Charlie Kleinman had a heart transplant years ago. The donor was a seventeen year old boy who had drowned. Kleinman was struggling as to how he could express his gratitude to the young man’s parents. He finally settled on writing them a note, but when it reached eighty-eight pages it dawned on him how dauntingContinue reading “Animals, Accountants, Athletes, and Thank-You”
Category Archives: Coming to God
Baptism and Coming to God (1)
Lots of people have lots of questions about baptism. Questions like what is it? Who is it for? What is it for? These are all good questions that deserve a biblical answer, so let’s get started. 1. Baptism is the immersion in water of a penitent believer. Acts 8:36-39 says: As they traveled along the road,Continue reading “Baptism and Coming to God (1)”
The Ever Given and the Forgiven
The Straight of Ormuz (between Iran and Oman), has been in the news quite a bit and for good reason—about 20% of the world’s oil and gas is transported through it. So when it is closed or shipping is substantially slowed, it affects a lot of people and we hear about it. Over a thousandContinue reading “The Ever Given and the Forgiven”
Divorced from his Father
It was the first week of school. The teacher mentioned something about the students taking some class work home to show their parents. A little boy spoke up and said he couldn’t do that because he was divorced from his father. The teacher knew his situation and did her best to explain to the young boy thatContinue reading “Divorced from his Father”
God’s New Creation
Most people can relate to the experience of getting a new car—whether it is one with no miles on the odometer or a gently-used vehicle. It is new to us, a big investment, and usually something that we have been anticipating for a while. When we find the right car, everything comes together: it looksContinue reading “God’s New Creation”
Grace and Coming to God
Our situation is this—we’re drowning in an ocean of our sins and misdeeds. None of us are “one sin” sinners, we’re all repeat offenders. If we’re to be saved, it won’t be because we do it ourselves. We’re too far from land, too weak to swim long, and too much in touch with reality to think otherwise. If weContinue reading “Grace and Coming to God”
It Feels True and Is True
We’ve all had that nightmare where we were in some terrible situation and couldn’t find our way out no matter how hard we tried. We woke up in a sweat with our heart pounding and then came to the relieved realization that it was only a bad dream. Still, it seemed so real. Sadly, manyContinue reading “It Feels True and Is True”
The Best Thing About Church
The best thing about the church isn’t its cutting edge methodologies, its seeker sensitivities, or its involvement in the latest, greatest, social cause. It’s not its ministries, outreach, or benevolence. Neither is it Lord’s Suppers, sweet singing, or humble prayers. The best thing about the church isn’t its presence on social media, hospitality, or smallContinue reading “The Best Thing About Church”
Puffed Up and Proud
Most of us are familiar with the puffer fish. We’ve seen pictures of them in their bloated state where they look like they are auditioning for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. (Not surprisingly, balloon fish is another name for them). Blowing themselves up is a defensive response the fish make to any perceived danger—they quicklyContinue reading “Puffed Up and Proud”
Taking Off Our Sandals
Tim Friede has been bitten by poisonous snakes over 200 times in 17 years. It hasn’t killed him because his body has somehow developed an immunity to snake venom. He demonstrated this recently while being interviewed, when he allowed a Black Mamba to bite him several times. Normally, a Mamba’s bite can be fatal inContinue reading “Taking Off Our Sandals”
