In 2013, I was less than twelve months into my new role as an associate pastor, when our children’s director resigned. Eventually, our church would make a new hire, but in the interim, those responsibilities were given to me. I didn’t feel incredibly thankful. In truth, I was overwhelmed. Sure, I was a father of three young children and had written preschool Bible curriculum, but I had never been...
Think first about yourself and how you, like everyone else, still hide. We might not head for the closet, but we all have parts of us that we would prefer unseen. We don’t want our sins to be seen, and we don’t want our mistakes or substandard performances to be on display. We are all concerned about our reputations. We don’t want to be found unacceptable. We don’t want to be among the left-out...
As I write this, the people of Florida face the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Ian. The damage was relatively mild in Orlando, where I live, with some flooding, wind damage, and power outages. In other parts of Florida, though, the damage was horrendous. So many have lost everything they owned, to say nothing about injuries and the loss of lives. It is a time of great lament and sorrow. Along...
My husband Paul and I are both teachers, and we tried to teach all six of our kids the Bible. Kim is the fourth of our six kids. She has multiple disabilities, which kept her from going to Christian school along with the others. It was difficult for Kim to learn, even at church. She was able to keep up in Sunday School up to first grade, and then got frustrated with all the scissors, play groups...
Two hundred years ago, Thomas Chalmers (1780–1847) wrote an essay explaining how the old, settled ways of our hearts can change. He titled the article, “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection,” and discussed how to dislodge sinful desires or love of the wrong things. Can you read between the lines of this title to see the great problem we all face? If change requires the force of an expulsive...
