But these were not normal times for me. My life came crashing down much like the Berlin Wall. 1989 would be my first Christmas as a divorced single parent with two young children. My credibility and confidence as pastor of a local church was understandably compromised. Didn’t the Bible say: “If someone cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?” (1 Tim. 3:5)
Money has a dark side and a light side. The dark side involves greed and poor management which leads to excessive debt or extensive hoarding. The money we possess can bring out our worst traits. Churches are not immune. Sometimes the biggest arguments and disagreements come when churches are deciding how to spend a surplus or large gifts.
Anyone in the military, looking at this title: “Duty, Honor, Grace” would be tempted to correct me. The more familiar phrase is “Duty, Honor, Country.” Those are the foundational principles on which our military and our country aspire. General Douglas MacArthur gave a speech to the corps of cadets at Read more…
We don’t know when Jesus will come again. We don’t know when our life on earth ends. We don’t know when that time comes when the only thing that matters is when we stand in front of God. “So, be prepared.”
The best Biblical example of stumbling and the damage wrought is the story of Job, a prosperous farmer living in the land of Uz. Job is described as “the finest man in all the earth – a man of complete integrity.” (Job 1:8) But before you can say “stumble,” Job through no fault of his own loses his possessions, his family and even his health until he is left sitting on an ash heap scraping his itching, boil-covered skin with a broken piece of pottery.
When we’re truly devoted to someone or something, we’re willing to take risks and make sacrifices. If you want to know what you really love, look at how you sacrifice with your time, energy, money and dreams.
Paul wrote: “Give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” (Romans 12:1)
Nothing consequential happens without risk or sacrifice.
On the side of the road, they came upon an old-fashioned, fire-engine red, hand water pump. The car screeched to a halt and they both ran to the pump. John grabbed the handle and began to furiously work it up and down… no water. “What’s wrong with this thing? Why won’t it work?”
But… there was a growing dissatisfaction with my life and a question that haunted me: “Is this all there is? Now what?” Obviously, something happened that changed me and answered my “Now What?” questions.
The chickens were quite impressed by the goose and his stories. They asked him to tell more about his high-flying adventures. Soon, it became a weekly event for the goose to entertain all the barnyard birds. They even provided a box for him to stand so everyone could see him.
How does your church provide hospitality to strangers? A visitor wandered into a bazaar with a lost expression on her face. Immediately someone greeted her and showed her around. In a few minutes she was being introduced to others. Before long, she was sampling Brunswick stew and talking.