Guest posts from Mike
Many of us, over the years, have memorized scripture. We memorize it because these are God’s words to us. They inspire us, help us, teach us. Paul wrote that all of scripture is inspired and so it’s all valuable to teach, to guide, to help us. Here’s a verse for you to memorize, Bunni, Azgad, …
Why Christmas? Why would God accomplish his redemption plan in this way? Why come as a baby, as a human and live among us? Why did God choose this way to redeem mankind? Luke 3 describes the arrival of Jesus in this way, quoting Isaiah, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the …
This year, to be honest, my hearts not into Christmas. I’m not excited about it. In fact I’m feeling rather a Scrooge about the whole thing. I could easily go into a monologue about consumerism and how crazy it is to spend money for gifts while we lose sight of the real meaning of the …
“We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!” These words are from …
I am out for coffee most mornings with different men in our church family. I love the encounters that happen in public eating places. The events of a coffee and the buzz around me is invigorating. This morning, as I sat at coffee waiting for one of our men I couldn’t help overhearing (yes I …
Luke 1 tells the story of the gospel from the beginning. Luke did a wonderful job describing details of the gospel we don’t see in the other books. As I read chapter one this morning I was captivated by the prophetic words of John’s father, Zacharias, as he spoke about the birth of his son …
Psalm 42: As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. Have you ever been thirsty? I mean really thirsty…your mouth dry, lips parched, your tongue clinging to the roof of your mouth. If you have ever been that thirsty you long for …
This last week I have been thinking about the disciples and their time with Jesus. Their heads had to be spinning most of the time as they lived with him. What an experience, one that would be hard to describe or commentary. They spent three years with God in flesh and yet, like me, they …
“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” -1 Thes. 5:18 Today is Thanksgiving day in our country. It started with a group of men and women pausing to thank God for his care and provision. It continues as a tradition that has lost much of its initial purpose. …
There are two things I see in scripture that cause us problems- hard hearts and stiff necks. Hard hearts describe people who are insensitive to God’s voice and untouched by his work in their lives. They simply don’t see or sense him, his voice, or his conviction. Stiff necks describe people who are, even knowing …
God’s grace is a big deal to me. It’s the most important thing to understand in all that God has provided in Christ. Many, by not understanding it, have resorted to works to please God and frankly God is not at all pleased by that response. He has provided grace and wants us to live …
One of my favorite books is a poorly written fiction by Harold Myra titled “Escape from the twisted planet.” It’s a fascinating picture of life on a twisted planet and what it might be like on planets where sin never happened. The reason I love the book is the visions it paints of what life might be …
Matthew 7:12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Years ago I heard this story. It’s one I have repeated often. It comes to my mind at times as I interact with people… A family was moving across the country after many …
Ezra 8:21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we mighthumble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. 22For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had …
1 Cor. 11:3 Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, This morning I came upon this phrase in a passage I am reading and it caught my attention in a new way. Suddenly I saw that it doesn’t say Christ is the head of every CHRISTIAN man, but …
What you read, what you watch, who you spend time with, the ones you listen to impact you more than you know. Intake = Identity What we take in changes us, molds us, impacts us. We are, whether we believe it or not, changed by the content of our input. Input = Impact The fascinating …
My biggest problem is not my work, other people around me or even the struggles I face. My biggest problem is ME! I live in a world of people all struggling, for the most part, with themselves. It’s all these struggling people clashing together that creates the problems we see around us. Unless I can …
Our lives are the result of a myriad of decisions we make each day. Decisions based on decisions we have made in the past. Each decision builds on the last one and charts a course for our lives that finds us where we are today. I’m fascinated with my own decisions and the fact that …
In my reading today I came to one of the atheist web sites I like to visit. While there I found this question. It’s a very good question and one I wanted to discuss here as well. Here it is- … “The question to ask the faithful is, how would you distinguish the difference between …
We have had an unusual number of days this year over 100 degrees. It’s been hot! I’m amazed at how hard it is for me to be content with my circumstances, with the heat. If it’s too hot, I wish it were cooler. If it’s too cold, I wish it were warmer. If it’s raining, …
I’m often amazed by new music and musicians I had not heard before. One of my new favorites is a group called “DOWNHERE.” Their new album, On the Altar of Love, is amazing. As I write this I’m listening to the album. The lyrics as well as the music prompted me to share this find …
We all get stuck. Stuck at points of our life that cripple us in the days ahead. From that “stuck place” we find that we now “walk with a limp.” Something happened, we were hurt, wounded, broken, abused, sinned against. A parent died, a wife left, a child became ill, and we got stuck at …
My friend, James, wrote this wonderful post in June. I simply hadn’t read it until we talked about it this morning over coffee and so I had to go back and read his thoughts after our visit. These are great insights from a good friend and shine a bright light on our need for maturity. …
Do you remember the thrill of being spun around by your dad? Do you remember how exciting it was? Never a worry about him letting go. He’s your dad, he would never do that. The thought never crossed our minds. We simply enjoyed the thrill and excitement of the ride. How have we lost that …
Timing is everything. I know you’ve heard that expression before, but in reference to God’s work in our lives it’s more true than you could ever imagine. He has made us and placed us in this time, in this place to be part of his plan. Timing is everything and the God who invented time …
