Month: June 2013
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Defeating Confusion
Uncertain of the future? Who isn’t? Financial markets are unpredictable. People who die too young. Companies that look rock-solid go bankrupt. Tornadoes appear at the end of a day and blow a city apart. These surprises may cause us to become paralyzed with fear or confused about the course to take. That’s is why we […]
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You think you’re too good to fail?
Failure happens every day. Though we might desire to be perfect, it’s not happening in this world where machines malfunction, computers crash, and people act like, well; people! The Lord blesses me with many advantages, enriches me with gifts of grace, and still I fail. Some failures creep up on us, the result of multiple […]
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I want what is mine, now!
Southwest Airlines has a reputation for customer service. On a recent trip I flew with them. My experience confirmed what I had heard. They really do take care of the traveler. I dug a little deeper and found out that Herb Kelleher, the founder of the airline, adopted a principle called ‘servant leadership.’ Every team […]
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Nailed down or held in His hand?
When life is rushing along at full speed, like it does most days, decisions come along demanding my response. “What’s right? What wrong? Do I choose that or this, go here or there?” As I write this my mind is weighing an important question and I want to make the wise decision in my answer. […]
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Are you an Idolater?
Few Christians would consider themselves idol-worshippers. They don’t have any shrines to gods in their homes, no golden figures or pictures of strange beings to which they attach divine characteristics. The idol question is never even considered. “Idols?” they say, “Not my problem!” Or are they? What is elevated in your life? From what or […]
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Wash up!
“Hey, guys, it’s time for dinner. Wash up!” With that call, dinner is served. Before pulling up to the table, the grime of the day needs to be washed away. Who wants dirty hands serving and handling the dishes? The Psalm carries a similar theme. “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The […]
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Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Tuesday was not a banner day in Jerry’s life! Something ‘round 10, snapped in me. Church ministry budgets that don’t balance, human needs for which I have no quick fix, a crazy mixed up world that seems to be getting more upside down recently – these things pressed in on me. My first response should […]
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Yes, I am!
A painter does not exist to stir colors. He mixes paint to create beauty. We can get so close to our lives, so wrapped up in work, projects, people, and plans that we lose sight of real LIFE. (Well, I do, anyway. Do you?) We can mistake the ‘doing’ for the ‘being.’ There is a […]
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You’d better say, “Thank you!”
Two Christians I know work at ministry. Both are bright, talented, and show up to do what they do faithfully. One serves the Lord for the pure joy of serving and it shows. She doesn’t ask for thanks or seek glory. Many have no idea what she does for the Lord, but even more would […]
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Toxic Waste or Refreshing Rain?
Let me tell you two stories about words. A couple asked to meet with the church board to discuss a situation they blamed squarely on me. They opened with a salvo of critical statements and then launched into a tirade of accusations. Somehow a simple misunderstanding, a set of missed expectations, escalated into full-blown attack […]
CoffeeBreak With The Word 