15 years ago today I was burning brush and gasoline exploded covering 12% of my body with 2nd and 3rd-degree burns.
Carrie and I were 56 days from our wedding. I told her I understood if she didn’t want to marry me anymore.
She sent wedding invitations from the Burn Center ICU.
Today I spoke with a mom who's prayed for her prodigal son for 15 years.
He's been homeless, strung out on heroin, incarcerated, and nearly dead.
But God.
This week he was home, sober, and has reconciled with his family.
God still works miracles.
Weary moms, keep praying.
If your walk with Jesus does not occasionally confuse both your liberal and conservative friends, then you're likely not following Jesus very closely.
Jesus was not wed to any one earthly political system.
His Kingdom is not of this world.
On Sunday, Nov. 11, 2022 pastor Bajnu Salam was dragged out of his service in Kosalnar village in Chhattisgarh, India and beaten for preaching the gospel.
He and other believers were hospitalized for treatment.
Pray for the persecuted church.
Bill's family joined our church.
No one invited them to dinner.
What did they do?
They began inviting people over for meals.
Today, most of our church has at least been invited into their home.
They changed our church.
Lord, help us be what we wish others would be for us.
Pastor,
If you...
never write a book,
have few followers,
don't speak at conferences,
don't have a big church,
But you...
love your God,
preach His word,
love your family,
love your church,
love your neighbor...
God is pleased with you.
Aim to be faithful, let God be famous.
One of the most dangerous things a Christian can do right now is neglect Bible reading.
Thousands of voices are attempting to convince you how to think.
Be certain, you are being shaped.
More Scripture, less social media.
More Bible, less books.
More prayer, less blog posts.
Told the kiddos I was struggling with my sermon.
My daughter asked to pray for me.
She said...
“Dear God, thank You for Your Word. Please serve daddy w/ Your Word as he prepares to serve others w/ it. Help him believe what You say so he can help others believe it too.”
Amen
Today I attended a small country church with my family.
The pastor wasn’t famous, the singing was a little off-key, and nothing was flashy.
But—the word was preached faithfully, the hospitality was warm, and God was honored.
You don't have to be awesome to be pleasing to God.
Today I met a man who became a Christian after watching a football game
He made fun of a guy holding a John 3:16 sign
His friend asked if he knew what John 3:16 meant
That night he got a bible and read John 3:16
He kept reading, got converted, and 25 yrs later still believes.
Pastor,
If you...
never write a book,
have few followers,
don’t speak at conferences,
don’t have a trendy church,
But...
love your God,
preach His word,
love your family,
love your church,
love your neighbor...
God is pleased with you.
Aim to be faithful, let God be famous.
10 Zoom Commandments
1. Thou shall not sit under a light with a fan lest you incite others to have a seizure.
2. Thou shalt wear clothes if your camera is on, cover your nakedness.
3. Thou shalt mute thyself if you are not speaking, especially if you have the sniffles or gas.
Today I attended a small country church with my family.
The pastor wasn’t famous, the singing was a little off key, and nothing was trendy.
But—the word was preached faithfully, the hospitality was warm, and God was honored.
You don’t need to be amazing to be pleasing to God.
I learned of a pastor who was run out of his church after nearly 20 yrs of faithful ministry.
Why?
Masks.
He loved them, prayed for them, preached 1000s of faithful sermons, married, & buried their family members.
Then chased off. Over masks.
That's sad.
Maybe even satanic.
As a young minister I aspired to do "great" things for God.
But after years of watching friends burn out, fizzle out, and fall away from Jesus, my ambitions have been refined.
Today, I just want to grow in my love for God and make it Home to see Him.
Lord Jesus, hold me fast.
An elderly sister from our church who deeply loved Jesus was on her deathbed and was asked by a visiting member, “How are you feeling?”
The sister slowly opened her eyes, smiled, and said, “I’m almost well.”
One of our church members who counsels children said, "100% of the teens I work with say their parents' consistent use of social media or constantly being disregarded because they're on their phone is the most discouraging and deflating behavior they see from their parents."
Michael has been married to his wife Linda for 34yrs.
He suffers from Alzheimer's and can't remember much from one day to the next.
Recently, he said to Linda through teary eyes, "I really like you, will you marry me?"
She said, "my darling, I'd be delighted to marry you.’”
A man visited our church for months and asked to speak in private.
He told me he was a doctor who'd performed 1000s of abortions.
Through tears, he said, "I've killed so many babies. I'll never do it again."
I never mentioned abortion, but God's Spirit was at work.
Praise God
Judas was sorrowful over his sin but hung himself rather than return to Jesus.
Peter was sorrowful over his sin but returned to Jesus, who was hung for Him.
Do not allow your sin to drive you away from the Savior in despair, but let it drive you to Him in hope of forgiveness.
A church member once asked Martin Luther, "Why do you preach the Gospel to us week after week?"
Luther replied, "Because week after week you forget it."
We never graduate from needing the grace of God.
If a trans person, like anyone else, is not welcome to seek God at your church, I'm not sure how your church could be pleasing to God.
If a trans person, like anyone else, is affirmed in their sin by your church, I'm not sure how your church could be pleasing to God.
