Can any good thing come out of times of disappointment, pain, suffering, misunderstanding and defeat? It all depends on how we respond to those moments. Peter, the fisherman who had followed Jesus, now in his later years is writing to believers who were suffering under persecution. He is writing to encourage them regarding the nature …
Read MoreBEYOND CRISIS MANAGEMENT TO AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP
How we respond in times of difficulty reflects how God has truly worked within our lives. In the final chapter of Peter’s first letter, we see what is needed for survival and endurance in the heat of persecution and judgment. What we discover is that the church, as well as any family and nation, cannot …
Read MoreNO CROWN WITHOUT A CROSS!
There is no crown without a cross! What was true of Jesus is also true of each of us, His followers. Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, …
Read MorePREPARING FOR A COSMIC INVASION!
Do you believe that we are living in the End times? Whenever I ask that question to Christians, most of them state unequivocally; absolutely. What they mean is that this world is coming to an end as we know it. A new world order is about to come upon us from beyond this earthly planet. …
Read MoreSWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE
When one of my friends went to Acapulco, Mexico on a vacation with his wife, Jim and Doreen had just arrived and parked at the beach. While Doreen grabbed her book to read, Jim raced off to the water to body surf. He was having a great time with the 5-foot waves crashing upon him, …
Read MoreKNOCKED DOWN, BUT NOT OUT!
How often in life do we feel great pressure, perplexity, and persecution? We are knocked down by all kinds of adverse situations that come our way. The apostle Paul certainly experienced many challenging and painful moments in his earthly life. He suffered much in bringing the gospel to others. We read something of his experiences …
Read MoreTEFLON LIVING IN A MUD-SLINGING WORLD
In his Lives of the Caesars, Suetonius (a Roman writer and secretary to Hadrian) was one of the first pagan writers to mention Christianity. But the context was hardly positive: believers are mentioned only as ‘a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition.’ This charge of superstition was perhaps the most serious, …
Read MoreBRING IT ON: FIGHTING FAIRLY
We are living in a day in which people don’t know how to work out their differences. This is especially true in their most meaningful relationships. In a day and age where relationships are struggling, the most challenging but rewarding relationship is the marriage relationship. It is the foundation of our society. It’s a place …
Read MoreCLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN OF INJUSTICE
Scaling Mount Everest is a major accomplishment and it takes much preparation and the need for experienced guides to take you through to the top. It is a very dangerous and difficult enterprise and many experienced climbers have lost their lives in the attempt. A record-holding Sherpa climber recently halted his attempt to scale Mount …
Read MoreSWIMMING WITH THE SHARKS!
How can we live a life that will help destroy the image that being a follower of Jesus is an evil thing, especially when the institutional church has often failed, sinned and abused people?
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