LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT     Paul once wrote “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). We are to exhibit a Spirit led character. Our lives are to be marked by the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23): love joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. How do we as Christians practically “live by the Spirit” a...  Read More

     We live in an angry, hostile culture.  Recently I was teaching about Joseph of Genesis in a local halfway house.  I was talking about how Joseph forgave his brothers even though they sold him into slavery.  This forgiveness goes against our natural inclinations.  To forgive is to “give mercy instead of judgment, to give kindness instead of retaliation, to give pardon instead of punishment” (U...  Read More

       In our American culture Jesus Christ is generally respected, even beloved.  Unfortunately, it’s usually some silly putty form of Jesus.  A Jesus that we try to squish into the image we want.  Silly Putty Jesus is always kind, tolerates every lifestyle no matter how sinful, and always votes the way we would. In contrast, the Biblical Jesus towers above us making claims that are shocking.  In...  Read More

This week I attended the General Membership Luncheon put on by the Chamber of Commerce, it included a dessert auction for the United Way of the Tanana Valley Annual Giving Campaign.  It’s a fun event that happens each year.  People donate remarkably, delicious desserts and the crowd bids on them.  Some cakes went for over $1,000!  I’m told $11,025 was raised for the campaign.  That money goes to t...  Read More

A fascinating little book in the Bible is from the prophet Habakkuk. He lived at atime of great wickedness in the Jewish southern kingdom of Judah. He lookedaround and saw all the injustice and oppression that was occurring among hisbeloved people. He cried out to God to do something. I am not sure what answerHabakkuk expected, but I do know that God’s answer was a surprise. God told theprophet th...  Read More

      This week I have been studying the short book of Haggai.  This little-known prophet Haggai was called to prod the Jewish people who had returned from exile in Babylon to restart their project to rebuild the temple of God.  They were commanded to rebuild a physical temple, the central worship center for Israel. Most of us are called to rebuild something in our lives.  Is there an area of your...  Read More

      Can we all agree that there are some serious problems with mankind?  We listen to the news for even a few minutes, and we see stories of crime and cruelty.  The wickedness and brokenness are not just out there within “them,” but it’s warped all of us.  We look in the mirror and see a person who is sometimes proud, impatient, unkind and selfish.  God made man is His image, beautiful, unique, ...  Read More

     I recently spent some time in Indiana where I grew up.  I had the privilege of reconnecting with old friends again.  While there my eighty-one-year-old mother asked me to drive her an hour to visit a long-time friend of hers.  I took her to see her friend who now lives in a memory care unit in Plainfield, IN.  When we got to the room her friend lit up with recognition.  She could not remember...  Read More

      In the profound story of the Israelites escaping hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt in the book of Exodus there is a great showdown between the God of the Bible (Yahweh) and the fake gods of Egypt.  God sent mighty plagues of judgment on the wicked Egyptian empire for their many sins, including oppression and genocide.  Each plague was an attack on the power or domain of one of the suppos...  Read More

     “I bet people kill themselves because of you. You are terrible at your job.” This statement is a criticism I once received while I was working on a crisis line that helped people who were considering suicide. What prompted the criticism was that the individual called multiple times daily and I was the one designated to give the individual some limits on how often they could call. Over thirty...  Read More

Years ago, I came across a powerful quote by John Maxwell: “When you are gonepeople will sum up your life in one sentence, write it now.” One of my favorite summarystatements of a life in scripture is about a man named Caleb in the Old Testament.Numbers 14:24 states, “But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and followsme wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and hi...  Read More

     Over the last decade I have been disappointed again and again by various Christian leaders who fell morally in some way.  Clearly some were not really Christians, they were wolves in sheep clothing.  But in my opinion many others are Christians who gave in and fell in some way.  Let’s be honest, temptation is a regular companion for all Christians.  The temptation to be proud, lustful, greedy...  Read More