Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord (Acts 3.19) Not too long ago I saw a bumper sticker that announced, “Jesus is the Answer.” The driver (who was speeding in fact) was Continue Reading
March 22, 2013 2 Comments
Thoughts on Faith from a Garden in March and Pastoral Ministry
For a gardener, like myself, March is an in-between month. The dried, gray-brown stalks on the oak leaf hydrangea, left over from last autumn, stand at attention, like a proud, old war veteran in his outdated, ill-fitting military uniform. And like a Continue Reading
January 6, 2013
“Rend the Heavens and Come Down!” My Burden to Pray for Revival in 2013—Part 2
I don't have any institutional mantra to offer for the new year. I don't have any new program or corporate vision statement that I want everyone to sign on to for 2013. What I do have is a burden that is on my heart – a burden for God to rend the Continue Reading
January 3, 2013
“Rend the Heavens and Come Down!” My Burden to Pray for Revival in 2013—Part 1
I don't have any institutional mantra to offer for the new year. I don't have any new program or corporate vision statement that I want everyone to sign on to for 2013. What I do have is a burden that is on my heart – a burden for God to rend the Continue Reading
October 15, 2012
The Cadence Call of Faith in the Soldier’s (and Sailor’s) Psalm: A Bible Message from Psalm 27
I am preaching from Psalm 27. I preached from it last week. Yet I can't let it go. It has a rhythm in my heart. Maybe I need it more than anyone else here. So I am preaching from it again. Yet I want to re-emphasize some things. And I want to add a Continue Reading
September 7, 2012
GIVING IT UP FOR GOD: Preservation and Risk in the Kingdom of God (Luke 17:32)
There Is a rather popular phrase (no doubt of spurious origin, although that is a guess!) that has come into the American vernacular. That phrase is, "giving it up…" One may "give it up" for a comedian as he comes on the stage to give his monologue. One Continue Reading
August 21, 2012
What if? Gideon’s Sword and Our Ministry Together: A Letter to Colleagues as We Begin a New Semester
I share with you that which God has put on my heart this morning, early, before the sun rises, while the dew is still wet on the Carolina ground. "And they cried out, 'A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!'” (from Judges 7:20). The message of the Continue Reading
February 10, 2012
You Are the Living Legacy of Those who have Gone Before: Another Motivation to Go the Distance in Ministry
Dearest Students in the Gospel Ministry: I want to write you as this new semester begins and tell you a story about myself and then ask something of you. But first let me give you a Scripture to start your studies with: “But as for you, continue in Continue Reading
November 15, 2011 Leave a Comment
Rejoicing before Angels in Starbucks
"Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10). For some time now I have been discomforted. I know the deep-down feeling well. I call it a "holy discontentment." Now let me be clear about the Continue Reading
