Today is Father’s Day.  A holiday that reminds us to celebrate the first man to invest in our lives.  I realize many have a father wound because of an absent, broken or even an evil father, but that is not most of us.  Many of us have fathers that we think of and smile.  Many have memories of him coaching your teams, taking you hunting and fishing and teaching you many skills.  I learned a gr...  Read More

     What are you afraid of? Many drown in the negativity of our environment.  The news has an old adage that follows, “if it bleeds it leads.”  Bad news seems to permeate the cultural air we breathe.  Our minds can spiral down scary scenarios of “what if. . . “  Often our fears reveal what is most valuable to us.  Our fears can reveal the areas where we least trust the Lord. The last time I was g...  Read More

     We live in a world of conflict.  Divorce rates are high.  Political discussions are rarely civil.  Churches sometimes split.  People get fired.  Mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law do not always see eye to eye.  I am amazed how many times I have been in a coffee shop or restaurant reading a book and the people at the table next to me or the waitresses nearby are discussing a conflict they are...  Read More

     Today millions of Christians will celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Clearly the Resurrection is a stunning miracle but what are the lasting results of the Resurrection?      First, the Resurrection gives us certainty.  No other religious leader predicted their own death and resurrection and then backed it up.  Not Mohammed.  Not Buddha.  Jesus made some outrageous claims.  He claim...  Read More

      Failure.  Tough word.  Heavy, painful and probably a memory explodes in your mind.  Early in my ministry in Kentucky I was leading a class for new believers.  We were sitting in a circle, and I wanted us to go over a large portion of Scripture.  I had each person read a couple verses.  We got to one middle aged man who got very angry, jumped up and left.  Apparently, he could not read, and I...  Read More

        Have you ever had a person break a promise or agreement with you? My wife and I were foster parents for several years.  One of the saddest things to watch was when a parent promised to visit with their child and then they would not show up.  The child was devasted.  Or maybe you stood in a church in front of family and friends and pledged to love, honor and cherish a person for the rest of...  Read More

     One of our sons and his wife just had twin boys.  They are home now but they spent two weeks in NICU at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.  One of the insights that the medical staff emphasized with the new parents is the importance of touch.  They encouraged the parents to hold their babies as much as possible.  Skin to skin contact is vital.  I recently read, “In a study initiated by the Touch Re...  Read More

      When I go to the airport to fly out of Fairbanks, I am required to show my ID.  When I vote in our elections, once again I must show some credentials.  When I visit my bank, once again out comes some identification credentials.  When you read through the gospels about Jesus much of his ministry is sharing his credentials.  Jesus claimed to be the long-awaited Jewish Messiah.  He claimed to b...  Read More

     In the gospel of Mark there is a profound scene where Jesus calls four of his apostles.  This scene is the essence of what Christians call discipleship. The text says:“16As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18At once the...  Read More

      There is a surprising story found in the gospels.  John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus, found himself in prison awaiting his execution.  In that prison he had a serious moment of doubt.  He sent some of his followers to Jesus to ask, “are you the expected one or should we look for someone else?” (Luke 7:19).  What?  The prophet whose primary job was to announce Jesus is Messiah is not ...  Read More

      Dr. Curt Thompson says, “to be human is to suffer” (The Deepest Place, xii).  As we go through life, suffering will have different faces—disease, divorce, conflict and disappointment.  There is a character trait that is required to survive and even thrive through the suffering we all experience; it’s perseverance.  Perseverance is the continued effort to do or achieve something despite the d...  Read More

       The apostle Paul wrote, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12).  To be joyful in hope is absolutely crucial in a dark and broken world.  Hope is simply confident expectation in God.  One doctrine that helps us live in confident expectation is God’s sovereignty.  Christians believe that God does not cause everything, but controls everything.  He has com...  Read More