This past week a young doctor friend, fresh out of medical school and a third-year resident, drove all the way to our home in the Hill Country to tell us about his fascinating vision. If his vision actually works, it will change the lives of millions of America’s poorest citizens. “often visions, even good and…
Is being patient merely being lazy? Is saying we’re waiting on God no more than an excuse for irresponsible living? Throughout the Bible believers are called to wait patiently on the Lord. But there is a big difference between godly and ungodly patience. Sometime patience is ungodly. How can you tell the difference? Our Lord…
Pain will certainly make you bitter or better. What’s it doing to you? Don’t waste your pain. Give it purpose. Make your pain, problem, or heartache work for you not against you. In Philip Yancey’s helpful book, Pain: The Gift Nobody Wants, he reminds us that pain and suffering have meaning if viewed properly.…
“I can’t get this terrible thing I did out of my head. Can you help me clear my conscience?” While her story was unique, her problem was not. Over the years, it became obvious to me, as a counselor, that people seeking spiritual and/or emotional help often don’t know how to clear their consciences and…
On our last trip to Israel, my wife and I joined a Jewish family for their weekly Shabbat dinner in Jerusalem. I’ll never forget that emotional moment during the Shabbat meal when the father and mother took turns taking each of their children’s faces in their hands. They looked straight into their eyes, and blessed…
Can You Name Jesus’ Seven Last Statements from the Cross? While the butchers who tortured and crucified Jesus were playing games, laughing and mocking him, he gasped for enough air to speak. His lips quivered and everyone wondered what he would say. Who could blame Jesus if he used his last words to curse his…
My granddad was an angry and bitter man. During the summer as a little boy, I visited him and my grandma on their farm in Virginia. Granddad was a big man. I remember how frightened I was when I saw him slap Mammy, his petite wife, for doing the smallest thing he didn’t like. I’d…
“She was shot in the head for standing up for Jesus,” reported eyewitnesses to Cassie Bernall’s execution. Cassie was seventeen when she was murdered in the Columbine School massacre. Her teenage killers put a gun to her head and asked if she believed in God. She knew full well if she answered yes she would…
What my Mama said to me the night I overheard her and my Daddy talking about not being able to pay all their bills surprised me. As a small boy, I knew we were poor, but I didn’t know we were that poor. Mama was a Sunday School teacher in our little church. She always…
I love Mondays. You know why? Mondays are full of hope. But, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not one of those “think positive and everything will be great” manipulators. All that positive-thinking, believe-you-can-do-anything optimism is self-destructive, deceptive, and worst of all, it’s anti-Christian. Foolish optimism doesn’t make me love Mondays. I love Mondays because I’m…