Living a Hope-Filled Life

Do you have that friend or family member in your life that God is always working things out for?  You know the type.  "I didn’t have money for the rent, and on the day it was due, money came in the mail" or "I was praying for a neighbor, and God worked such a miracle in his life."  I have a friend like that.  A friend who always has a God story to tell me. My friend and I are very different.  I'm organized and logical and...

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Blessed

Some friends stay close even when life moves us away from each other.  But the vast majority of people in our everyday lives fall away if work or family takes us to a new location.  They exist only in our memories as we move through life.  But this age of technology we live in keeps us connected to those marginal friends in ways never experienced before.  An email I received from a friend this week brought me news of a lady...

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“Hear Ye! Hear Ye!”

My wife recently began her Sunday Message with the following quote from William Bradford, Governor of Plymouth Colony: "Inasmuch as the great father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn,  wheat, peas, squashes and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as has protected us from the raids of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has...

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Welcome the Prince of Peace

The door opened ajar, and in came my daughter, sounding vulnerable, seeking protection, complaining of a bad dream. My natural response was to have her join me in bed, until the reality that she is no longer a tot set in. Dark still, I suggested we move to the living room couch, where we could lounge out in more comfort. As we made our way through the darkness, I asked her to quietly share her bad dream with me. It had been a long while since she...

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Pain: The Gift Nobody Wants

Genesis 32:31 (NIV) - The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.One of the most epic battles in the Bible I believe happened between Jacob and God. You can read the full story in Chapter 32 in Genesis. During this confrontation, Jacob was struck by a "man" in the hip, and from there on, Jacob could not walk normally; his ability to run was compromised. Jacob, a man that had been running from trouble all his...

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Monuments

Over the Columbus Day weekend, my wife and I made our way to Gettysburg to camp and explore the area. We enjoy history and to me, one of the fascinating features of Gettysburg is the monuments to all of the units that participated in the battle. In addition to the battlefield monuments, there are also some like the New York memorial (pictured) that are in the National Cemetery which honors those who gave "the last full measure of devotion" for...

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How Does Revival Happen?

"Your grace still amazes meYour love is still a mysteryEach day I fall on my knees 'Cause Your grace still amazes me" -Philips, Craig, and DeanLast week, my wife and I had the privilege of attending a wonderful conference at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary just outside of Boston.  I'm not normally a conference kind of guy.  I find them high in calories and low in "intellectual and business fiber."  The Pastor's conferences at...

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Afraid of Miracles

I was astounded when I read this story in the Book of Exodus, Chapter 4:1-5 and it says - But Moses protested again, "What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, "The Lord never appeared to you?" Then the Lord asked him, "What is that in your hand?" "A shepherd's staff," Moses replied. "Throw it down on the ground," the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back. Then the Lord...

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Is This Really Camden?

Carol Riley remembers the tears running down her face as she watched her 7-year-old grandson Aziz Goode swim for the first time.  "The biggest thing [The Salvation Army's Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center] did for me besides keeping him in a safe place, was you taught my child how to swim," Riley said. "Aziz learned how to swim here. We came to watch him – his mother, his father and me – and all we did was cry. Aziz can swim, and then...

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How to Say ‘No’ to Temptation

All of us are tempted to do the wrong thing. If we desire to live like Christ, then we must follow His example and say 'no' to temptation. But how do we do that? Is there a secret formula? Well, I do not know if it is secret, but I believe that there are things that we can do if we truly want to be like Jesus.First, know your enemy  If you want to win at sports, it is important that you know your opponent; strengths, weaknesses, tendencies,...

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