In some of my reading recently, I was reminded of the importance of prayer in living the Christian life. James 5:16b, says “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” It is a terrific promise but do we really believe the Word when it says prayer is powerful and effective? In times of honest reflection, I am guessing we sometimes would say “yes” and sometimes “I am not sure.” ...
We have been learning over the last few years about all of the blessings that are ours as a result of our covenant relationship with God that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Primary among these many blessings, we discover we have been granted authority and power to fulfill our responsibility in expanding the kingdom (reign and rule) of God in the world around us. One of the primary ways that we do that is through ...
When one reads the Gospels or studies the lives of Jesus’ first disciples, we are tempted to think, “What was God thinking?” The incompetence, and at times reluctance, on the part of the disciples to understand, or embrace, Jesus’ mission of making disciples is nothing short of amazing. Could God really have planned to win the world with a collection of fishermen, tax collectors and other ordinary folks? Or even more ...
A Texas farmer was bragging about his very obedient mule and gathered his friends one day for a demonstration. Just before the farmer gave a command to the “obedient’ mule, he stepped in front of it, looked the mule in the eyes and hit it between the ears with a large pole. Then he gave a command and the mule obeyed. He repeated this sequence several times. Finally, one of his friends raised the logical ...
In an effort to stay in touch with our culture, I will sometimes turn on the car radio to listen to a local talk radio station. The various programs generally focus upon issues that are currently in the news, issues that include a variety of topics that are important to us as believers in Jesus Christ. Typically, the radio hosts introduce the topic, take a position, expound upon it and then invite listeners to call in and voice their ...