Stored up and ready?

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Two words grabbed my attention this morning – “stored up.”

It happened while reading something Jesus said, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.”  Luke 6:45

Stored up. When I go to my pantry I find just what I put in there. If it’s empty, it’s because I haven’t been putting anything in. If it’s filled with garbage it’s because I’ve been filling it with garbage. If I expect to find something good to eat, then I need to put something good in.

As the old computer programmers used to say Continue reading →

I’m giving all my stuff away

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I know it sounds crazy but I’m really going to do it – give away everything I own.

But it’s really no big deal because, guess what, you’re going to do the same thing. And so is everyone you know. As they say, “You can’t take it with you.”

One day, everything we’ve worked hard for will be handed over to someone else. And for many of us, it will be our kids who pack up our treasures to be hauled off while asking each other, “Why did Dad keep all this junk?”

So, here’s my thought: It’s no big deal to leave all my “stuff” behind. I don’t have a choice in that. But, am I also choosing to leave behind anything of real value? Will my family, my friends, my coworkers, my neighbors – will the world be a better place because I passed through it?

And here’s an even crazier thought: Continue reading →

Christians and Combat on Memorial Day

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Turn the other cheek. Thou shalt not kill. Love and pray for your enemies. First century Christians opposed military service. There are those who refuse to serve in the military today because of religious convictions. So what about those who do serve? Who is right?

1.The Bible says “Thou shalt not kill”.  Participation in the military supports death and killing. Continue reading →

I was made to thrive. What happened?!

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They were new missionaries – still wrestling with language, culture, missing family and friends, struggling to develop new relationships in a vastly different setting. Their pastor arranged for a live skype chat with the congregation.

During the call the pastor cheerfully asked, “Are you thriving?”

The stumbling response went something like this, “Well, I’m not sure we’re thriving, but . . . er … um … uh . . . we’re doing fine.”

Hmmm. Must be something wrong. He’s not thriving. We know the Bible says:
“We were made for so much more than ordinary lives
… more than just survive, we were made to thrive.” Continue reading →

Do you ever want to scream because life is so unfair?

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The ScreamThis little story really rattles my cage. What do you think??

“Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign. … He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. … The Lord afflicted Azariah with leprosy until the day he died, and he lived in a separate house.” (2 Kings 15:1-5 NIV)

What?! This man obeyed God, was a good king and yet it specifically says the Lord gave him leprosy – the most dreaded disease of that day. That stinks.

Where is the justice in that? How can God do such a thing to a man who is walking in obedience? It would be one thing if it said God “allowed” it but it clearly says God caused it. Can we even trust God to be just when He does stuff like this to a good king who is faithfully serving Him? Continue reading →

Do you really think God has time for your tiny problems?

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Parking MetersThe blogger was ranting about Christians who claim God got them a good parking spot at the mall. “With people starving, dying from easily curable diseases and lack of clean water, terrorism and hatred on the rise and the world basically going to hell, do you really think God cares about being your personal mall valet?”

At first I cheered him on thinking, “Yeah, how can we be so self-focused to think God cares about us getting a good parking spot.”

Then I remembered a story a Bible translator told me. Continue reading →

A remarkable story straight from today’s headlines.

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Pray for GazaSteve was really disappointed. He’s a Commission To Every Nation missionary to Muslims who’s seen many amazing miracles but God just didn’t come through on this one. Working with a ministry in Gaza he was going to help a deaf soccer team attend a special camp for deaf players being held in Paris. It was a great opportunity to show the love of Jesus to these deaf Muslim men.

After a boatload of red tape they managed to get airline tickets and all the other details arranged. The hard part was done. Now they just needed $1,000 for passports. None of the guys could afford to buy their own.

Steve put the word out and waited. Surely lots of folks would want to help with this ministry opportunity. No response. The final date came and went and they didn’t even have enough money to buy a single passport. It was a huge disappointment. They had to tell the guys it just wasn’t going to happen. Continue reading →

It’s easy to avoid criticism. Do this.

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You are guilty!If you’ve felt the sting of the critic’s mean words it’s natural to want to avoid future attacks.

And it’s really easy to avoid criticism.

Simply do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.
In short, waste your life and no one will criticize you.
(Except perhaps your parents because they love you enough to tell you you’re wasting your life.)

If you could live you whole life and do nothing but good you still could not avoid criticism.
One man did that and they nailed him to a cross three years after He went public.

Will Rogers said, “I never met a man I didn’t like.”
At first I thought that was an outlandish statement – especially since he knew so many politicians in his day. :-)

But years later it dawned on me what he was saying. Continue reading →

How to celebrate with a headache

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Why me?I woke up at 4:00 am this morning with a splitting headache. (I’ve got to get a different pillow.) I took an ibuprofen but couldn’t get back to sleep so decided to make the most of it by spending some time with the Lord. As I stumbled out of the bedroom into a chair where I usually go to pray my head was pounding. “Lord”, I thought, “I need you to take care of this headache if I’m going to pray. I won’t be able to focus with my head throbbing like this.”

Suddenly I thought of the story in Acts 16:23-25:
“When they had struck them (Paul and Silas) with many blows, they threw them into prison, … the jailer … fastened their feet in the stocks. But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; …”

Then I was reminded of the many martyrs who were burned, stoned, subjected to unimaginable tortures yet died praising God. But I can’t pray because I have a headache? What is wrong with me? Continue reading →