Where would you stop in your efforts to protect your family?
This was the question that came up in conversation. I was talking with a friend and it was good “manly” conversation. We talked about strength, resolve, bravery, guns, supreme sacrifice to protect our wife and kids. It was good. You could feel excitement and enthusiasm and commitment pouring out of us. We encouraged each other and celebrated manhood. We didn’t actually pat each other on the back, but it was certainly implied.
“You are a good man.”
“No, you’re a good man.”
“No, …

There is a lot of discussion about this guys prediction.
“And now, we have no option. We can’t say ‘maybe’ ‘it’s possible’ ‘it looks very probable…’ No way! We have to say this is what the Bible teaches! This is fact! May 21, 2011 is the day of the Rapture, it is the day that Judgment Day begins…” —Harold Camping
Should we take it seriously? NOT FOR A MOMENT!
For starters, lets consider his credentials. He claims to be a man of God with an elaborate equation that points to the day of  …

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you,
Has anyone ever asked you to give a reason for your hope? What would cause someone to ask you about the hope you have? It seems to me that no one is going to ask about my hope as long as it looks just like their hope. Is there something about my hope that sets it apart to …

That is correct. They have their religion. We are not bringing them religion, we are bringing them Jesus. I don’t want them to learn a new religion with its traditions and rituals. American religion is just as ineffective as theirs.
What we are bringing is Jesus. Religion aside, the only way to heaven is through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Through His work, He calls us into a relationship with Him and without this, we are going to Hell. I could leave the rest of the world to its …

Are you following Jesus? Are you following Him the way He asked us to? Sometimes I think we have redefined “follow” to make it easier.
Mark 10:38-39 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Jesus doesn’t soft-sell the idea of following Him. Take up your cross, give up your life – this is being a Christ-follower. We refuse to even let Jesus take up our …

We had great discussion in our Summit Theology 110 class this weekend. The discussion started with the question, “What about the person who has never heard of Jesus? Can he be saved?” The short answer is, “No.” There is nothing in scripture that would make such an allowance, in fact, we find the opposite.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven …

For the last several weeks, I have been reading Ann Voskamp’s book, “One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where you Are.” The author’s premise is that by searching out the gifts God gives us in our daily lives and expressing gratitude for those gifts, great and small, our lives will be transformed. I was intrigued by Voskamp’s challenge to find and record 1,000 gifts. I shared the idea with my daughter, Shannon (a gifted writer of poetry, prose, songs and more!) (I’m only slightly biased here) and …

Are there prophets in the church today?
Lets start by defining what a prophet is. A prophet is one whose job is to reveal truth from God. To “reveal” is to bring something new. We are not talking about restating or reviewing or even reinforcing. Revelation implied something not known or seen before. God used the Law and the prophets in the Old Testament as a way of revealing Himself and His Truth to the people. That was His chosen method of speaking to us right up through John the Baptist. …

True. I can’t argue with that. There is a lot of work to do here at home. That is why we are here. That is why God called us to be His witnesses, representatives here.
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Our mission includes next door AND around the world. If we ignore either one, we are being disobedient. Let’s take a quick …

As we approach our next international mission trip, many have asked questions. Some have scolded and reprimanded, but for the sake of discussion, we’ll call them all questions.
Question #1: Why would you subject yourself and your daughter to the dangers of a third world, disease riddled, politically unsettled country?
God is not safe. He does not call us to safety. He calls us to boldly advance the Kingdom.
Matthew 11:12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold …