2 Corinthians 9:12-14 (ESV) For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your...
Whenever I spend a lot of time among those who are very unfamiliar with what following Christ is about, I think about relevance. What do I have that would be relevant to this group of people? Since they don't care deeply about the things that move me deeply, how can I remain in their...
Every few months, I get together with other EFCA pastors in the greater KC metro area. These are always rich, challenging, and encouraging times, and I come away from these meetings with at least a gem or two. In the last couple of meetings, we've batted around the difference between two...
Disaster fatigue. There is an endless cycle of devastation in the world - hurricanes, earthquakes, terror attacks, drought, and any number of unimaginable, sometimes sudden catastrophes. With each one comes a new, legitimate appeal for donations. So we dig around our budgets, basements...
Have you been given a "litmus test" lately? In the laboratory, a litmus test is the way to determine the acidity or alkalinity of a substance. It's an either-or test. In colloquial language, a "litmus test" is any either-or test that someone uses to judge someone else (rightly or...
Have you ever had mountaintop experience? An experience when you felt closer to the Lord than ever before? I was blessed, through my four years of highschool, to have many mountaintop experiences. Some were on a literal mountain in Colorado at a church camp. Others were when I was far away...
We switched the software we use for personal budgeting late last year, and the difference it has made has been surprising. One of the main differences is the philosophy of the whole system. Our old software was a lot like most budgeting programs, but the new software looks at the same need...
Have you ever prayed something like, "And Lord, please remember those less fortunate" or "Lord, we know that not everyone has this freedom/benefit/blessing that we have..."? You're thanking God for something good, like dinner, and then it strikes you that not everyone has that good thing, and...
It is now seven months into a yearlong project to write a series of twelve articles, one each month, on some aspect of giving. This month I was pulled up short, redirected really, as I was meditating on Philippians 4:17 (ESV) Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to...
I recently received a great question about the Bible, asking if perhaps Isaiah 18 is describing the U.S. We read lots of passages and think, "Wow, that sounds eerily familiar to our situation." And then we read what happens to those nations in Scripture! They get crushed, burned, defeated...