Category: CHURCH & MINISTRY
The Ultimate “No-win Situation”
The little house was hopelessly surrounded. Innumerable soldiers with unimaginably powerful weapons prevented any hope of successful resistance or escape. Their Commander stood confidently and patiently, waiting for the barricaded rebel to show his face. After many days, a small, unarmed man strode out of the...
When You’re Called On to Read the Bible Publicly
Have you ever been asked to read Scripture during the main church meeting on Sunday? Have you been asked to read Scripture in a Sunday School class or other Bible study? How did it go? How should it go? How should a person read the Bible...
The Ticket
I got a traffic ticket last night, my first in about ten years. I wasn’t speeding or running stop signs or driving with expired registration. I neglected to use my turn signal . . . while stopping to make a right turn at a red light...
Gospel Potency
I stood on Colossae’s hill overlooking the beautiful Lycus Valley 100 miles inland from Ephesus. It was a small valley town in its best days. For some reason that moment made an impression on me when we toured Turkey for its biblical sites. Not far off...
When the Money Runs Out: Six Lessons from John Stam
Financial stress is to the mind as nausea is to the stomach—uncomfortable and impossible to ignore. If you are a Christian, it can be even worse because you know that you’re supposed to trust God, and yet you instinctively worry, “What am I going to do?”...
When You’ve Broken What You Cannot Fix
My son loves cars, motorcycles, planes and trains. He likes to look at them and imitate the sounds they make, but more than anything he likes to play with them—the smaller versions for now. Many times he plays rough and “bonks” them together and the inevitable...
What Do You Love About Jesus?
It’s easy to profess to be a Christian based on church attendance, a sinner’s prayer once prayed, a baptism, or a family tradition, but none of these are reliable tests of your profession of faith in Christ. One’s claim to know Christ becomes less flippant when...
Tolerance of Evil is Evil Itself
“Congratulations to Corey Delaney . . . .” That’s how the news broadcaster began his story about a 16-year-old in Australia who recently hosted a party in his parents’ home while they were away on vacation. The party, which was advertised on Delaney’s “My Space” page,...
Timid Timothy?
If a group of believers were asked to describe Timothy in one word, I’m confident that some (most?) would use a word like “timid.” They may be right, based upon Second Timothy 1:6-7, “For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which...
Three New Commands You Must Not Neglect
Christ instituted new laws. Can He do that? Yes, of course. He has every right to do so. After all, He has been “given all authority in heaven and on earth” (Mt. 28:18). At times Christ interpreted old commands in a fresh way. At other times...
