Sometimes saying less is more; but rarely.
“…and if necessary, use words.” St. Francis of Assisi said we should preach the gospel, and if necessary, with words. Or did he? The online source called Wikiquotes has a dozen or more variations of...
View ArticleThere is no fine print in the gospel
“Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (Second Timothy 3:12). Driving along the interstate from Mobile to New Orleans recently, I was struck by the relentless...
View ArticleI believe in Earth. The rest is easy.
“When I consider the heavens, the work of Thy fingers….what is man, that Thou dost take thought of him?” (Psalm 8:3-4) The greatest proof of Heaven is Earth. From all our scientists are learning every...
View ArticleWhat outsiders do not understand
“But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, for they are spiritually appraised” (I Corinthians 2:14). I was...
View ArticleIf you would bear His reproach, first lose your cool
“Hence, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (Hebrews 13:13). Ministers considered “cool” by the world should be wary. It’s a trap. Let those outside the faith–i.e., friends and...
View ArticleHow contagion works and epidemics spread. And why isn’t anyone “catching” my...
Sometime in the 1930s people who were hunting down chimpanzees in Africa contracted the HIV virus that led to the AIDS disease. Later, when those men consorted with prostitutes, the disease was on its...
View ArticleJust before you head out to minister
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore, be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). This is a brief Bible study. (Just so you’ll know. Smiley-face here.)...
View ArticleThe power of small things: God’s open secret
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed…” (Matthew 13:31) “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much….” (Luke 16:10) When the Heavenly Father gets ready to do something...
View ArticleI do not retain some things. Here’s why.
“For if anyone is a hearer of he word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind...
View ArticleOur church welcomes you. On our own terms, of course.
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2). “The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among...
View ArticleHow much is preaching worth?
“I solemnly charge you: preach the gospel; persist in it whether convenient or not….” (2 Timothy 4:1-2). I’m worn out this Monday morning. In the last 7 days, I have preached in Louisiana, North...
View ArticleCompounding our mistakes: Lying and denying
“If I had decided to say these things aloud, I would have betrayed Your people” (Psalm 73:15). I fear for the souls of those who write and speak of their hostility to the Christian faith, to declare...
View ArticleWhat faithful witnesses do the rest of us don’t but should
“If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would ask Him and He would give you living water” (John 4:10). Rhonda Harrington Kelley is a preacher’s wife. But not like...
View ArticleThe kind of bridge I want
The Huey P. Long Bridge crosses the Mississippi River a few miles downriver from here. It was dedicated in 1935, a time when cars were small and narrow and governments needed to put men to work....
View ArticleRegaining the swagger
Swagger: To carry oneself–walking, talking, daily activities–with an attitude of confidence, even boldness. Here is our Scripture for today, class: “Be strong and of good courage. Do not fear them. The...
View ArticleMeet my friends Jack and Marian.
(Be sure to read the postscript and the comments at the end.) When Jack’s mother died, wife Marian realized that God finally had his attention. Jack loved his mother, a godly woman whom he would never...
View ArticleReasons to believe: There are only ten thousand or so.
“If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (John 5:46-47). I believe in God because I believe in...
View ArticleLove and the law: Best friends?
I sat in a hospital waiting room and heard the strangest thing. Two women were arguing religion. They were strangers to each other and soft-spoken and incredibly gracious. It was like watching a...
View ArticleWhat priests do that you and I do also
(Fourth in a series of article based on the little incident in Mark 2:1-12) “Then they came to Him bringing a paralytic, carried by four men. Since they were not able to bring him to Jesus because of...
View ArticleThe Lord loves to ask the impossible from us
“He said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Stretch out your hand'” (Mark 3:5). The very thing the man could not do Jesus asked of him. “And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as...
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