Wanted: Thinkers

Entertainment is everything today. So important, in fact, that we have television programs and magazines devoted solely to the subject. All of which makes it real difficult to be committed to substance rather than the superficial. This includes reading widely, probing deeply, seeing with discernment, rejecting the false, learning the facts. In short, thinking!

Expect the Unexpected

Most folks I know like things to stay as they are. You’ve heard all the sayings that reveal our preference for the familiar: Leave well enough alone. I don’t like surprises. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Stay with a sure thing.

Do What You Can

Centuries ago a little boy found himself in the midst of a vast crowd of people—larger than any group he’d ever seen. He had come out of curiosity, having heard that a man named Jesus was nearby.

You Can Make a Difference

Overwhelming odds can make cowards of us all. I remember the first time I felt overwhelmed regarding ministry in a vast arena. My life had been quiet and manageable. From my birthplace in a south Texas country town, I moved with my family to Houston, where we lived through my high school years. Our home was small and secure. After marriage, a hitch in the corps, and seminary, Cynthia and I became involved in ministries that were like our past . . . small, pleasant, and fulfilling. Our children were small, our lives were relaxed and rather simple, and our scope of God’s work was quite comfortable.

Uncrossable Rivers of Life

We often find ourselves bogging down in our spiritual growth simply because the challenges before us look absolutely impossible. Such frustrations are not new. Jeremiah tells us: “Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You” (Jer. 32:17).

A Month for Love

It is February. Overcast, chilly, bleak-and-barren February. If you’re not into skiing the slopes, skating on ice, or singin’ in the rain, there’s not a lot outside to excite you. Sure was gracious of God to make it last only twenty-eight days . . . well, sometimes twenty-nine. No wonder bears hibernate at this time of year.

We Hope . . . We Wait

“Rome wasn’t built in a day.” If I heard that once, I heard it a hundred times while I was growing up. I was young and impatient, anxious to reach the goals I felt were important. But there was always this irksome reminder that good things take time and great things take even longer.

Being Normal

Ever felt weird because you were “normal”? I remember the first time I had that feeling. I was a teenager surrounded by other teenagers in a testimony meeting. One girl, with tears running down her face, told of an alcoholic father who beat her mother almost every weekend. She described how she would hide in the closet lest she become a target of his drunken rage. Then she told how her friend at school had led her to Christ.

He Sees It All

From a distance we in the church often look like beautiful people. We’re well-dressed. We have nice smiles. We look friendly. We appear cultured, under control . . . at peace.

Beautiful! Really?

Fresh-fallen snow blanketed the range of mountains on the northeast rim of the Los Angeles basin. When I caught my first glimpse of it in the distance, I found myself smiling and saying aloud, “Beautiful!” Seventy-five miles away, it was beautiful. Up close, well, that was an entirely different matter.

Category Archives: Christian Living