Intentional Encouragement

     I've been reading in the gospels recently during my Bible reading time and have been struck by how many times Jesus healed someone (or cast out a demon), and then swiftly told them not to tell anyone who did it.  There were even occasions when Jesus came near someone demon possessed and when the demons began to acknowledge who He was, he told them to keep silence.      I get the theological answers to this; I've given them.  It wasn't his time yet.  He didn't want people to follow him because of the miracles.  He didn't want the crowds to get the wrong impression of why he had come to earth, etc.      Still; I'm reminded of how different I am from Jesus...maybe you are too.      If I had the power to cast out demons or perform miraculous healings or bring someone back from the dead, I think I'd be OK with people knowing about it.  Alright; I'd probably put it on my web site....

     On November 4, 2008, Senator Barack Obama was elected to become the next president of the US .   Millions of Americans were ecstatic.   Millions more were saddened and disappointed.   In the four years since that time, we have watched many things take place.   Chances are that if we liked the choice at the time for philosophical reasons; it has been confirmed.   Similarly; if we voted “no” it’s a pretty good chance that our decision has been confirmed in our minds.      I personally disagree at a fundamental level with President Obama’s stand on some major moral issues.   Also; I am convinced that the morality of a nation (including its attitude toward human life, sexuality, marriage, and toward wealth) directly affects many other things (like the economy).   Whenever we ignore fundamental principles of righteous living, we will pay for it, one way or another.      The question I want t...

As Dr. Luke records the parable of the prodigal son, he tells us that the son took his share of the family inheritance, “set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.”   I have friends who have experienced this.   They may not have gone away to a foreign land, but they definitely were in a different spiritual country.   None of them are proud of those times.   All of them wish it was different.   They each wish their testimony didn’t include some of what they became involved in. But, like the story in Luke 15, these friends “came to their senses” and returned to the Lord.   In some cases they had never been part of God’s family, but He reached out to them and brought them into His “home.”   Many times there is a sense of gratitude on the part of these folks that I admire. I am not at all sorry for the fact that God never permitted my life to include some of the situations others have been in.   I am grateful to God ...