As a Family Ministry Pastor, parents are quick to come to me on any number of child rearing questions. One that comes frequently, and usually around the time the church is planning a communion or baptism service, is “How do I know if my child is ready to …?” How do we know if […]
There was a 1950’s game show by the same name as my title. It’s become a catch-phrase for any question that is difficult to answer. That’s how many feel about the unfolding events of the End Times. It raises a number of $64,000 Questions about the Tribulation, the Rapture, the coming of Antichrist, and the […]
It feels wrong to put “God is love” and “hell” in the same sentence. And yet, our outrageously loving Jesus continually preached about the reality of hell. The word is mentioned twelve times in the Gospels, and that doesn’t include his other references to “eternal punishment,” “eternal fire,” “outer darkness,” and “weeping and gnashing of […]
Are you interested in the afterlife? Sure you are. We all know each day brings us closer a life beyond this present one. God has instilled this knowledge in each of person’s heart, (Ecclesiastes 3:11). What can we expect in the future life? Romans 14:12 states, “Each of us will give an account of himself […]
There are those dark nights of the soul when the best thing we can do is to “steal away to Jesus.” Those words from the old Spiritual were birthed out of the tears of severe trials when the heart of faith turns to the only Refuge and Hope. We steal away to the secret place […]
Haven’t you wished that God would directly intervene in a jaw-dropping way? Sure, we all have. When we’ve been under a relentless trial that goes from bad to worse, we cry out to the Lord for mercy. We want him to show up—not in the shadows—but in a dramatic, sweeping explosion of power. Isaiah prayed […]
I came across this recently: “Keep your ministry on a miracle basis. If you can explain what’s going on, God didn’t do it.” [Bob Cook] In the eyes of God, all of life is “sacred.” It’s all “ministry.” “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord […]
There is no lack of zeal these days. People are fired-up about politics or college championships or a favorite hobby, even a favorite newscast. Do you want to know what stokes someone’s zeal?—just watch their posts on Facebook. It’s bound to leach out. I want to lobby here for well-placed zeal. The Bible urges us […]