Choices. We make them every day. The results of those choices affect the course of our lives and all the choices ahead. Once we make a choice we can no longer make the other choice. Our course is set. Now a multitude of other choices on the other path are no longer ours. Now we …
John 14:13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. One of the passages of scripture that has troubled me my entire Christian life is this passage in John. These are …
2 Timothy 2:20-22 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every …
I have always felt like an outsider. “Outside what?” you might ask. Outside everything! I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who didn’t have this sense of being on the outside trying to get in. The sense of being an outsider is something we all deal with. I think it’s simply part of being fallen. …
It’s 100 degree + again today. It’s summer in Texas. We usually have hot summers, but this one seems especially warm. Today a friend invited me to lunch with him, but he wanted to “ride” to lunch. That means motorcycles. I have an old BMW airhead with the cylinders right in front of each foot. …
You read about them daily in the news. They cause fear and devastation when they strike. Their tactics change lives forever, including their own. They are called suicide bombers. It’s a recent term to describe a growing trend…people willing to destroy themselves to hurt others. Their beliefs are so strong that they are willing to …
I just watched a video by David Christian called “Big History” on T.E.D. It was fascinating. He began with a video to show how impossible, improbable it is to go from chaos to order and then proceeds for 15 minutes to whimsically declare that’s exactly how the universe came to be. With no reason or …
In my reading I’ve come to Mark 1 and one of my favorite stories in the bible. It’s a very short story…not much said about it, but it’s heavy with impact to me. I always slow down as I read this story because I love the message it communicates. Join me in the crowd as …
I just finished teaching through the first three chapters of Ephesians and as we finished chapter three we came to Paul’s closing prayer for the first three chapters. After some wonderful theology Paul’s prayer focuses on one thing- that they would understand how much God loves them. Honestly, it doesn’t seem to fit, but what …
The words of a commentary come to mind this morning as I start my day, “The best word to describe someone who has not trusted Christ as savior is ‘without.’” It’s part of a commentary on the book of Ephesians. As those words came to me early this morning I thought, what would be on …
It’s a question I hear often, “So….what’s God doing in your life?” The thought, I’m sure, is honest and genuine, but a proper response is often hard to come up with. You see, I’m a pastor and God is supposed to be doing something amazing in my life all the time. Aren’t I really close …
He was almost 40 years old and had been invisible as long as he could remember. His name was Joseph and like his namesake he was in bondage, but this Joseph’s bondage would never end. Joseph was lame, unable to walk, and had been that way since birth. Early in life he realized that people …
There are days when the challenges and pitfalls of life sneak up on us. It’s easy to fall if you’re not watching the road ahead. The Christian life is described as a walk because there are element of walking that are part of it. There is the decision to go somewhere other than where you …
Being a Christian has advantages. The big one for me is the community that happens as Christians gather. “One another” life happens. We begin to care for one another, love one another, pray for one another, help one another and on the list goes. Community happens. Love is demonstrated. Life together happens. Caring for others …
One of the great statements of the bible is summed up in just two words, “But God…” In those two small words tragedy turns to triumph, problems are explained, sadness has hope, and we are not left without answers. God is involved in our world, in our lives. God is the great problem solver, course …
Mark 4:35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that …
This morning I read an article by an atheist writer. I like to read his thoughts because he makes me think. Of course I have to sort through the anger, harsh words and bitterness that comes from his past, but he has a lot to say. This morning his topic was public prayer. His arguments …
It’s clear, as you read the bible, that Godly leadership evokes a following. If a man, one man, will pursue God then others will gather and follow a man hungry after God. As I read further into the life of Hezekiah it’s obvious that after many years of poor leadership his walk with God was …
“Even when I walk through the shadow lands, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.” -David, Psalm 23 I had coffee with a good friend this morning who is struggling with depression. It grieved me to see him in the midst of the shadow lands. It’s …
Yesterday we had our first snow of the winter in Texas. The flakes were huge, wet and sticky. Of course, here in Texas that means car wrecks, schools closed and other problems, but the snow itself was beautiful. Science has looked at snow one flake at a time and found that each flake is different, …
I woke early this morning thinking about a passage of scripture that I thought I understood. As I thought about my own life and the verse I will share with you in a moment it suddenly struck me that the way I had viewed the verse was all wrong. I had missed the main point! …
It’s often hard for me to see God’s work in my life. I’m living moment by moment and I can’t see what he is doing in my moments. The light that shows me what God is doing sometimes comes much later. Most of the time I only get a glimpse, a stream of light through …
Christmas is less than two weeks away! It’s come so quickly this year that it has caught us unprepared. We don’t have a tree up yet. Few decorations are on the walls. It feels a little like a humbug Christmas because it’s not all about the trees, the lights and the decor…it’s about Christ. I …
As a pastor this contrast of worshiper or consumer is often a topic of discussion and thought. We are in such a consumer driven culture that even church has become a consumer product. We change churches because we like the music better over there or the preacher is “really good” at this church, but we …
He is able…. . What a great introduction to so much more. He is able. When we know that the God who made the universe is able to AND willing to work in our lives it changes how we view everything. The big question for our faith is this, “Is God big enough to take …
