**Complete Followers of Christ** *But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.* 2 Corinthians 8:7 (NIV) In baseball, they refer to a complete well-rounded player as a five tool player. A five tool player hits the baseball for average, for power, has good speed and base running skills, fields his position well, and throws well. In the history of baseball, there h...
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We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory. 1 Thessalonians 2:12 (NLT)
Words and concepts often have surface meanings that belie vast depths and rich significance. As a student of Scripture without training in Greek and Hebrew, I may, at times, overlook great treasures. For example, the word “encouraged.” At E4 Ministry Network, it is one of our core values. If asked to de...
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*“Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.”* Hebrews 10:36 (NLT) The Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines endurance as *“the ability to withstand hardship or adversity; especially: the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity.”* I enjoy riding my bicycle, in fact, I will usually ride several thousand miles per year. However, without making any excuses, I recently emerged from...
And look, I am sending you what my Father promised. As for you, stay in the city until you are empowered from on high.” Luke 24:49 (CSB)
Some people will remember the American Express slogan from the 1970s, “Don’t leave home without it.” It was a successful campaign that ran for 25 years. Although there were alternatives to that credit card, there are no alternatives to being empowered by the Holy Spirit. As Jesus said to the disciples, “stay in the city until you are empowered from on ...
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I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. Philippians 3:13 (NLT).
Looking backward can be a great hindrance to moving forward. Regret over past mistakes afflicts many people. Past victories and triumphs can also impede forward progress.
20th-century philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” There is value in learning lessons from our past, but nothing is gained by reliving or returnin...
“O Most High, when I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” (Psalm 56:2–3, NRSV)
You may have heard the claim that there are 365 references in the Bible to “fear not” or “do not be afraid.” However, a check of popular translations does not support this claim or is it a meme? I am not sure where this started or why someone felt the need to exaggerate, but does it really matter? On one hand, we can be grateful that it does appear well over 100 times in Scripture, but if God commands us to “fear not”...
Examine me, O Lord, and test me! Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives! Psalm 26:2 (NET)
Just Because It Seems to Be Working, It Doesn’t Mean That Everything Is All Right
Many of us have had the unpleasant experience of driving in our car when we notice that the Check Engine light has come on. We may not immediately detect that there is any problem. The car seems to be running fine. Maybe the light came on by mistake. Perhaps it will go away.
We think to ourselves, “Nothing seems to be w...
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So let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good. Job 34:4 (NLT)
Let me begin with a question. How great is our need for discernment? There is a meme that has been floating around the Internet for several years: “Don’t believe everything you see on the Internet.”-Abraham Lincoln. Regardless of our sources of information, we must develop discerning hearts and minds.
One of the significant challenges of our age is to filter all the competing voices vying to pe...
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“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person.” Luke 6:27–28 (The Message)
Recently I was in conversation with several pastors. One of them reported that he had spent his previous Monday speaking with members of his church who were critical of the earlier day’s services. Some complained about the music. Others had Covid-19 and social...
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**“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person.”** Luke 6:27–28 (The Message) ===  There is not a leader or anyone in ministry who has not at one time or another faced criticism. It seems to come with the territory and should probably be written into the job description itself, but how w...
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Faith is a difficult thing to quantify. Jesus said that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed that you would be able to command a mountain to be moved from here to there. The seed of the mustard tree is among the smallest seeds, so we could only imagine what we might be able to accomplish if our faith was much larger, but for most of us even the idea of having mustard seed sized faith is daunting. Many of us probably relate to the father who cried out to Jesus, *“I believe, please help my...
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“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2, NIV)
News of the killing of George Floyd spread quickly around the world last week. Pastors and church leaders everywhere spoke out to condemn the actions of the Minneapolis police officer who pinned George’s neck to the ground with his knee.
The video cannot be viewed without disgust and the officer has been charged with third-degree murder, but as with the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Geor...
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Blessed for a Purpose It should go without saying that we should be thankful year around and not just on the 4th Thursday of November. It is wonderful that we set aside one day in particular to express our gratitude and Thanksgiving for all the blessings that God has given to us, however with the blessings that we have received comes an obligation. *“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do go...
