#ItSeemsToMe...

"God save everyone" is a well intended prayer that is guaranteed not to be answered. 

This is how God loved the world - God gave his one-and-only (Jesus) to die for everyone. Anyone who believes will be saved.

My "God save everyone" prayer is a fine sentiment but unbiblical. It makes us…

We had seen some mighty works done by Jesus. James and John and Andrew and I were the only ones to see Jesus fill a boat with fish from only one dip of a net. After that Jesus said we would fish for men, and we left our boats to follow him. Believe me, we told others about the miracle catch until they were tired of hearing us. We also saw Jesus turn water to wine. Most of the people at the wedding never knew what happened, but we did. He healed the…

We had seen some mighty works done by Jesus. James and John and Andrew and I were the only ones to see Jesus fill a boat with fish from only one dip of a net. After that Jesus said we would fish for men, and we left our boats to follow him. Believe me, we told others about the miracle catch until they were tired of hearing us. We also saw Jesus turn water to wine. Most of the people at the wedding never knew what happened, but we did. He healed the…

It's unclear if on that first Thanksgiving, the colonists and Native Americans ate turkey at their feast. More likely, they indulged in other interesting foods like lobster, and seal. What is certain is that a tradition developed that called for the U.S. President to declare Thanksgiving as a holiday anew each year, until Thomas Jefferson refused. He strongly believed in the separation of church and state. Thanksgiving involved prayer, and in his opinion, making it a holiday would violate…

We were camped on the Mount of Olives outside of Bethany on our way to the feast in Jerusalem. And even though the Pharisees had not yet unleashed their wrath on us, I was surprised when Jesus invited Peter, my brother John, and me to go with him to meet secretly with a Pharisee named Nicodemus. This man was actually a member of the Sanhedrin.

A storm was blowing up from the West and it had begun to rain when…

For this week (week of November 8):

• Pray for continued favor and growth of the churches established in UAE.

• Pray for the tribes of Dhaid, specifically the Kitbi tribe, to hear the Gospel and believe.

• Pray for the Lord to continue sending faithful Christians to UAE

• Pray for whole families to hear the Gospel message and believe together

• Pray for churches to be planted in the emirate of…

• Pray for Arabic speaking churches in UAE to increase in number and grow in maturity.…

• Pray for Arabic speaking churches in UAE to increase in number and grow in maturity.…

I have, of course, always known that Jesus was special. I was convinced by the angel who appeared to me so long ago telling me he would be called the Son of God. But that is difficult to think about in the everyday passage of life. I had almost forgotten that he had a special calling when he put James and Joseph in charge of their father's carpentry business and began to teach.

Salome, the daughter of…

As our countries face many difficult issues, amidst the riots, the uncertainly with the COVID 19 pandemic. It's easy to get discouraged, especially when thinking of the world our grandchildren are living in today. However, we have a big God bigger than the challenges and struggles we experience at this time and our grandchildren's …

This is the second of the stories in a book I am writing called SIGNS.

Philip and I didn't really have a fight or even a quarrel, but it was certainly a separation of some kind. I suppose he just got tired of my discontent. But I miss seeing him.…

My oncologist has not been very positive about how much time I have. I know that is in God's hands. Still, I had made peace that EARS TO HEAR might be my finale. But I now have a new idea for a book. I am calling it, SIGNS. It will be a collection of short stories on events surrounding the…

During this autumn season, I am reminded of my childhood, growing up on a wheat farm in Oklahoma. In the summer after the wheat harvest, my father would prepare the soil for the next year’s crop, and in the autumn, he would sow the wheat seed. We would wait for the rains to water the seed, fertilizer, and wait for it to come up and watch it grow throughout the winter months. We would see the wheat heads form and ripen to a golden color for the harvest in early June in the spring.…

This is Pastor Appreciation Month. I will take my Pastor to lunch this week. It is a small, but meaningful gift. We will talk as we eat – about the church, about sports, about theology, about families, about common friends (and a few uncommon friends). Mostly, I will come away from the time together with more specific ways to pray for him. It is the best gift I can offer to him during this pastor appreciation month. After Jesus ascended back to heaven, He gave spiritual gifts to the church.…

"I have been all over the world.

I have seen many religions 

and heard many philosophies.

How can I know…

I am grieved over the reality of abortion in our midst. In America alone we have put to death nearly 60 million unborn babies since the Roe v. Wade supreme Court ruling in 1973. It is a little encouraging that the number of abortions each year has decreased significantly. I am sure that is largely because of protests of this insidious evil primarily by Christians. 

However,…

I haven’t been sleeping well lately. I wake up in the night and am unable to get back to sleep. I’m sure it is partly due to the physical, since I am facing major surgery in the next few days. I am also sure it is partly spiritual, since this was happening, to a lesser extent, long before the need for surgery. Sometimes, when I wake up, I do so with scripture on my mind. Often the scripture comes in the form of a song or hymn. I remember many years ago, confessing this rather unusual habit…