I heard someone once quip that it was wrong for Christian sports fans to say that they were #1. God is first. Neighbor is second. The best they could be was #3. Somehow, I don’t think there will be a big market for foam fingers with three fingers raised and imprinted with “We’re #3.” […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on A Pastor’s First ConcernI have no problem with people saying they have “accepted Jesus as Savior or Lord” or praying that others might do the same. True, Jesus is Lord whether acknowledged by us or not. The only significant acknowledgement is that of the Father, and Jesus does carry that imprimatur. Peter makes this clear in his […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Is “accepting Jesus” acceptable?For several years, first as a volunteer then for pay, I had the joy of serving as a hospital chaplain. I remember spending time with parents who had lost a child. The pain was palpable for them, but I was able to sit by their side to listen and to pray. I remember being […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Pastor versus ChaplainI always cringe a bit when I see secular media touting evidence for prayer. The validity of prayer does not stand or fall on scientific verification. Rather, prayer gains its validity from the mouth of God in the pages of His Word. That said, I did put prayer to the test. My approach didn’t […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on The Hypothesis of PrayerA friend of mine made this observation. “When Jesus gave the disciples the Lord’s Prayer, He said – ‘When you pray, pray like this…’ (Luke 11:2). The pronoun ‘you’ is plural. Jesus expected His disciples to pray together. When Jesus ascended to the Father, 120 disciples remained together in prayer. When Peter was arrested, […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Call to Corporate PrayerAmong the articles on my USA Today iPad app, one took me aback. It posed the question, “Can a Christian watch ‘Game of Thrones’?” Not having read the books or seen the show, I’m not in a position to answer the question one way or the other. But what struck me was that the […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on The Question of HolinessIt’s easy for us to miss unless someone points it out. How many times have we rejoiced over good news and forgotten that was something we had prayed about? Or perhaps God has worked something in our lives and we have not recognized it as relating to our plea to Him, perhaps a job […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on Connecting the DotsNatural catastrophes like the F-5 tornado outside Oklahoma City and human atrocities such as the murder of the British soldier in London or shootings of school children in Connecticut shake us to the core. We reel at the pain and horror of it all. Our hearts break at the suffering shown us by the […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on When Tornadoes Twist Our View of GodThe English Standard Version includes a footnote to its translation of Psalm 109:4. The text reads: “In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.” The psalmist cries out to God, whom He calls “O God of my praise” (v. 1), for relief and retribution against the wicked who […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on I Am PrayerI am reading a book manuscript on spiritual warfare. The authors quote me on the subject and asked if I would read the book and provide a comment for publication. After hearing their perspective on the topic, I readily agreed. I believe the area of spiritual warfare is greatly neglected in discipleship today, despite […]
Continue Reading... Comments Off on The Luther I Can Relate To