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**“Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”** John 6:28–29 (NIV) ===  Jesus had developed quite a following subsequent to the feeding of the 5000. When the crowd realized that Jesus had left the area they crowded into boats in search of him. Upon finding him, Jesus told them that they were seeking after him not because of the signs that he had performed, but...
**"{c:red}But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.{/c}"** John 15:7–8 (NLT) What did Jesus actually mean when he said, "you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!" Did he really intend for us to think that there was no boundaries regarding our requests? Can we ask for extravagant amounts of money or fame? Perhaps, but...
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But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. Galatians 4:4 (NLT)
The birth of Christ is the focal point of history. The Bible tells us that the saints who lived before His birth looked forward to that day when the Promised one would come, and those who love God who have lived since that time look back to Christ because He came to save us from our sins.
Additionally, every believer who loves God looks forward to the time when we will see Him face to fa...
*Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you, and our hearts are open to you.* 2 Corinthians 6:11 (NLT) It can be very difficult at times to maintain a heart that is open, tender and compassionate. There are certainly risks involved when we allow our hearts to be open and loving, but the alternative of closing our hearts to others is ultimately more damaging to ourselves and others. A heart needs to be trained and exercised so that it can increase in capacity, both physically a...
*“They will be in despair, and all the workers will be sick at heart.”* (Isaiah 19:10, NLT) It was Benjamin Franklin who said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Few people would dispute the wisdom of this advice, recognizing that if you can prevent a problem with a little effort in the beginning rather than spend a great deal of effort attempting to correct the problem later. The question that we are confronting now is not about the efficacy of an ounce of prevention, but about...
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The concept of eternity is often beyond the capability of our intellects to grasp. Surveying Christian history, we find conflicting thoughts and ideas about time and how it intersects with eternity. On the one hand, James Milton Black, who wrote “When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder,” penned the words, “and time shall be no more.” Conversely, John Newton in Amazing Grace declared, “when we’ve been there ten thousand years.” Can we reconcile these two thoughts?
Support for the concept that t...
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Outwardly, more than any time in recent memory, we are living in a period of uncertainty. Questions being asked include: “How many people will become ill or even die as the result of COVID-19?” Or “Will I lose my job and what will be the economic impact of the shutdown?” You undoubtedly have questions of your own. Now think back with me 2000 years to the first Holy Week. We are followers of Jesus, but he has just been arrested and handed over to the authorities. Within a few short hours, Jesus w...
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“Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.” (Proverbs 10:19, NLT)
“… let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.” (1 John 3:18, NLT)
It is no longer enough to not be racist. In today’s climate we are told that we must speak out against racism and to use our social media platform to demonstrate our commitment. A new term emerged in the last several years to describe this behavior. “Virtue Signaling” is defined in the Urban Dict...
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Do we ever get to the place where we are too important or big to do certain jobs for the cause of Christ? Are some tasks so menial that they are not deserving of our effort or attention? Many years ago, my grandfather was working with a well-known evangelist. One evening during a meeting my grandfather noticed that there was a need to set up more chairs. As he began setting up additional chairs, he asked another minister to help him, but he received this reply, “That is not my ministry!” This ma...
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This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Haggai 1:7 (NIV)
Once again, we find ourselves on the threshold of a new year. Traditionally, it is a time for making resolutions. Many of those resolutions will be cast aside by the middle of January. As I have previously written[1], I have found most New Year’s resolutions, however well-intentioned, ineffectual. We should begin immediately anytime we are aware of changes that need to be made, regardless of what the c...
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Last week we looked at the contrast between the desire to have things go smoothly, as planned and without interruption versus the realization that interruptions and obstacles might actually be divine appointments that allow us to see God at work while ministering to others. We looked at a few examples from Jesus’ ministry in which he was seemingly interrupted by those in need. Now in the 2nd part we will examine some steps that we can take so that we are not caught off guard by opposition or any...
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Recently, I listened as someone offered a prayer for someone who was traveling. They prayed for smooth flights, easy connections and no interruptions. I’ve heard prayers before a church service asking that everything would go according to plan, smoothly and once again with no interruptions. On the surface, these seem like very normal, even noble prayer requests, but what if it is really better for us to pray that instead of our journey being on a smooth path, we ask for a road of opportunity. Th...
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