Day 14—Matthew 7:21-24  21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive [...]

Day 11—Romans 5:1-11  1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but [...]

“People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the [...]

Not all change is bad. Change can be good. For example, if you are in the habit of doing something harmful to your body, then making the change to stop doing that harmful thing would be a good change. Or how about this, what if during your daily reading of Scripture you notice something that [...]

Possibly you plan to stay home during the week of Christmas because your kids are out of school and you want to have some family time, or maybe you just need a break from your constant hectic work cycle.  Regardless of what your plans are for the Christmas holiday season… Will you try something? I [...]

“The eye is the lamp of the body.  If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”  Matthew 6:22-23 I remember when I was [...]

“Stop!  Wait!  I feel uncomfortable!  I don’t want to try something new!”  Let me ask you…  Did Jesus feel comfortable when he overturned the tables in the temple courts? Did he feel comfortable knowing the Pharisees were listening to his every word to see if they could catch him make a mistake? Did he feel [...]

I was living in Chemnitz, Germany in 1996, teaching English for the ABC English School as an interim teacher. The day was Kinder Tag (Children’s Day) and it was time to celebrate! All of my family were there, my mom and dad, my brothers and their families, my aunts and uncles, my cousins and their [...]

“It’s the thought that counts!” Really? Is it really the thought that counts? I told my wife the other day that I thought about sending her flowers on the first day of school this year to commemorate her new job. I didn’t send her flowers. Guess what, that thought didn’t count at all! My kids [...]

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19:18 Grudges are like festering boils, constantly irritating a person’s heart, and therefore usually a relationship between two people as well. A grudge at its core is strictly and plainly a [...]

Surely everyone who has faith in God shares their faith in some way.  Some people naturally talk about their faith with others without even realizing what they are doing.  The concepts and principles of their faith are so dominate in their thinking and language that they can’t help it from seeping out.  Others map out and strategize [...]

At five forty-five this evening my son and I headed over to the church building to witness a baptism. When we walked into the church building we could easily spot the young lady who was going to be baptized because of the giant smile on her face. She was so excited! After briefly talking with [...]

Sometimes I question why I do certain things.  Like today, in a crowded auditorium I tried to give my seat to an older lady who was standing in the back.  The seats were filled and I just couldn’t stand the flashing mental image of my own grandmother standing in the back of the room for [...]

Playing in my backyard was playing in the forest. My brothers and I spent much of our childhood building tree forts high up (well, high up to us anyway) in the pine trees, or digging underground tunnels and overlaying them with pine needles and pine cones. The job of cutting bike trails through the woods required “trimming back” numerous blackberry bushes and raking thousands upon thousands of fallen leaves. And may the Lord help me to never forget the various swinging apparatuses we constructed…

Yesterday, there was a collision between my coaching soccer and being a parent.

It all started many games ago when our team had a penalty opportunity in a close game, and my chosen shooter missed the goal completely when he shot the ball. After that early season game loss the conversation with my devastated son went like this:

“Dad, will you please let me shoot the penalty shot next time we get a chance?”

“Ok buddy,” I said, “I will.”

“Promise me Dad!”