Doing God's work, one step at a time

My daughter has been freaking out recently because of the social media hype citing Luke 21:25-26 as evidence for the end times due to the timing of the eclipse across America from coast to coast and Hurricane Harvey. This got my mind to working and I've decided to put out a few words concerning this deep and troubling issue for some. I remember back when I was in school and working for Huddle House in '09-'10, there were several of the high school servers there who were panicking about the Mayan Calendar ending on December 21, 2012. They were visibly frightened. Scared to death that the end of the world was coming in the next few years. They knew I was in school studying ministry and they came and asked me about it. I proceeded to tell them that if the world was going to end, I knew that it would be any other day but that one. Naturally they were surprised at my confident answer. When they asked how I knew that, I proceeded with Matthew 24:36 (HCSB), 36 “Now concerning

In case you hadn't heard, last week there was something that hit the news. It was portrayed negatively in the news media by some, applauded by others. It's called the Nashville Statement. You can look it up here:  https://cbmw.org/nashville-statement/ . It is a bunch of Evangelical Christians who got together to make a document about what Biblical Sexuality looks like in addition to various affirmations and denials of said sexuality. Most of the news media took this and spun it to say that it was a bunch of bigots and hateful people who signed it. I've read the document. I've looked at the names on the list. Some of them I've at least heard of. I don't know anyone personally on the list who signed it. The people that I've heard of that signed it are Christians who stand for Biblical values, regardless of what they are. However, I personally have not signed it. Why not, you ask? Let me answer that question like this: I stand for Biblical principles. Most

There's nothing like a disaster to bring about a unified spirit. In my lifetime, I've seen it happen a few times. The most prominent was after 9/11. Americans unified after that disaster like I had never seen before. Not since then have I seen it even close to that degree. That was until this week. Hurricane Harvey popped up out of nowhere, strengthened to become a storm stronger than they had predicted or even thought possible. Reeking havoc with winds and tornadoes then combining it with rain of epic proportions makes for a nightmare of a situation. Especially after the divisiveness we've seen after the past few weeks. But Hurricane Harvey seemed to manage to melt those away. Black and white, Republican and Democrat, Christian and non-Christian, Texan and Californian seemed to simply disappear into the mist becoming one fog, one people, one nation under God. What is it about a disaster that seems to do this? I'd say it's the fact that at this particular point, n

"A house divided against itself cannot stand." These words were spoken by Abraham Lincoln in the house divided speech in a campaign for US Senator in 1858 in Springfield, Illinois. Do you know where he got it? "25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: 'Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.'" Matthew 12:25; Mark 3:25; Luke 11:17 In all 3 Scripture instances, they were spoken by Jesus. Jesus spoke them in the face of Pharisees accusing him of working miracles by the devil's power. Jesus proceeds to explain that it's not possible for Satan to drive out Satan and that the Pharisees were on the brink of some very deep spiritual accusations against Christ that were unforgivable. Abraham Lincoln spoke these words about slavery. The United States was divided between the North that wanted to abolish slavery and the South that wanted it to remain legaliz

Bullying. It seems rampant in our world. In fact, compared to when I was a kid, I see way more stuff about bullying nowadays. Part of the reason for that could be technology and social media as well. But what has gotten my mind going lately is the fact that Christians are being called "bullies". Naturally, we get called all sorts of things; bigots, hypocrites, judgmental, bible-thumpers, crazy, delusional, and brain-washed. However, bully is a new one coming around that I am seeing more and more often. So, with that said, let's dig in a little and see exactly what bullies are and whether or not this could apply to Christians or not. Bully : noun; a person who uses strength or power to harm or intimidate those who are weaker. Bully : verb; use superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone), typically to force him or her to do what one wants. Courtesy of Google definitions With these definitions given, it seems to me that both sides of the argument can ge

As I reflect on my walk with the Lord, one of the things that has hit me hard lately is the "fear of the Lord". We all have a tendency to get caught up in the whole "God is love" bit and seem to forget that God is also righteous and just. Without atonement by Jesus as our Savior, God will pass judgement on those who do not have that atonement. No one likes to think of their relatives or loved ones under the judgment of God. However, it is reality. We can't just claim Jesus is Lord and Savior, it must be lived out in our daily lives. Now, keep in mind, nothing we do can or will save us. Only Jesus can do that. However, if we are truly following Jesus, our lives will reflect the fruit of that. To be blunt, none of us even deserve to be saved. We are all deserving of hell and damnation. However, because God loved us so much, He provided a way to atone for the sin that plagues us. So the question then becomes, why in the world would we want to live in it? Obedience

If you are a leader, whether in the church, business or at home, have you ever thought about the responsibility that comes with it? I mean, if you really sit down to reflect, the weight of responsibility might just overwhelm you. In the culture these days, I wonder how many leaders truly stop and think about the weight of responsibility that's on them? One of the things that has hit me lately is this fact. It's not whether or not I am effective or not, doing a good job or bad job, but rather, it's the responsibility for equipping people as God wants me to. No matter whether you're a leader in the secular world or in the church - or both - if you're a Christian, you have a responsibility and a gift that God has given you to use for His glory. Especially these days, the secular world needs good, honest and true Christian leaders. People who are willing to stand up for values and give an honest days work for an honest days wage. Too many people get caught up in the &

It seems these days that the news continues to be depressing. I have to say I haven't watched a news broadcast in several years. However, I do follow news stories. Two in particular grabbed my attention. One story was about Israel closing the temple mount to everyone. When they reopened, they only let Jews in and they were able to pray on the Temple Mount for the first time in a very long time. In this news story, almost as a side note, they mentioned how Israel was considering and planning to rebuild said temple. The second story was a "fake news" story from one of those sites that loves to promote fake news. I thought nothing of it. Low and behold, an actual news station did a story on this. The story is of a company in Wisconsin who is looking at the possibility of offering a chip implant for it's employees to replace key cards. Whoa Nellie. That really caught my attention when a reputable news source is doing a story on it. So what do these two have to do with

I love blogging. I love to write. However, sometimes time just doesn't allow. Perhaps I just don't make time. Maybe it's because I've been tapped to do things and I'm feeling overstretched. Maybe the lesson is to delegate authority properly. However you look at it, many people in life feel themselves going a thousand different directions. They feel tapped for energy and stretched beyond capacity. The problem is, we feel tapped by the Lord to take part in things. Something I've learned this past week is that when we pray for opportunities to speak, share or minister to others, God provides...but not how we think He's going to. Sometimes God provides an opportunity to speak up, but not necessarily add another thing to our plate. It doesn't have to be a burden or even a responsibility. Sometimes it's simply an opportunity to speak up. Trouble is, we have a hard time saying no. It gets better as time goes on, but it's still difficult. Then comes th

This morning it hit me that I've been gone more the past two months than I've been home. Out of the past 57 days, I've been gone 30 of them (or more). Now granted, not all were ministry related, some were family vacation. But let me tell you this, some things I looked forward to, others I didn't. As a matter of fact, I was really looking forward to vacation, but seriously dreading church camp. However, after it was all said and done, I enjoyed church camp way more. You see, Sherri and I took a cruise to the Caribbean in early May. Oh the vacation was fabulous and it was nice to let our hair down. However, as fun as it was, there were aspects that we simply did not enjoy because we do not surround ourselves with such things. Not because we look down on those who do, but because we simply do not want to surround ourselves with the temptation; it is far too great for us to withstand. We love to cruise, but we will be looking for healthier options for cruising and vacatio