A division is occurring within the Body of Christ. Terms like "Conservative Christian" and "Liberal Christian" are being tossed around. But the true division occurring among believers is obscured by incorrect usage of such terms. If believers only look at the number of many social outreaches a particular church body is involved in, they will miss the root cause of the division entirely.

Recently I read a very heart-felt editorial from a pastor expressing distress about this division in the Body of Christ. The pastor’s concern and compassion for people were easily discernible throughout the article I read. The pastor expressed dismay that several local churches had joined together to host a men’s meeting that was designed to encourage men to be leaders in the family. The pastor felt the money spent on the meeting would have been better spent feeding the poor. The pastor felt the "Conservative Christians" within the local churches...

We of all people have eternal hope.  While wars, deaths, and other troubles bring us sorrow, we do not have to be desolate.  We have the peace and strength of the Lord to draw upon.

I have lost a friend and mentor.  Yet while I will grieve, I know that I will see my friend again.  I know I can love and uphold my friends and the family, knowing we can all come to the Father and pour out our hearts to Him.

Blessed be the Lord who knows and carries our sorrow.

The Bible warns us not to look back or yearn for the past [See Luke 9:62].  We are not to be afraid of the unknown in our future but go forth, confident of the Lord's provision as we walk in His purpose.

However, sometimes it is good to review past prophetic words so that we are strengthened and encouraged to go forth into the future.  The key is not to turn back [as Lot's wife did] yearning for the past pleasures found in evil or because we fear the future. 

In the Bible verse referenced above, Jesus told a man that shallow commitments to the Kingdom of God were worthless.  Jesus was looking for men and women who would not let their past lives or personal ambitions distract them from their course any more than someone plowing should be distracted. A person plowing a field in Jesus' day had to fully concentrate on his task so that he could plow in a straight line.  If the plowman was distracted, the animal leading the plow would wander off...

Here is a "blast from the past" updated for today...

Just got back from the grocery store. At the checkout, a sign was posted which read, "Cashback limit $100.00 per customer." Since I was buying only $65.00 in groceries, I said, "Well, since you are giving all your customers cash, I'll take my $35.00 and be done with it."

My cashier laughed.

Now, the sign at the grocery store was making a true statement, but my interpretation of the sign was wrong.

Every now and then, folks point to an unusual event as being a portent of the immediate return of Jesus or the onset of some horrible event.

Since I have a doctorate in Theology and have studied some of these signs in detail, I can—with great confidence—state:  I DON'T know exactly what is all these signs mean.  I DON’T know exactly what is going to happen or when it’s going to happen. I DO know God is displaying His power and glory to a world that really doesn’t want to pay much...

Church, You Don’t Know Who You Are

Dear Church--Brothers and Sisters, so many of you are hurting because you feel isolated and alone, cut off because church services have been banned in your location, or fearful because of the turmoil we are facing in the world.

But I say to you, Arise!  Arise and be who you are really called to be!

I say to you:  the Church is not a building.  You’ve heard that before, but my brothers and sisters—if you consider yourself part of The Church of Jesus Christ, you are mistaken.  You are not the church!

You have heard it said that in Mathew 16:18, Jesus said, “upon this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

My brothers and sisters, Jesus did not say this!  He said, “upon this rock, I will build my ekklesia, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

Oh, beloved of God, I am not just splitting...