As a child, I loved the song Go, Tell It on the Mountain*, maybe because it seemed more modern than some of the other carols and had a great, spirited chorus. It made you want to get up and go tell the story of Christ’s birth. Go, tell it on the mountain, over the hills and ev’ry-where; … More Go and tell it
I received two invitations this week. One was hand-delivered by the father for the wedding of his son. Weddings are always special, as they are full of love and family. They also serve as a reminder of God’s role in the union, as he established the institution that has impacted societies for millennia. Even when … More An Invitation
There is a lot about immigration and refugees in the news these days. I’m very familiar with the sensation of being far from one’s home country and living in a strange land. There’s a lot of paperwork involved just to be able to stay a short time. Many years ago, I tried to get citizenship … More Citizenship
I have recently finished reading Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton. I’ve heard it quoted all my life, but never took the plunge in reading it. I will tell you, it’s not for the fainthearted. Long paragraphs, no white space, and complex ideas make it a challenge to read, but so worth the effort, for it is … More Born upside down
You never know what’s going to happen when you pray. As many of you know, I love Muslims, have given most of my life in serving among Muslims, and spend a lot of time writing and talking about Muslims. All of this is with the goal of seeing them come to Christ and His Church … More The language doesn’t matter
You are smart, educated, well-rounded, able to carry on intelligent conversations and extremely self-reliant. Then, because you’ve said yes to God, you have been reduced to a state of infancy and illiteracy that requires the use of extensive body language just to ask where the restroom is located. Welcome to the mission field! Yes, they told … More Being needy
If he knows the number of hairs on my head, oh, how he puts together the finest details of our lives to his glory. This is what happened tonight; and I sit back in awe of the God I’m not worthy to serve. Though I’m not helping with VBS this week at our church, I … More The God of details
Read Judges 21:25. Have you ever been in a place in your life where things just seem to go from bad to worse? I think that sometimes, when I look at the world today. I wonder, “how much worse can it get?” It was like that in the days of ancient Israel. Once the people … More From bad to worse
Read Deuteronomy 15:1-6 Have you ever had a loan and been in debt? I remember the first time I took a loan. I didn’t like the feeling, because the weight of carrying debt made me uncomfortable. I felt like I’d be paying it back forever. Debt is a huge problem in our world today, and … More The curse of debt
There’s a lot of free-flowing judgment happening in our country these days. Whether from talking heads on news broadcasts, editorials and opinion pieces in the papers, from “friends” on Facebook, or in the Twitter-sphere, it seems everyone is capable of pronouncing judgment on someone else. And the punishments can be severe. Even if the self-made … More When judgment comes
