Living in light of eternity

For much of my early life I felt like I did not fit in anywhere. When I took the Myers-Briggs personality test I scored ENTP.  If you are familiar with this profile you may recognize what is described as "The Inventor".  This is the rarest of all the possible combinations of traits.  The results stated, "people with this score often feel like they are 'strangers in a strange land.'" I sure did. I often felt alone in the cosmos, without meaning and purpose.  It was hard to talk about these things with my friends because it was such a downer.  Who wants to think about things that seem to have no answer? Of course, when I came to Christ all this changed.  The end of my freshman year in college I received Christ.   But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (Jn 1:12-13, NASB95) T...

  This week I spent the day in prayer.  I prayed with others in ministry locally and around the nation on zoom.  In many ways it was a rich and rewarding experience.  We prayed for our families, our ministries, one another, the nation, and the world.  We prayed for repentance and revival, for evangelism and discipleship, and for issues of deep concern to all of us.  We "cast our cares upon Him" for He cares for us (1 Pet 5:7).  We also prayed for social justice, the unrest and division in America, and other issues.    But as the day went on, I was troubled by a recurring thought, "What about the plight of the unborn?"  In all the groups with which I prayed, no one mentioned the most marginalized and vulnerable people in America.  Now I am not bringing this up as a political statement, but as a moral and ethical one.  Unfortunately, it has been made political, like almost every other ethical issue in America, but I refuse to...

Several times over the past few years I've encountered an awkward question, "Now, who are you?"  How do you answer that question?  Anything you say seems meaningless.  I can give  my name, but unless they have previously heard of me, that's meaningless.  I can begin recounting my resume: my occupation, where I work, how long I've been there, my accomplishments.  I can tell about my wife, children, and grandchildren.  Maybe I should tell who invited to me to this event, who they may know, or my relationship to others they may know. Can see why this question is so frustrating. All these answers are still insufficient.  The best thing I can think to say is, "So who are you?" My passport captures as much about me as any document I have: name, date of birth, place of birth, and sex.  But there are other facts that can establish a person's identity:  height, weight, eye color can help, but some of these may change over time. It seems the best ...

I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. (NASB95), 3 Jn 4.   John makes a rather incredible claim in the little book of 3rd John.  He asserts that of all the joys in the Christian life, the greatest for him is when he sees his disciples walking in the truth.  From the Gospels, we can conclude that John was a very excitable young man, full of emotion. He kept a extra close relationship with Christ during His earthly ministry and was actually called, "The disciple He loved." (John 13:23)  I'm sure he derived much joy from his personal walk with Christ and his ministry over the years, which makes this claim even more bold.  He was finding real pleasure in the knowledge that his disciples were doing well in the Lord. This should not come as any particular surprise to us when you consider that he heard Jesus promise the following:             “My Father is glorified by this...

Back in the day, I had a generous benefactor who donated office space to our fledgling youth ministry. Rafael Cruz would often greet me by asking, "How are you doing, Zeke?' One day I answered,   "Pretty good, under the circumstances."   To that he replied,   "What are you doing under there?"   We both had a good laugh, and he made a good point.   Rafael was an on- fire Christian. At that time he was a geological physicist.   Now he's a prominent pastor and speaker.   He was right to ask what was I doing under there.   Christians should be able to live ABOVE the circumstances NOT UNDER THEM.   Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak...

We are all in this storm together, but we each have our own boat. How unique is it for all of mankind to be facing this virus together- even though our particular experiences may be vastly different.  Some may be quarantined all alone.  Large families with young children may be crowded into cramped quarters.  The wealthy may be off in the Hamptons.  Some are deathly ill;  others are OK. But we have one thing in common. This storm has brought changes to each and every one of us.   We are all in this storm together, and we all are experiencing significant change. Consider the changes since Covid-19 entered the world stage.  Will social distancing remain a norm?  How long will we wear masks?  Will the economy recover?  How long will it take to get back to where we were, if ever? Will more people work from home?  Will large cities shrink and rural areas grow?  There are so many uncertainties and there may  be m...

A college student studying in America recently came to Christ.   He saw significant life change and wanted to share Christ   Thinking that he would have sufficient opportunities to talk these matters over he was waiting for just the right time to bring up the matter of salvation.   To his shock and chagrin he learned that his father had contracted the covid-19 virus and quickly passed away, before they could talk. This story may be reproduced thousands of times over during this season of world-wide pandemic.   It's so easy to think that we have plenty of time to tell others about Christ.   This is not always the case.   This deadly virus can take a person's life in a matter of days.   If there is someone that needs to hear the gospel, NOW is the time to tell them. It may be a bit easier to see the urgency of the message during these trying times, but the scripture challenges us to ALWAYS be urgent with the message of salvation.   We sh...