The school where my son Brian coaches lost the state football title game in a hard-fought battle Their opponent was undefeated over the past two years nbsp I sent Brian a text to commiserate with him and received a terse reply ldquo Kids battled rdquo No coach shamed the players after the game No one shouted at them for their mishaps or bad decisions along the way No the coaches showered the young players with praise for what could be praised Along the same vein it rsquo s good to know that believers in Jesus will not hear harsh words [... more]

I applied for a position in a Christian organization years ago and was presented with a list of legalistic rules having to do with the use of alcohol tobacco and certain forms of entertainment ldquo We expect Christian behavior from our employees rdquo was the explanation I could agree with this list because I for reasons mostly unrelated to my faith didn t do those things But my argumentative side thought Why don rsquo t they have a list about not being arrogant insensitive harsh spiritually indifferent and critical nbsp None of these were addressed Following Jesus can rsquo t [... more]

One evening years ago my wife and I were making our way down a mountain trail accompanied by two friends The trail was narrow and wound around a slope with a steep drop on one side and an unclimbable bank on the other As we came around a bend I saw a large bear moseying along swinging his head from side to side and quietly huffing We were downwind and he hadn rsquo t detected our presence but he would soon Our friend began to rummage around in her jacket for a camera ldquo Oh I must take a picture [... more]

My old dog sits by my side and stares off into space A penny for her thoughts One thing I know she isn rsquo t thinking about is dying because dogs don rsquo t ldquo understand rdquo They don rsquo t think about future things But we do No matter our age or health or wealth we at some point think about dying That rsquo s because we unlike beasts have ldquo understanding rdquo according to Psalm We know that we will die and there rsquo s nothing we can do about it ldquo No one can redeem the life [... more]

Years ago my son Josh and I were making our way up a mountain trail when we spied a cloud of dust rising in the air We crept forward and discovered a badger busy making a den in a dirt bank He had his head and shoulders in the hole and was vigorously digging with his front paws and kicking the dirt out of the hole with his hind feet He was so invested in his work he didn rsquo t hear us nbsp nbsp I couldn t resist and prodded him from behind with a long stick lying nearby [... more]

Years ago I was invited to speak to the residents of a university rsquo s fraternity house They had a reputation for rowdiness so I brought along a friend for support They were in a celebratory mood having just won a football championship At dinner chaos reigned Eventually the president of the house announced ldquo There are two guys here that want to talk about God rdquo nbsp I rose on rubbery legs and began to tell them of God rsquo s love and the room grew still There was rapt attention A vigorous and honest Q amp A followed [... more]

Back in my sermon-making days I approached some Sunday mornings feeling like a lowly worm During the week before I had not been the best husband father or friend I felt that before God could use me again I had to establish a track record of right living So I vowed to get through the sermon as best I could and try to live better the coming week nbsp nbsp That was not the right approach In Galatians it rsquo s said that God continually supplies us with His Spirit and works powerfully through us as a free gift mdash [... more]

A woman I know planned an event at a local park and invited all the neighborhood children to participate She was excited about the opportunity to share her faith with her neighbors She recruited her three grandchildren and two high school students to help her gave the assignments planned a number of games and other activities prepared food worked on a story about Jesus to present to the children and waited for them to gather Not a single child showed up the first day Or the second day Or the third day Yet each day my friend went through that [... more]