Making the World Smaller

April 23, 2015

There’s over 7 billion people in the world; about 320 million living in the United States. We get “glassy-eyed” over such large numbers. I recently discovered an annual report that takes those large numbers and makes them easier to understand. It’s called the “State of the Village Report.” It imagines the world as a 100 […]

Ina and Frances

January 15, 2015

I went looking for Ina. We’d never met. I was visiting her at the request of an old friend. Ina is dying, serving out her last days at a local convalescent home. She was in room #221. When I walked in, there were two beds separated by a curtain. I asked the first lady, “Are […]

Fake or Real?

August 28, 2014

“In Matthew 25, Jesus tells three parables: The Parable of the Ten Virgins, the Parable of the Talents, and the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. The Ten Virgins parable ends this way: ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you’ (vv. 11-12). The […]

Comfortable or Just Wimpy?

June 12, 2014

Those poor Mormon boys; they must hate it when they find out they have rapped on the door of a preacher. It’s been awhile since they knocked so I was starting to wonder if they have someone with a map somewhere putting little pins on it; marking where the pastors live so as not to […]

Dangerous Church

May 29, 2014

“Some amazing and wonderful things can happen when you walk through the doors of a church: you can hear the Gospel, and God can call you to saving faith. In addition, through the proclamation of His Word, you can be further instructed in the ways of the Lord—what it means to follow Him. What a […]

Open Your Mouth

November 16, 2012

God extolls us to control our tongue. “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin” (Proverbs 13:3); and another: “He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity” (Proverbs 21:23). Sadly, our life has plenty of examples where our lips, mouth, and tongue […]

A Different Message

September 20, 2012

I was enjoying my second scone of the night as we walked out the gate of the Puyallup Fair. Just outside, we encountered a man holding a big sign. I don’t remember all the words, but here are some of them that stayed with me: alcohol, drugs, sex, pornography, and rock-in-roll. At the end of […]

Saved from God

April 12, 2012

The mailer started out well: “One death and one resurrection brought us one Savior to rescue us from…” You’ve seen them before. Churches send out oversized postcards to those in their zip code inviting them to a special service or a special seminar. The one I’m quoting from was an invitation to Easter Sunday. But […]

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