In Christian circles the idea of “sharing our testimony” about Jesus has fallen out of fashion to some degree, maybe because it smacks of tent evangelism, street witnessing, and in-your-face spiritual confrontations from years ago. But in all other areas of life, testimonials are welcomed among neighbors and friends. We often hear: “Hey, do you [...]
Category: Holy Spirit
What is Our Passion?
When Mel Gibson’s movie came out (The Passion of the Christ) some might have been confused by the title, because the word passion is used today mostly to describe sex or something else we especially enjoy. “He has a passion for sailing,” we hear, or “she’s passionate about her work with kids.” But for centuries [...]
Renewing Our Vows
Vow renewal ceremonies have been around for a while, but only became popular in the 1970s. Now, in the U.S, they make up from 25 to 30% of all wedding ceremonies being booked. Some are elaborate and costly. TV star Rachel Ray and her husband treated their friends and family to a weekend in a [...]
The Gift We Love to Squander
As we use our beautiful gift of communication … talking, sharing on Facebook and other social media, emailing, writing notes and letters … we seldom stop to think about how we’re able to do all this. When God created the world, He gave those made in His own image certain unique privileges. One such gift [...]
In Returning and Rest is Our Salvation
I grew up in the turbulent 60s, graduating from high school in 1964. Sometimes we look back at this time in our history and giggle, thinking it was mostly about hippies and “flower power”, the Beatles, and miniskirts. But much deeper issues were brewing, bringing profound change. Civil rights protests were shaking the South, drugs [...]
Fearing the Lord our God
I was blessed with one of the world’s best mothers. Her love for her kids was legendary, and her reputation for indulgence? Well, I remember how shocked my kindergarten teacher was when I told her one morning I had hot dogs for breakfast. My mom figured protein was protein. What difference did it make if [...]
Ready for Action?
“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.” (Luke 12:35-36) I’m praying for revival, and I hope you are too. Consistently. Fervently. Alone in my prayer [...]
Ushering in His Appearance
Last month we explored what revival looks like. I’d like to continue with the revival theme this month, since this is what’s on my heart. But I want to look at it from another perspective … not so much the WHAT and WHEN but the HOW. How can we help bring revival to our oh-so-thirsty [...]
The Signs (and Hope) of Revival
Just before the First Great Awakening in the early 1700s the spiritual landscape of New England looked much like today. There were only 2 believers in the student body at Princeton. Only 5 did not belong to the filthy speech movement of the day. And the few Christians on campus were so unpopular they met [...]
Keeping Love Alive
When Tony and I met, I was still living with my parents, attending university in Wichita, Kansas. He was enrolled at Kansas University in Lawrence – two hundred miles away. We ended up at the same party in Lawrence one weekend and, as sometimes happens, our “chance” meeting developed into something we both wanted to [...]