You can be a Christmas fanatic without really understanding the full extent of God’s part in the season. The birth of Christ separated time into two distinct units… the simple fact is, Jesus made a huge difference and continues making a huge difference in our world. Yet His birth didn’t add breathtaking beauty that […]
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Don’t let your Visa Card steal the joy of Thanksgiving! “So, how was your Thanksgiving?” “Tiring, but so worth it. Watched a couple of games on TV before we grabbed a chicken salad sandwich and then headed to BestMart to get in line. I wanted one of those $25 50 inch TVs, but […]
It’s Your Attitude, Dude!
A pre-Thanksgiving reminder from “Fresh Heart For a New Day – Volume 2 from November 25 gratitude… the positive state of being grateful; an overwhelming feeling of appreciation and thankfulness, and the desire to return kindness to others. Don’t go through Thanksgiving … without expressing any! Praise is the recognition of who God is; […]
Unified In God’s Victory
We sang a worship song this morning that celebrated the victory of God and urged us to praise Him for that victory. I’m sorry to say that some in the sanctuary felt like God had lost that victory while others were celebrating it. And that’s what politics does to every one of us. It […]
Sitting This One Out!
As God’s governing body in this world, we are called to be the spiritual ‘trendsetters,’ pioneers and truth advancers. It was God’s call to Adam and Eve and He expects us to show up for our work as God-revealers, and best enthusiasts of God’s ideas for a righteous nation . That’s what He’s counting on! […]
I Hate Laugh Tracks!
I hate ‘laugh tracks! When television first entered our world, producers and telecasters were smart enough to assume we knew what was funny and what wasn’t. This will age me beyond recovery for many of you, but… Howdy Dowdy let me laugh at anything I thought was funny. And it worked. I could develop […]
How Many Merit Badges?
I love the picture above, because it took me back to 1954 when I spent the summer with my cousin in California. My home at the time was the flat land of the Chicago area. It was more than a West Coast summer… it was joining my cousin’s Boy Scout troop! There were weekly troop […]
Shake Off The Snake
He was the New Testament’s official ‘globetrotter’. His three missionary journeys and final trip to Rome took the last 36 years of his life, covered over 9000 miles walking or sailing and the cost (in today’s currency) for his in-transit travel expenses would be roughly $300,000. That doesn’t include Paul’s expenses once he arrived […]
We Don’t Sing “Onward Christian Soldiers” Anymore
“A time for war; A time for peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:8 TLB There was a time in the past when God’s people had a stomach for spiritual battles! We’d raise our voices and sing: “Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war; with the cross of Jesus, going on before.” (Sabine Baring-Gould) There was militancy in […]
Can I Sense The Presence Of God?
“… in your presence there is fullness of joy:” Psalm 16:11 ESV Imagine you’re halfway through your shift at Cosmos Burgers. There hasn’t been much to distinguish this workday from any others this week. But a burble starts to permeate the melancholy of this day when word has it the Presidential motorcade is pulling […]