Category: Dicsipleship

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Sinner to Saint in 30 Minutes or Less

Close up of a young african sportsman adjusting smartwatchA quick survey of the societal landscape provides mounting evidence that we are living in a post-Christian culture. Every day a virtual flood of secularism, atheism, humanism, hedonism, and a plethora of other “isms” assault our spiritual immune systems and work to infect us, our families and our churches.

Dr. Pete Sulack says, “Germs don’t make you sick, weakened immune systems make you sick.” The same can be said about culture. Culture cannot infect us if our spiritual immune system is strong. If it is weak, however, there are a vast number of ways we find ourselves in spiritual decline. Continue reading “Sinner to Saint in 30 Minutes or Less”

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Do You Know Any Cretans?

Have you ever been called a Cretan? If so, it wasn’t meant as a compliment.

In the small, often-overlooked book of Titus, the Apostle Paul provides instructions to his young protégé. Paul had left Titus behind on the isle of Crete to complete the work of establishing and organizing the newly formed church. He was to appoint elders and establish order throughout the over 3,000 square miles of varied terrain. Continue reading “Do You Know Any Cretans?”

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God Hates

Open BookThere has been such an overwhelming focus on God’s love over the past few decades that it may come as a surprise to many that there are things that God does indeed hate. Yes, it’s true. God is a God of love AND a God of hate. It shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise to us. After all we are made in His image and our passions flow in both directions as well.

While we don’t have time in this article to do an exhaustive study of the topic, it is fairly safe to say that all of the things God hates can be placed into two categories: 1.) Actions that diminish His rightful worship; 2.) Actions that diminish or corrupt His Creation. Continue reading “God Hates”

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Defective Lighthouses

lighthouse-2372004_1280In 1970 the teenage son of a Pastor from California emerged triumphantly from the basement of The Pentecostal Tabernacle church. His family was scheduled to sing there that evening and realized they needed more material. Ronnie had excused himself for several minutes and returned carrying a trail of toilet tissue. On that unceremonious paper, were the lyrics to a brand-new song titled, “The Lighthouse.” After a little refinement in collaboration with his brother Kenny, the song was first recorded by The Happy Goodman’s and later by Elvis Presley.

Since that time, thousands of groups and soloists around the world have performed the song – including me. Although Ronnie Hinson has written many chart busting songs since that time, none have reached the awards, accolades and success of “The Lighthouse.”

Continue reading “Defective Lighthouses”

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Four Steps to Learning Like a Genius

books-1015594_1920“Learning is easy for you.” I have lost count of how many people have said that to me over the years, but the truth is, I have to work at it like most people. I do not have an Eidetic memory where I remember everything I see, but I have acquired a few skills over the years that help make the process easier and more enjoyable. I have also discovered that almost everyone can learn these skills.

Continue reading “Four Steps to Learning Like a Genius”

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Well That Was Stupid

portrayal-89189_1920One of the most frustrating things for me as a speaker and author is the inexactness of my own verbal skills and the uncertainty by which the things I say may be received by the hearer. It is one of the primary reasons I try to give grace when I hear someone say something stupid.

These thoughts were stirred recently as I watched a documentary on American History that appeared completely antithetical to nearly everything I have read and learned on the subject. While sometimes such challenges are good and help to correct wrong perceptions, I couldn’t help but wonder if the presentation was overly selective in its research.

A great challenges in today’s world is that people want to reduce everything down to a sound bite – One magic and memorable line that “says it all.” In reality, things are rarely that simple.

Continue reading “Well That Was Stupid”

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The Not-So-Good Samaritan

file000827134112While traveling in South Carolina last week, I had the opportunity to watch a few minutes of the local news. One of the stories was about a tow truck driver who responded to a stranded motorist. Upon arriving on the scene, the tow-truck driver began the process of hooking the woman up for the tow when he noticed a Bernie Sanders for President bumper sticker.

In an interview with WLOS-TV, the tow truck driver said, “Something came over me, I think the Lord came to me, and he just said get in the truck and leave.” He went on to say how good he felt about his decision to leave the handicapped and infirmed woman to fend for herself.

Continue reading “The Not-So-Good Samaritan”

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Some Confusion about the Apocalypse

explosion-123690__340The Apocalypse has been the subject of fascination by Bible students, Hollywood and many in between. Unfortunately there are many misconceptions about the “End of Days” that are way off base when compared to what the Bible actually has to say. Here are a few common misconceptions to help stir your intellectual juices:

 

Continue reading “Some Confusion about the Apocalypse”

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ChurchIs the Christian Church prospering or is it falling apart? Depending on who you listen to or which statistics you study it appears that it could go either way.

Those of us who deeply love the Church, can take great solace in the fact that this is not – as they say in Texas – our first Rodeo. There have been many times throughout history where all hope seemed lost. Gnosticism, the Nicolaitans, the political takeover of the church by the Romans, the crusades, the inquisitions, the indulgences of the middle ages, church splits and the list goes on. Continue reading “”