This final week of Advent is about love. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son,” John 3:16. Merry Christmas indeed! Watching the news or reading the headlines could lead a person to think that love is dead, maybe even that God is dead. In an interview last weekend, Eric Metaxas stated, “The death of God is greatly exaggerated.” He said that Christians have no right to stay silent. Regardless of how society changes for the secular, Christians have no excuse ...read on
A “credible” threat shut down the Los Angeles school district this week. Just over a week ago, an office Christmas party in San Bernardino ended with 14 dead and 22 injured in what was identified as a terrorist attack. Just over a month ago an evening in Paris turned into a nightmare at a soccer match, a concert and a popular restaurant ending with 130 dead, all killed by seven terrorists. Just over a year ago ...read on
My friend was in the hospital undergoing a second round of chemo treatment for cancer and he was smiling. His smile was contagious. When a nurse asked him about having such a positive countenance through these trying times, he shared that it was all about his relationship with Jesus the Christ. Over the days following, the nurse found ways to spend a little extra time with him during her shift to ask more questions about his faith.
When I visited a few days into his treatment, he was ...read on
It was not looking good. There were already five divorces in his family! He had prayed for a happy marriage and family but would have understood completely if his girlfriend turned down his proposal for marriage. All he could really offer was a stubborn determination to break the cycle of divorce in his family and hope that it would be enough. She said, “Yes!”
It is not easy to be thankful with the state of the world, the state of the church and the state of the family today. Everything temporal, including the 24/7 news cycle, suggests the world is going to hell in a handbasket. But we know God is always at work. It was in pretty dire times that our Father sent His Son to testify to the Truth and plant the Church. The disciples and the Church have persevered in the face of persecution to be a testimony to Truth. And it continues today, that under the word of God the Church is in position to stand firm against worldly influences. We are to be thankful for where the Lord has us.
It started with a father’s heart for his son. The darkness of pornography had enveloped the young man and he was crying out for help. The family went to church and Sunday school where the kids were active in the youth programs. How could this happen?
With some research, the dad realized how prolific the issue of pornography was with boys. The statistics are sobering: the average age of first time exposure for kids today is ...read on
This is an annual Veteran’s Day tribute to Dad and a shout out to those who have served in the military in defense of our great country, this one nation under God. Thank you!
I failed to honor one veteran for too long. read on ...
Billy Currington sings, “Walk a little straighter, Daddy. You’re swaying side to side. … Walk a little straighter, Daddy, you’re leading me.” At the close of the song, the lyrics go, “And if I’ve learned one thing from him, it’s that my kids will never have to say, ‘Walk a little straighter Daddy.’” The suggestion is that the young man will overcome a bad home situation.
Men typically emulate their father or commit to doing the opposite. Neither may be healthy. Roger was committed to breaking the cycle ...read on
Pastor Tony Evans delivered a powerful message to us men on the Mall, October 4th, 1997 in Washington D.C. The event was Promise Keepers’ “Stand in the Gap”. He spoke of how a “messed up man will produce a messed up family that will produce a messed up church that will result with a messed up neighborhood that will cause a messed up city that will bring about a messed up county that will result in a messed up state that will reside in a messed up country that will bring about a messed up world! So if we want a better world, to be composed of better countries inhabited by better states made up of better counties that are composed of better cities inhabited by better neighborhoods, illumined by better churches, made up of better families, we got to go home better men!”
Our dog takes us for a walk every night. In fact, if I am not outside putting his leash on by 9:00, he knocks on the door to get my attention! My bride and I have enjoyed those nightly walks over the years. When the kids were at home, walking was “our time” to discuss the day, what the kids were facing and what issues were percolating. With the kids grown, it is still “our time” to connect on things that happened across the day or are on the horizon.
The primary benefit of walking for us is emotional – a time of winding down and tuning in. We had no idea that the physical benefit of a 3 mile loop could be so impactful. A recent study ...read on