What is that in your hand? —Exodus 4:2 Amid a windfall of miracles and supernatural events among the Five Thousand, Jesus’ disciples seemed worried. While blinded eyes opened, lame legs walked, and deaf ears heard, the Twelve were concerned about another need: getting hungry. Philip answered… “It would take more than half a year’s wages…
Lay Your Burden Down, Weary Christian
I have spent a lot of my Christian life feeling guilty over what I am not doing in the kingdom of God. It’s not that I am not committed to Jesus, living a sacrificial life, or intensely busy for the kingdom. I am – but there is just always so much more to be done,…
Fluency: Speaking the Gospel in Cultural Key
The Gospel in Cultural Key Cultural engagement is one of the reasons the early church was so successful at evangelism. They had a habit of getting into the mind-set of pagans and Jews alike to transpose the gospel into the appropriate key. What does getting into the mind-set of non-Christians look like for us today?…
Hope in God’s Good Plan
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. – Jeremiah 29:11 We live in a world where we see so many terrible things, tragedies and trials. Sometimes the floor can drop out right underneath…
Being Loved Makes You Brave
I love my people. I could write an entire book on that, which probably means this is going to be too long, but I don’t care. I want to live brave. So I pursue opportunities and look for God’s open doors, but I only can because I have people who love me and with whom I belong. We all need…
The Mouths of Babes: Expressing Gratitude
I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. – Ephesians 1:16 One thing I’ve been trying to teach my boys lately is that the best thing you can tell a soldier is “Thank you for servin’ our country!” Well, recently our family was in a restaurant in Washington, DC, where we…
Craving Happiness
Listen in on the following conversation : “Marilyn, we just found a perfect personal ad for you. It reads, ‘Professional man seeks the company of a professional woman. His most attractive quality: contentedness.’” Wordlessly I stare at my friends as they follow up with another personal ad they also think worthy of my response. “Successful and handsome man looking…
Uneasy Partners: Christians and Politics
The media often use “right-wing” as an adjective inseparably connected with evangelicals. James Davison Hunter says, “It is possible to argue that at the same time the Christian Right acquired and exercised its greatest power — culminating in the 2004 presidential election — this movement also generated greater hostility toward the Christian faith than ever…
Jesus Would Hire Who You Haven’t
If you take some time to study the Scriptures and stop to consider the people chosen by God to change history, it’s a bit surprising. Noah, though a righteous man in his day, struggled with a bit too much drinking in his older years, yet he was used by God to save humankind. Jonah was…
Messy Beautiful Love Is Christ-Centered
It wasn’t your usual Saturday afternoon. We had a lot of talking to do. Money talk. You know – the uncomfortable, I-want-to-avoid-this-topic discussion, where we chat about our finances to see where our money’s being spent. We desperately try to avoid pointing fingers, but the temptation is strong nonetheless. Michael likes to spend on gifts. Whatever the occasion, I can…