RSS FeedTHE SECRET TO HUMAN FULFILLMENT AND CONTENTMENT
The Bible tells us that God goes before everything else. God is prior to all things. God is to be pre-eminent in all things. All life follows God. God is the leader, we are the followers. That is the order of creation and salvation. To attempt to reverse that order is...
MEASURING OUR DAYS
As I look forward to celebrating my eighty-third birthday this week, I am struck with the meaning of my life at this stage. This morning I read Psalm 39:4 “Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days (NIV). “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the...
VALUES, MORALITY
One of the biggest debates today is over values: which values we think most important. The debate is an international one. It is also extremely personal. What values we embrace influences our faith and our lifestyle. Books are being written and movies made to promote...
WHY SOME CHURCHES ARE GROWING AND FLOURISHING
A member of one of my former congregations was sharing with me her love of the worship of her Episcopal Church with several hundred while her son was now worshiping at a nondenominational megachurch with 8,000 members. It caused me to reflect on the reasons why...
THE FOLLY OF SECULAR, IDEALISTIC, UTOPIAN GLOBALISM
David Martin Jones taught Political Science at the University of Queensland and War Studies at King’s College, London. His last book, HISTORY’S FOOLS: The Pursuit of Idealism and the Revenge of Politics, is a survey of international and domestic events in the last...
HOW I CAME TO KNOW GOD
When Isaiah had a vision of God, he saw “the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings…and they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole...
A PRAYER FOR THE FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The ninth century hymn, Veni, Creator Spiritus (Come, Creator Spirit) is sung at ordinations but may be sung by all believers for the filling of the Holy Spirit. Come Holy Ghost, our souls inspire, And lighten with celestial fire. Thou the anointing Spirit art, Who...
THE RELEVANCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
What is the relevance of the Holy Spirit to us today? Jesus said, “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to...
KNOWING THE TRUTH
On the Feast of Pentecost (fifty days after the Passover), seven weeks after the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples were gathered in Jerusalem. They had been told by Jesus not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the gift his Father had promised, which they had heard...
THE FOURTH DIMENSION AND THE ASCENSION
The Ascension, Rembrandt One of the most memorable Ascension Day experiences in my life was at the funeral of a member of my congregation in San Antonio in May 1996. Betty Maddux was a generous philanthropist. She bailed the Symphony out on many occasions. At her...
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