Life Goes On

'Are You a Christian?' My Thoughts on the Umpqua Community College Shooting (Exclusive) < In America we are on the cusp of religious persecution...especially aimed at those who admit to being Christians.  The time has come for those who claim to be Christ-followers to settle once for all the question of their commitment.  In recent years it has been difficult if not almost impossible to get "church people" to verbalize their "story" or "testimony" even in the warm confines of the local church.  Given opportunities and even being urged by pastors or Sunday School or Small Group leaders to share their "story" many people suddenly get lock-jaw.  Often there is an embarrassing silence that descends upon the gathering until the leader fills the emptiness by telling their story or moving on to another topic. Many Christians have watched in horror the videos of believers in foreign lands being beheaded because of their faith.  Increasingly...

Last night as I watched the news and saw the thousands of Syrian refugees, my heart hurt for them. Today I found a link that showed that there is some good that is coming from the horror these people are facing.  I was reminded that God is at work in the background providing the way of salvation even in the midst of turmoil and upset.  The "news" that we see on TV or the internet is only the surface.  There is a much bigger picture that is being painted by the God of the universe.  Now I'm asking myself every time I watch the news, "I wonder what the story is behind the story?" We must never forget that God is not asleep at the wheel.  His eye is on the sparrow...and I know He watches me.

I was sent this book to read and review on my blog by the B & B Media Group, Inc. Dr. Albert L. Reyes, President/CEO of Buckner International, a global ministry dedicated to transforming the lives of the most vulnerable children, orphans, families and senior adults, has written a book that defines the work of his ministry through a series of stories of people whose lives have been impacted.  Starting with the declaration so Jesus in Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  Dr. Reyes shows how this “job description” of Jesus is practically applied in the lives of all believers.  Using some materials from a doctoral dissertation by Dr. Thom Wolf, Dr. Reyes weaves the admonition of Micah 6:8, which Wolf called the “Micah Mandate” f...

I think that it is fairly obvious that our country is sick.  I propose that praying for a sick country is much the same as praying for a sick person.  First it is necessary to determine the type of illness in order to know how to pray effectively.  Basically there are three types of illness; Sickness that leads to death (no need to pray because this is going to happen regardless) Sickness that is the result of sin (James 5:16) [Requires the open repentance of our national leaders and of the Christian people of America] Sickness for the glory of God. (God heals to bring Himself glory and show His mighty power) Once we have determined the type illness that is plaguing our country we will know how to pray for her. Personally I believe that the type illness is that which is the result of sin.  That being said, we should personally repent on behalf of our country and also we should pray that the Holy Spirit convict all Christian politicians to confess and repent the si...

I was sent this book by the B & B Media Group, Inc. for my honest review. I'm not really a fan of self-help books, but this is an exception.  Author, Pastor, musician, entrepreneur James T. Ward, Jr. has done a masterful job of dealing with a pandemic problem.  Victimology is huge in America today.  Our society feeds it and feeds on it.  Ward has identified the primary causes and offered real solutions that anyone can understand and incorporate.  I love the "pull-outs" on every page that will help the reader or counselor pinpoint particular sections of the book that will apply to their situation or discussion.  In the introduction to the book Ward said, "In order to liberate others in life, we must begin by liberating ourselves."  From there he proceeds to guide the reader into practical ways to deal with "victim mentality" in their own lives.  He even addresses the role that "politically correct" speech plays in creating a victim mindset...

I love the story which may or may not be true of a busy businessman who was rushing to catch his train at Grand Central Station when he bumped into a news vendor and sent papers and coins flying.  The vendor, a boy about 12 years old was crippled.  Immediately he was on all fours scrambling among the feet and legs rushing by and trying to find either the papers or the coins.  The businessman stopped, put down his briefcase and got down on hands and knees and began to gather loose coins and papers.  After several minutes, he deposited the coins in the little box the boy had, opened his wallet and took out a $20 bill and placed it in the box as well.  As he collected his briefcase and hurried on toward his train he heard the boys' voice call out, "Mister!  Are you Jesus?" The world needs to SEE Jesus in us.  Words are so cheap today that you can say as much as you like with very little effect.  The "proof of the pudding" for Christ followers is in t...

Recently I said from the pulpit that a large number of professing Christians do not believe scripture.  The example I cited was James 5:14-16.  I told our people that I kept a bottle of olive oil in my car, and in the almost four years I had been pastor of the church I had never been asked by a sick person, and we have a lot of them, to anoint them with oil and pray for them.  Shortly thereafter I had occasion to pray for two people, one with a heart irregularity and another with Crohns' Disease and Chronic Asthma.  That has been weeks ago, and so far as I know both are still dealing with the symptoms of the diseases.  I have read and re-read the scripture passage.  I have examined my life and my motives and I have asked God why we did not experience what it seems that James said would happen.  The only deviation I can find from our experience and James' words was that in neither case did the sick person initiate the anointing and prayer.  Each w...