A Sheep’s Surprise

December 15, 2011

Note to reader: A number of years ago, I began writing what I hoped one day would be a children’s book. It was penciled out to be 26 chapters (letters, actually) entitled “If They Could Talk.” It was to cover redemptive history from creation (Genesis) to the return of Christ (Revelation) from the perspective of […]

Take Another Drink

December 9, 2011

Back to those “holes” in your backyard (please see previous blog: “Take a Drink”); those “cisterns” you’ve been drinking from in hopes of being refreshed. If you don’t know, a cistern is not a well. A cistern is a dug out reservoir to hold water; water directed to it from a nearby spring or more […]

Take a Drink

December 1, 2011

I finished reading Isaiah a few weeks ago; my devotions have since taken me to Jeremiah. About 100 years separated these guys who shared the same profession and mission: be God’s voice to God’s people. Isaiah prophesied to Judah in a time when her northern sister, Israel, was being overrun and exiled by Assyria. His […]

Tough Job

November 17, 2011

Jeremiah had a difficult gig. He was a priest and prophet during the days leading up to Judah’s demise and deportation by Babylon in 586 BC. Most of his sermons and prophecies concerned the impending doom. As a result, he was unpopular: “I never sat in the company of revelers, never made merry with them; […]

Goads and Nails

October 13, 2011

“Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people.” That’s Ecclesiastes 12:9. Who is the referenced “Teacher”? It is Solomon, the writer of Ecclesiastes (1:1). Early in Solomon’s reign, God gave him a “genie in the bottle” opportunity: “Ask for whatever you want me to give you” (1 Kings 3:5). […]

A Small Church in a Big Town

July 7, 2011

The Holy War rages on; the Kingdom of God versus the Kingdom of Satan. Opening shots were fired in the Garden when the serpent craftily inquired of Eve: “Did God really say…?” (Genesis 3:1) God really did say but Satan has looked for ways to get us to question ever since. Sometimes the battle looks […]

Don’t Neglect the Voice

June 23, 2011

He’s one of those Old Testament kings we pay little attention to; written about in a book from which we rarely read. But even though he was on the throne so long ago; his downfall still instructs. His name was Joash and his story is told in 2 Chronicles 24. Joash became king of Judah […]

How Do You Lose the Book?

June 2, 2011

It’s easy to lose things—even important things. “Where are my keys?” “Have you seen my wallet?” “Can you call my cell? I can’t find the blasted thing!” Yes; it is easy to lose things. We identify. But how do you lose the most important thing? Josiah was just eight years old when he became king […]

A Lousy Epitaph

May 19, 2011

What’s going on your stone? You can find this one at Boot Hill Cemetery in Tombstone, Arizona for someone named Butch: “Here lays Butch. We planted him raw. He was quick on the trigger; but slow on the draw.” Apparently, Butch was a lousy gun-slinger; but if that’s all they could come up when he […]

Jumping Jehoshaphat

May 12, 2011

We love his name though I’ve never heard anyone name their son after him. Does it have something to do with being four-syllables long? Did his friends call him “Phat,” for short? Though there are no little Jehoshaphat’s running around, he does have a phrase named after him (“Jumping Jehoshaphat”). That’s pretty cool. Anyway; he […]

“On Earth as it is in Heaven: Building Culture between the Already and the Not Yet” Conference: October 24-25, 2025