God’s Instrument
"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth." Psalm 100:1I’ll never forget my conversation with Erin, who is an accomplished violinist. As we were talking about violins, I asked her whether or not the …
View ArticleDare to Call Him “Dad”
“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” Romans 8:15Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis has...
View ArticleThou Shalt Not Be a Bystander
“He upholds the cause of the oppressed.” Psalm 146:7In 1955, an African-American Christian woman in her 40s refused to surrender her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. As …
View ArticleOn Purpose
We . . . are being transformed into [Christ’s] image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. —2 Corinthians 3:18Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Life has had an unbelievable run on the...
View ArticleTwo-Way Street
“You are my friends if you do what I command.” John 15:14Ever had a one-way friendship? You know the drill—people who always need a favor but never give anything in return. Every time they come close,...
View ArticleThe Right Answer
"Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him"— 1 John 5:1When Jesus asked a question, it was not because He...
View ArticleGetting Closer to God
“If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness.” Isaiah 58:10With e-mail and text messages, the joy of letter...
View ArticleShe Loves Me, . . . She Loves Me Not
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15Did you ever try to figure out whether or not someone you loved, loved you...
View ArticleAre You Down With It?
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” Luke 6:27In the early hours of the morning, five drug dealers kidnapped Buster Soaries and drove him to a vacant lot. They...
View ArticleLiving With a Clear View
“Offer your bodies as living sacrifices . . . this is your spiritual act of worship” Romans 12:1I love Wrigley Field in Chicago. But like most old ballparks, it has the necessary but aggravating...
View ArticleCause for Rejoicing
“Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord!” Philippians 3:1I’ll never forget the Sunday morning when I was hanging out in the hall with a bunch of my “cool” junior high friends before Sunday …
View ArticleFinding Jesus in the Loop
“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40My friend Craig Phillips was a 27-year-old rising star in Chicago’s corporate world. His natural drive...
View ArticleNo Bragging Rights
He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him. —Ephesians 1:4My dad was the most important person in my world when I was a boy. He was a...
View ArticleGet In The Game
To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily. —Colossians 1:29I love going to Chicago’s Wrigley Field for a baseball game—sitting in the stands, downing a...
View ArticleGod With Us
“And we, who… all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness…” 2 Corinthians 3:18He was sitting three rows back in the aisle seat, slouched down in his chair, wearing a baseball...
View ArticleThe Hot Shot Café
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Philippians 4:11The Hot Shot Café in Asheville, North Carolina, is where the locals hang out. Old jukebox and all—no pretense—just good old...
View ArticleInstincts
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye." Psalm 32:8Flying into a storm is a dangerous experience. The temptation is to fly by your instincts, or, as...
View ArticleOperation Rescue
“The Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials.” 2 Peter 2:9I recall counseling a woman who had just come to know Christ. She was interested in becoming God’s kind of woman, so we were studying …
View ArticleOvercommitters Anonymous
“Teach us to number our days . . . that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12I am hopelessly prone to overcommitting myself. Is anyone else out there a little too quick to say “Yes” to every...
View ArticleA Collector’s Heaven
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." Matthew 6:19-20People love to collect things—from baseball cards to stamps to coins. And while...
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