3 QUESTIONS – First Thoughts
Who is running the world? Do humans run planet earth or does God? I suppose it would be good for Christians to make up our minds about this essential issue before we address the three questions that I am going to leave with you today. My purpose is not to drop a lengthy dissertation on…
Your Today
Among countless other opportunities, here are some options for you to consider today. Give big-time love today to others that you inwardly yearn for. Go overboard toward others today with the compassion that you hunger for. Extend to others today the mercy that you depend upon. Offer today to others the forgiveness that you yourself…
Honoring Jesus by Hanging Tough With Others
Please allow me to disclose one of my strong personal preferences that actually drives a certain set of behaviors in my life: I will not go to a restaurant that has poor service. Let me clarify that…I will go once to that restaurant but I will not go back again. If I will be spending…
Freed Up To Fight
The last couple of generations of American males have been taught that fighting is bad. My son got suspended from school in fourth grade for fighting back against a fifth grader who cornered him in a bathroom. The assistant principal actually told him that, instead of defending himself, he should have gone and gotten a…
For Father’s Day: A Tribute To My Dad
Sunday is Father’s Day 2019 and I am thinking about a man that most of you do not know named Doug Lyle. The first time I can recall ever having a discussion about Jesus was with my dad while we rode down I-85 somewhere near where Spaghetti Junction is today. I am pretty sure that…
Sanctified Sex: Plain Spoken Truth
Most of us would be surprised to do a survey of the Bible with our singular goal to be to discern what is written therein about human sexuality. Scripture is filled with references about sex. These references include the beauty of marital intimacy, the prohibition of God concerning sex outside of heterosexual marriage, the ordaining…
You Need A Little Tremble
So I call myself a person of faith. Christian faith, to be precise. I am a Jesus-follower. If you are reading this today, then it is likely that you also follow Jesus. Yet, do we hold the title of “person of faith” legitimately? We know that we were saved by faith but, beyond that, do…
The Only Answer
Here is the cold, stony, dark reality for all humans: we were born sinners. The problem has always been sin. As a matter of fact, there were no problems at all until there was sin, because sin is the father of all other problems. Adam and Eve rebelled against the lone Authority who was also…
An Unexpected Invitation
Sometimes, the Father will become really proactive in communicating with His children. Other times, He will be happy to sit silently, waiting on us to begin a conversation with Him about whatever it is that we might want to talk about. A long time ago, I stopped approaching prayer as a formula, a discipline and…
Daring Escape
Looking into the eyes of the young man across the lunch table from me, I saw what I’ve had the unfortunate experience of seeing too many times before. He’d just completed a year at a Christian College which I know to be legalistic, manipulative and saddled with a history of compromised leadership. This disillusioned young…