Category: Church Life
An Enemy Has Done This!
When Jesus told his parable about the weeds growing alongside the wheat, he exclaimed, “An enemy has done this!” It was so. Good seed had been sown, but the workers found weeds growing among the grain which at the time were nearly indistinguishable to the laborers....
Strategic Hospitality (Without Grumbling, but Possibly With Eggs)
When I was a boy, we didn’t lock our house during the day, even if we left. Those were the “good ol’ days.” I’m sure security at my parents’ house has changed. We also had an if-you-show-up-we’ll-have-some-dessert-for-you policy. I’m positive that hasn’t changed. I’m thankful to...
Book Fire!
I love this old photo. How we need knowledge and the best wisdom of the ages! Making books available for children, for instance, is a critical work for creating an orderly and educated society. One wonders, with the advent of social media, if this is still...
Yes, Bear Burdens—But Must They Bear Mine?
I once met a man who had suffered a near fatal gunshot wound in the crossfire of others in downtown Chicago. He was paralyzed for the remainder of his life. His wife had to care for him every day and in every way. Yet, in the...
How To Spot A Fool
They’re everywhere. Foolish people dominate the airwaves and are present in our homes, schools, churches, and workplaces. They can even be right inside our own clothes. Everyone has chosen a foolish path at times. And sadly, some have taken up permanent residence in that destructive...
Shelved or Serving in the Latter Years?
Can you do much for God and his kingdom when you get old? God thinks so. He has used many older people to accomplish valuable kingdom work, recorded colorfully in both the Bible and Christian history. Take Moses. He was 40 when he killed an Egyptian...
Eat This, Not That: Feasting on the Scriptures Privately for Effective Ministry Publicly
We live life in two basic realms — private and public. Who we are in one sphere influences the other. This idea comes out in Paul’s words to Timothy, “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus,...
Should We Still be Devoted to the Public Reading of Scripture?
Is the Bible read much at your church’s meetings? Should it be? At the beginning of 1 Timothy 4, Paul says the false teachers in Ephesus were “devoting themselves to . . . teachings of demons” (v. 1). Later in the chapter, he charges Timothy: “Until...
False Teachers: What to Do with the Poison in the Water
In telling the fictitious story of Barnabas Sackett coming on a ship from England to America in the 1600s, Louis L’Amour describes Sackett’s shipmates like this: “They were rascals, no question of that, and a dirty, poisonous lot, enough to kill the fish for miles if...
Four Insights from the “One Another” Commands
This whole page could be filled with the “one another” commands in the New Testament. Here are just a few: “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” (Romans 12:10) “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in...
