God

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A Really Good Book on Prayer

I’ve been reading a really good book lately. It’s called Why Don’t I Get What I Prayed For?, by John W. Cowart. I think you should read it too.

We’ve all dealt with unanswered prayer. From the “testing God” demands of our Christian babyhood (God, give me a parking spot right now!) to earnest, faith-filled supplication for the healing of someone we love, we don’t get everything we ask for—at least not in the form we expect. Is God not there? Is He not listening? Maybe He doesn’t love us—or maybe we’re just not good enough. Even though we know better, thoughts like these tend to run through our heads when we’re frustrated, overwhelmed, or angry at God.

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Celebrating Jesus

“We know how to celebrate Christmas. We’ve got that down to a science.  We just haven’t figured out how to celebrate Jesus.”

This quote is from Matt, who blogs at TheChurchOfNoPeople.com. While his posts are always thought-provoking and entertaining (yes, he manages to accomplish both!), this statement really got me thinking.

It’s true. Our culture is so bound up in Christmas that we miss Jesus. Even in the church, we sometimes focus on the Christmas program, the poinsettias for the platform, the gifts for missionaries, the songs, the turkeys for the poorer part of town, the lights, and all the other holiday accessories, that we just don’t have time for the birthday boy. Have we even invited Him to the party?

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The Perfect Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving. That lovely holiday, with the family gathered around the table. Soft music plays in the background, snow gently falls outside. Dad is carving the succulent turkey while the children sit quietly in their seats, mouths watering. The conversation circles the table as each person describes the many things they have been thankful for this past year.

Thanksgiving, that hectic holiday. Mom is trying to gather the family, put the final touches on the dinner, pour the drinks, and carve the turkey, all at the same time. At one end of the table, Aunt Mattie is well into yet another stomach-turning description of her recent root canal. At the other end, Uncle Milt has clearly imbibed too much eggnog. Grandpa is complaining that the pouring rain is making his rheumatism flare up. The eight-year-old twins are poking one another with their forks and fighting over who will get the drumsticks, while the football game blares from the TV in the next room. No one has seen Dad in the several years since he ran off with that floozy account manager.

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Read That, Not This

I spent yesterday working through my to-do list, trying to check off what I really need to accomplish before everyone arrives next week for Thanksgiving. One of the items at the top of the list was “write Friday’s blog post.”

I didn’t get it done.

Then my good friend Cynthia posted two back-to-back blogs that are much better than anything I would have come up with. So I’m sending you to her blog, while I take a much-needed break (and clean the house, buy a turkey, catch up on the laundry, edit a book, post-process about 200 photos, water the houseplants, pay the bills…).

First read this.

And then read this.

See you Tuesday.

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Do You Speak “Church”?

I was sitting in church Sunday while one of our pastor was welcoming visitors. As happens every week, he invited anyone new to come to the visitor reception held after each service. The projectionist lit up the “glowing orb” over one pair of doors, highlighted the exit one could take to find snacks, a meet-and-greet with several pastors, and this week’s free gift (is there any other kind?). But what struck me was that the sign projected over the door didn’t just say “Guests.” It said “Guest Central.”

We seem to have a habit of giving special names to everything our church does. Instead of mere announcements, we have the “NLC3.” We don’t just have a Christmas program, we have “Wonderland.” And last year, we didn’t just have a weekly prayer meeting, we experienced “Revival Town.”

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Would You Support My…?

Will you please support …

  • my mission trip to India?
  • Bible smuggling in North Korea?
  • me as I go to England with YWAM?
  • the college ministry I joined as staff?
  • my church-planting ministry in Germany?
  • our kingdom business in West Africa?
  • our orphanage in San Salvador?
  • the local rescue mission?

The list keeps growing. We have a lot of close friends and relatives who are supported in their ministries by donations. Our “Global” Sunday School class hosts a steady stream of missionaries all needing more money. And all our mission-minded friends have kids who are now graduating from college, joining various ministries, and raising their own support.

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Self Control

In my on-again, off-again series on God’s “Steps to Success” (found in 2 Peter 1:3, 5-8), I’ve been meaning to write about self control for some time, but I never knew quite how to approach the topic. Yes, in Peter’s list, “self-control” comes after knowledge—first we need to know the right thing to do, and then we need to follow through and actually do it! But how does this affect my day-to-day life?

Then last month something happened that turned this from an intellectual exercise into a personal issue.

Though Pete was out of town, I still planned to attend a special Christian concert about twenty minutes away. To get there, I had to pass through a rural area with no street lights. Since my night vision is less than optimal, I arranged a ride with another couple.

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A Bible Quiz

How well do you know your Bible?

After reading an article (on CNN’s “Belief Blog”) entitled “Actually, that’s not in the Bible,” I thought it would be fun to put together a little quiz. How much do we know about what the Bible really says? The answers are at the end, but no peeking until you’ve finished the test.

True or False

According to the Bible…

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The Bible is Better than Harry Potter!

Think of your favorite book, the one you read in one sitting because you just couldn’t bear to put it down. The Hobbit? One of the Harry Potter books? A best seller by John Grisham or Clive Cussler? I bet it wasn’t the Bible.

We agree that the Bible is important reading, but is it exciting? Once you know that Noah survives the flood, that David confesses his sin regarding Uriah and Bathsheba, and that Jesus rises  from the dead, you’ve got to admit that the Bible just isn’t that suspenseful. In fact, reading it often feels like hard work.

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