Time to testify...
Today at church, my mother and father sat to my left.
They've been married for 53 years. I had the honor of seeing them both trust in Christ and then baptizing them.
Today, mom has stage-4 pancreatic cancer and dad's dementia is slowly getting worse.
1/6
Before sin, Satan is the tempter who whispers, "you should do this!"
After sin, Satan is the accuser who whispers, "how could you have done this!"
Satan kills through temptation and then buries with guilt.
Lord, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
In a stunning turn of events, video footage has emerged of that first Christmas in which Mary is seen putting an ornery angel in a headlock while Joseph uselessly looks on.
I shared the Gospel w/ an older gentleman today.
He said, “I think I’ve heard this before. Years ago someone gave me a CD of a preacher saying the same thing as you”
He now plans to read John’s Gospel.
One plants.
Another waters.
God gives the growth.
Pray that God saves him.
"So God created...every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:21
Behold the mandarin duck.
God is a glorious artist.
Before sin, Satan is the tempter who whispers, "you should do this!"
After sin, Satan is the accuser who whispers, "how could you have done this!"
Satan kills through temptation and then buries with guilt.
Lord, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
"I am of MacArthur"
"I am of 9Marks"
"I am of Anyabwile"
"I am of Moore"
"I am of masks"
"I am of no masks"
"...you are worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly?" 1 Cor 3:3
Tribalism is evidence of worldliness, not Christ-like maturity.
People often give glory to God after making great plays.
Much respect to Cody Parkey, who after missing the game winning field goal, pointed his hand to Heaven and then bent his knee before His God.
I respect that.
#PHIvsCHI
Former Pres. Donald Trump's Christmas message today at 1st Baptist Dallas.
"It's America first..."
One of my kids heard him and said, "Wait, shouldn't it be God first?...and didn't Jesus come for everyone?"
Mixing the Gospel and politics always threatens to distort the Gospel.
Beware: if sin destroyed—
Samson, the strongest man
Solomon, the wisest man
David, the man after God’s own heart
It can outsmart, overpower, and overcome you too.
“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” - Jesus
After I got saved, I tried sharing the gospel with everyone I knew.
Our cocaine dealer was a guy named Brian, who we affectionately called the “White Devil.”
We’d done a lot of evil together and I knew I had to talk to him about Jesus.
So, one night after reading my Bible…
Don’t measure Bible reading by how you feel about it.
I recently had a "boring" time in God's Word. But later in a conversation, three things came to mind from what I read.
God's Word never returns void, even when it doesn't feel like it's working.
Read by faith, not feeling.
Today a man lost his car key on a ski slope.
He’d looked for it, but come on…you can’t find a lost key in the snow on the side of a mountain.
Because that’s impossible.
Then, I sensed a strong certainty that God wanted me to pray w/ him and for us to ask God to help us.
1/3
I recently met a man who became a Christian after watching a football game
He mocked a guy holding a John 3:16 sign
His friend asked if he knew what John 3:16 meant
That night he got a bible and read John 3:16
He kept reading, got converted, and 30 yrs later still believes.
Pray for your pastors.
If they're like me, they're emotionally roasted from a taxing week and trying to work on a sermon that they'll preach to an empty room while people watch at home in their underwear.
Pray they believe that God is working and their labors aren't in vain.
The advice I give to every young preacher before they preach...
Remember: no one has come to see you today.
Don't try to be awesome.
We don't care if you're cute, funny, charming, or impressive.
We've not come to be impressed by you.
We've come to see Jesus.
Give me Jesus.
Tonight I spoke with an 87-year-old sister in Christ.
She’s walked with Jesus for 75 yrs, and has twice been widowed.
I asked if she was lonely during Christmas.
She said, “I am many things, but lonely isn’t one of them. Jesus has always with me and He has always been enough.”
Seems the American church could learn a great deal from the Afghani church
“We can trust that our Lord is mighty and will care for his children…Our hope is not in politics but in Jesus who is the King.” - Afghani pastor facing horrific persecution at the hands of the Taliban
We said “amen” and went looking.
No key.
I didn’t understand! Why’d He ask us to pray?
So, we walked down the last leg of the slope…and saw a black speck.
We dug.
It was the key.
Y’ALL
A key. In the snow. On a mountain. Impossible!
Except for a God who hears our prayers.
Please pray for a dire situation in which a pastor and the orphanage he oversees are under attack by militants.
I've been asked to not say where this is occurring but have been asked for urgent prayer.
This graph traces the 63,779 cross-references throughout Scripture. The white bars represent each chapter and the colored lines display the distance between references.
The Bible is 1 book with 40 human authors on 3 continents over 1500 yrs with the 1 true God guiding it all.
If I...
Have correct theology
Labor for justice
Memorize the Bible
Liberate the oppressed
Write a book
Gain a platform
Evangelize unreached peoples
Fight against heresies
Create political progress
Win the argument...
...but do not have love, I am nothing. 1 Cor. 13:1-3
Pray for Davy and Natalie’s families.
Pray also for gospel workers in Haiti. Many are losing their lives in this time of cultural upheaval.
Lord, have mercy.