A headline once declared about an indecisive politician, “He’s more like a weather vane than a beacon!” The statement is a deliberate characterization of someone unable to make a clear decision and stick with it. We tend to notice it and express our strong disapproval...
Mephibosheth: Radical Grace in Action
Mephibosheth sat in the courtyard of the humble home of the generous Makir in the town of Lo Debar where he had lived for some seventeen years or so. Although Mephibosheth was of royal lineage, he landed in Lo Debar as he fled – or more accurately – was carried away...
It Is Most Appropriate
Several years ago, my son Kaleb and I were in Oklahoma City to attend a Grace Christian University men’s and women’s basketball team tournament. (Amber, Kaleb’s future wife, was on the team). Games were scheduled for late afternoon and early evening, so we decided to...
Living a Christ-Centered Life While Under Pagan Culture
Day after day news comes of crime and injustice taking place around us in America. It isn’t just the media and what’s newsworthy: we really are spiraling downward at an alarming rate. The evil and wickedness of our culture becomes more normal and accepted, and...
Motivation for Service
“But I just don’t feel like doing it.” How many times have you heard someone speak those words, or even more alarming … you have spoken them? I know I have. It is so patently human NOT to want to do what we should, or even what we know is the best thing to do....
Did You Say Something?
Have you ever been sitting quietly in a room, maybe reading or concentrating on something, and turned to holler to someone in the next room, “Did you say something?” I have often done that, and the older I get, the more I think I might actually miss a call, request,...
Trying to Justify Past Actions
I am amazed at how much effort we extend to try and pacify others whom we have wronged rather than just deal with the issue itself. There is something powerful inside each of us -- connected to our sin nature and pride -- that goes against wanting to just apologize,...
Humility and Submission
In his book The Grace Way, Pastor Cal Bodeutsch speaks of humility as the key to spiritual growth. His point is well put when he states, “The same pride which keeps people from receiving God’s gift of eternal life also keeps believers from receiving the rest of God’s...
Growing in Grace
I have always loved gardening and landscaping. I had large gardens while in Africa, growing everything from strawberries and pineapples to radishes and bananas. Now that spring has officially “sprung” in Michigan, I can’t wait for the grass to grow and plants to pop...