Grace

Doing the Hard Thing

To the scribes of Jesus’ day, His powerful displays of healing and casting out demons were most frustrating. These made it difficult to convince people that Jesus was an imposter, a charlatan, who was simply attempting to drum up a following for personal aggrandizement. More offensive than that, though, was Jesus’ declaration of someone’s sins…

Sweeter than Revenge

Peter’s first letter was written to Christians going through trying times, largely at the hands of others hostile to their Christian perspective and manner of life. When someone gives us a hard time, it’s easy to become consumed with desires for personal revenge or for their physical harm. And then it’s not long before those…

Power to Forgive!

To the scribes of Jesus’ day, His powerful displays of healing and casting out demons were most frustrating. These made it difficult to convince people that Jesus was an imposter, a charlatan, who was simply attempting to drum up a following for personal aggrandizement. More offensive than that, though, was Jesus’ declaration of someone’s sins…

Seeing Myself…Accurately

One of the truly commendable qualities of anyone would be the ability to know and acknowledge his limitations. This isn’t a popular thing to do today. Oh, it may be OK to have an idea within yourself, but you certainly wouldn’t want to admit it to someone else! This is the age of self-assertion…of self-promotion…of…

Marvelous Grace!

Those who know the Lord God as Savior are aware that He is a God of grace, even when we experience some of the less desirable truths of Scripture. Events in Jacob’s life in Genesis 31-32 illustrate that, even though we reap unpleasant fruit from sinful seed, God’s grace sustains His own. Jacob, of course,…

Trail Magic Surprise

I recently had the opportunity to attend a ministry conference in Riverside, California—about 30 miles east of Los Angeles. I was warned that it would be hot and dry, and indeed it was for two of the three full days I was there. That didn’t deter me from taking my hiking boots and poles so…

Oh the Joys!

Have you ever noticed that no matter how “new & improved” a so-called upgrade is that it never comes without some kind of aggravation? So we’ve just updated the website, and for novices like this pastor, the process is never simple, smooth, and carefree. I have a history of this, going all the way back to the mid-90s when we upgraded from…