A friend of mine once startled me by saying, “Sometimes I think the spiritual realm is more real than the physical realm.” That gave me a start, but I understand what he meant—and yearn to understand it more fully. It’s been said that “we are a spirit, we have a soul, and we live in […]
Avoiding Christianese I once shared a story with a new friend and fellow followers of Jesus about a young boy praying for his teacher. My friend was perplexed and silent for a moment. Finally, she stammered out an explanation, ”I’ve never prayed for people before.” I didn’t know how to take this. Did she mean […]
Last week I attended a convention and gave a couple of presentations. Traveling is not an adventure I enjoy; instead, it is a duty I endure. Knowing this—and that self-focus is not God-honoring or kingdom advancing—I asked God for opportunities to interact with and help others during my trip. This did indeed happen, especially after […]
Those who follow Jesus used to be called “disciples” but that term has fallen out of favor. Now the common label is “believer.” It is easy to believe; it takes a lot more to be a disciple. To believe is essentially a one-time act, a singular decision made at one point along life’s path. To […]
In my prior post about Joseph, we saw that Joseph’s audacious sharing of his dreams was likely the catalyst for his brothers’ selling him as a slave and then staging his death. Joseph would have been better off to have kept his mouth shut. However, had Joseph kept quiet, his brothers may not have sold […]
In the story of Jacob’s son Joseph, we read that Joseph had a couple of dreams. The implicit meaning of his dreams was that his older brothers would become subservient to him, as would his father and mother. To his family this no doubt seemed to be mere wishful thinking of a young boy who […]
One of the central characters in the book of Genesis is Father Abraham. God calls Abraham to move to a different place, a location that God would reveal to him as the journey progressed. Because of Abraham’s obedience and faith. God promised to make him into a great nation. But the story doesn’t end there. […]
Sometimes when praying or meditating I’m profoundly struck with the powerful realization of just how much God loves me, that he really, really loves me. In fact, he loves you, too! God’s love is always there. I shake my head in amazement and wonder why. I don’t deserve God’s love; I have not earned his […]
It is interesting how the Old Testament of the Bible is often in contrast with the New Testament. For example, in the story about the tower of Babel, God confuses the people’s languages and since they can no longer communicate, they scatter. He did this because they were working together; their goal was so that […]
Abraham, the great man of faith, did not always act that way. Once, when fearing for his safety, he lied to king Abimelech, claiming that Sarah was his sister and hiding the fact that they were married. Assured by Abraham’s lie, Abimelech felt free to take Sarah into his harem. Fortunately, God intervened before anything […]