Birthday

We all have one. This is not a shameless attempt to get you to recognize mine. Just some thoughts I wanted to share that are true for all of us. I was born at a specific point in history, May 10, 1949, to be exact. I have lived as a part of this world’s history […]

We all have one. This is not a shameless attempt to get you to recognize mine. Just some thoughts I wanted to share that are true for all of us.

I was born at a specific point in history, May 10, 1949, to be exact. I have lived as a part of this world’s history for 67 brief years now. The words of a song sung by Garth Brooks have come to mean a lot to me. “I’m glad I didn’t know, how it all would go. I could have missed the pain but I’d have had to miss the dance.” I count myself blessed beyond measure.

History and reality did not begin at my birth. I was born into a world with centuries of history. History that would have tremendous impact on my life.

I was impacted by parents who were impacted by a World War and a Great Depression. I came to understand their patriotism, work ethic and attitude towards money better as I learned the history.

I was not born with a knowledge of this history. It had to be taught to me. I had to learn it and learn from it.

I was born in the United States of America. A country whose greatness I took for granted through my parents eyes until I learned the history for myself. It is the reason why my greatest fear for our country today is our movement away from the principles upon which she was founded.

God’s revelation of Himself to all of us had already been completed hundreds of years before I was born. It was completed in Jesus Christ who gave to me and all of us the greatest gift we can ever receive. I didn’t know about it when I was born. I had to be taught. I had to learn. I’m still learning and will continue to learn for as long as I live.

Because of Him, every birthday is one year closer to the hope He has made possible.

Kidmin 101

This past Sunday night, I shared five core values that our Children’s Ministry is founded on. These values are what helps keep each event, activity, and class in line with our overall mission. The core values are: 1. Know: Our children will learn to know God and the...

Faith On a Shelf

I have this hat that my dad brought back to me from a business trip to Atlanta when I was 9 or 10 years old. You can see that I’ve worn it a lot. In fact, I wore it to just about everywhere I went during the summer when I was a kid. Church camps, grandparents’ house,...

“Jesus Loves Me”

After being led in this song by two of our young men Sunday night, I was reminded of a quotation from Karl Barth. On April 23, 1962, Karl Barth (the renown 20th Century Swiss-German, neo-orthodox theologian) spoke at Rockefeller Chapel on the campus of the University...

That’s Not a Candle

Several years ago, there was story shared about a woman from Connecticut whose power had gone out during a storm. She left her house to go to a local hardware store to purchase some flashlights, but the store was closed. She returned home and found what she thought...

The Post-Christian Problem

I attended the New Day Conference in Murfreesboro, Tennessee at the end of last week with a small group from Riverchase. It was a good conference and I left encouraged about the opportunities we have to fulfill the call of Christ to make disciples. On Friday evening,...

Josiah’s Reform

In the thirty-one years of his rule, King Josiah proved to be a faithful man of God and a great king of Judah. He served God from the beginning as a young king and grew into a greater understanding of God’s will and a determination to follow that will. He made a...

You Are What You Eat

You Are What You Eat You’ve heard the phrase, “You are what you eat.” Simply defined, it means that you should eat healthy if you want to be healthy. This phrase can trace its roots back to the early 1800’s. It came from the 1826 work The Physiology of Taste, in which...

It Is Well

Above the piano in our house is a large wood sign with the phrase, “it is well with my soul” on it. Kimberly and I purchased it during a season of our life together where we were not completely sure what the future had in store for our little family. Since then, the...

Do Over

  I messed up on recording my recent radio programs. The sound quality was so bad Mark could not run them on the air. So, I deleted them and recorded them again.   I sure wish I could do that in real life with all the other mistakes I make. Just delete them...

Don’t Believe Your Preacher

Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. (2 John 1:9 ESV) Here is the test. The “teaching of Christ” is, of course, the very word of God. So, if your...