. I feared I would have to give up all the things I thought were important to me and gave...
Psalm 8 is not a long psalm, but a jam-packed psalm that defines the glory and majesty of our Lord. In it we see the heavens, children, animals, birds, man, and fish used to reflect the glory of God. I was particularly taken with the verse 2, “Out of the...
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25 Tara and I recently returned from a trip to Newport, Rhode Island where I began my Navy career. It was quite nostalgic seeing the Chaplain School, King Hall where I lived for two...
My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine… So begins one of my favorite hymns of devotion to Jesus. It is a simple and rich hymn that has put words and melody to one of Christianity’s most intimate sentiments for over 140 years. The hymn reached its first...