By grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone
“Some amazing and wonderful things can happen when you walk through the doors of a church: you can hear the Gospel, and God can call you to saving faith. In addition, through the proclamation of His Word, you can be further instructed in the ways of the Lord—what it means to follow Him. What a […]
It’s probably one of the more memorized verses of the Old Testament. If someone has memorized anything from the book of Jeremiah, this one is probably it: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (29:11). […]
Of course she shouldn’t come. I mean, she is welcome and all. That’s not the point. It is a prayer breakfast sponsored by an evangelical group. I have been to a handful of them. Good food. Fun to run into people you haven’t seen for a while. It’s kind of a who’s who thing. I’ve […]
When I was young, our family piled in our Suburban for a week’s vacation somewhere. I loved orange soda at the time. The details are foggy, but I remember sitting in the back seat with my own two-liter bottle of Orange Spot. As we chugged down the road, I chugged down my soda—all of it. […]
The Civil War was a nasty confrontation. New estimates have bumped figures beyond 750,000 deaths. Given the war lasted four years, the math equates to 500 soldiers dying per day—every day. Added to this was the familial aspect—many accounts of family fighting against family—brothers even at war against one another. One such example was the […]
Things I hope will outlive me: Things I hope I will outlive: What are things you hope will outlive you? What are things you hope you will outlive? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the […]
Pencil and Eraser worked well together, most of the time that is. They needed each other but sometimes they forgot. Pencil was good at communication—filling up a page was no problem. Pencil could say things that would make people laugh. Pencil could say things that could make people cry. Pencil could instruct, motivate, and encourage. […]
Some things I have learned in the past 24 hours… What’s the point of my 24-hour log? Life is a gift from our good God. Some days are easy, and we would like them longer. Other days are hard, and we wish them shorter. But the Preacher commands both days are to be embraced and […]
Early in the pastorate, parents of six children called me to their home. The beloved family pet had died, and the kids had important questions they needed answered: “Will we see our dog again? Is he in heaven?” I recall giving a theological response that probably left them a little cold—something about only humans having […]
“Where you been Gabe?” Mike pretty much knew the answer; like himself, his colleague traveled a great deal. Both trekked the world—literally. Gabe gave the courtesy of an answer anyway, “Just got back from the northwest; prior to that I was in the south region for a while.” Having similar positions in the Company, they […]
Last week was the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Large numbers can make us squint but here’s the tally: 57 million babies slaughtered since 1974. That’s about 3,200 lives every day in our nation since some black robes in D.C. said it’s OK to ignore the Sixth Commandment. Perhaps you don’t like the word […]
She didn’t think she was good at anything. Truth be told, Mary was on the better half of medium on most everything, but she didn’t feel that way. Perception and reality don’t always agree. And in Mary’s case, feelings had painted her a false portrait. She was dutiful. No one could take that from her. […]