This is the key verse for the book of Luke “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10). There are a lot of opinions about who Jesus is and what He came into the world to do. For some, He is a great teacher, a moral philosopher, and a tremendous role model. These are all nice things, yet Jesus never…
Read MoreWhat is your Influence Story
Someone, several in fact has influenced all of us in ways large and small! It starts at birth; parents and other family members affect us significantly. In life, we develop friendships and have teachers, pastors, neighbors, and others who make a difference. The opposite is also a fact: you and I have influenced others. Humans require connections. Even the timid crave connection. As I reflect on the years, several people…
Read MoreNotes In My Pocket Forty Years Ago!
As I was transitioning from my last position, I had the task of letting go of my files for the past forty-plus years. To see all of your working life disappear was somewhat disconcerting. As I was casting a file folder away, a group of unlined notecards fell onto the floor of my office. When I saw them, I immediately remembered them. Instead of throwing them out, I kept them…
Read MoreSearch me, not search others!
Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24) It is quite easy to see the faults in others. They seem evident and obvious. In fact they are hard to miss and quite observable. It has become nearly a sport, finding the faults and inconsistencies in…
Read MoreWhen Things Don’t Go Well: What do I do?
We have all experienced disappointment. Setbacks, heartache, reversals, and just plain painful experiences. My neighbor is a United Methodist pastor, and the process of disaffiliation and separation they are experiencing is painful. Some have experienced painful circumstances visited upon them by their parents, children, trusted individuals, institutions, and so on. How do you move on? How do you get past all of the pain? How do you move forward while…
Read MoreLosing Control
These two stories take place on the water. Jesus and His disciples and lessons to be learned. Being a disciple of Jesus does not mean that you know all you need to know on day one. Trusting Christ and relying upon Him totally seems to be a process reinforced by the reality of life and our growing dependence on Christ. The disciples did not put their faith in Jesus all…
Read MoreWhat Do You See
Have you ever noticed that people have a tendency to see what they are looking for? Observation is not a neutral activity. There can be several witnesses to an event and each describes what happened differently. Yes, there are some similarities and much of what is described is identical. Yet at times, it seems they are describing different events. There are a lot of factors that go into this reality,…
Read MoreSignificant Places revisited!
Even though I retired last year, I am participating in events again, a cross between Groundhog day and deja vu. I am at the denominational leader’s conference in downtown Kansas City. I moved to Kansas City in 1978 upon graduation from college. From the summer of 1978 until late 1981, this place was home. I was a seminary student. Susanne and I got married in 1980; Kansas City was the…
Read MoreA Prayer that needs to be prayed!
Recently, I have been looking at the prayers of the Apostle Paul. One of my favorites is found in the book of Philippians: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes…
Read MoreDecisions and God’s Counsel
I was reading a passage from the Old Testament and I found the wording quite curious “The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.” (Joshua 9:14) This verse is part of a longer story when the Gibeonites deceived the Israelites. To give the Israelites the idea that the Gibeonites lived far away they artificially aged their clothes and provisions. This way the leaders of Israel would…
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