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Embrace

Room at the Inn

This Christmas, the question yet remains: Is there still no room at the inn? Take a chance. Embrace the Joseph’s and Mary’s of our age.

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Marianne

I Am Content

A poem of sorts to express my gratitude to the Lord and my love to my wife, Marianne.

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Embrace

Grace, Mercy and Love

Too often, we forget that there is a context to grace, mercy and love.

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u-turn

The Road to Grace

For the religious, the road to grace is the toughest journey they’ll ever face. But slowly, I’m finally starting to find it.

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Hurt and Confusion

Beauty from Ashes

I take on pastoral sex abuse cases not only because I believe in justice, but because I also believe in redemption. Often, I have the privilege of seeing God’s grace shine through as healing comes and the survivors begin to find the strength to reclaim their lives – and their stolen voices.

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Tearing Apart

The Buffers Between Us

I was hungry and you were glad you voted for politicians who supported food stamps…

I was destitute and you wondered if there was a homeless shelter nearby…

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The Storm

The Storm

There is something in the prophetic personality that loves the thunder, the lightning and the storm.

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Understanding the Seven Motivational Gifts

This PowerPoint presentation looks at the seven gifts listed in Romans 12, and the motivations and ways that different people use those differing gifts.

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Helping or Enabling?

It’s hard cut lose a man you’ve been ministering to and let him ultimately bear the full consequences of the mess he’s made of his life — not to hurt him, but to let him finally hit bottom. I am friends with and minister to men and women who most people, and many churches, shun [...]

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The Gospel vs. Religion

Tim Keller, an author (The Reason for God, Counterfeit Gods and Prodigal God) whom I have come to deeply respect (and who also happened to attended Westminster Theological Seminary — although I don’t recall that we knew each other), developed this list comparing the Gospel to Religion. It’s a good focus for prayerful meditation as [...]

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True Ministry

Last night, we had one of our best times of “participatory church” as we seamlessly shared a meal, partook of communion, fellowshipped and ministered one with another — and none of it depended on me! The last several weeks have been very emotionally and physically exhausting for me. On top of my best friend dying, [...]

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Ken Hornby (1945 – 2010)

Kenneth Lewis Hornby — a pastor, mentor, mutual confidant, fishing partner, flying buddy and friend who was closer than a brother — died early this morning after an extended battle with cancer. Although he was my best friend, Ken and I had a relationship that transcended mere friendship. We were so opposite, but so complementary, [...]

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Regeneration

A friend posted this short video on Facebook and it’s too precious, timely and relevant to pass up. As you listen, may God mercifully and lovingly wound you in order to heal you. It’s by Paul Washer, who I first mentioned in a blog back in March (see God Is Not Passive). His burden for [...]

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Embrace

The Gift of Mercy

Mercy is the most powerful, but most abused, of all the spiritual gifts.

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The Church in D Pod

This Sunday, like most Sundays, I will be fellowshipping with the “Church in D Pod” at the local jail. D Pod is a unit housing around a hundred men, and God has been pouring out his new wine in an exciting way among those inmates. A couple of months ago, I started shifting my focus [...]

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Heavy Lifting

Understanding Chronic Fatigue

As I struggle with an autoimmune condition called systemic sclerosis, I have begun to understand chronic fatigue and how to cope with its effects.

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Fellowship and Light

“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:  But if we walk in the light, as he [...]

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Pastoral Burnout

Sunday afternoon I attended an authentic fire-from-heaven, slain-in-the-spirit, foot stomp’n, Pentecostal Holy Ghost church service with handkerchief-to-wipe-away-the-sweat-on-the-forehead preaching on — believe it or not — pastoral burnout. Although the topic could be viewed as a “downer”, it actually was a great time of refreshing and renewal!

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Rick Warren Disavows Support for Prop. 8

This article (see full text here) confirms my worse fears about Rick Warren, who has shown a troubling tendency to fall into the false trap of thinking that “compromise” is “compassion”. Worse still, he then publicly lied about prior comments he made on the issue of “gay marriage”. The great thing about America is we [...]

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Woundedness

On Sunday I taught men in the jail, using Psalms 116:5-7 (ESV), about moving from woundedness to life. I challenged them not to settle for mere comfort when confronting hurt, but to embrace life instead. Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;    our God is merciful. The LORD preserves the simple;    when I was brought low, [...]

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God and Man

Sufficient Grace

When did Christians start believing that God wants us to always be healthy, wealthy and free of adversity?

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Been Hearing God Lately?

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how God fellowshipped with Adam. It was in the garden, where the two of them walked side by side and talked face to face in the cool of the evening. God met Adam in his full humanity, where life sprang forth both within and around Adam. It took [...]

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Final Product!

God Shows Up

As I’ve counseled hundreds of people of the years, I’ve learned that God miraculously heals us when we’re willing to go to and expose to Him those places at the core of our being where wounds, hurts and lies reside.

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Legal System

Essentially Reformed or Hyper-Calvinist?

Why is it that those who most strongly affirm God’s sovereignty deny His ability – His right, if He so pleases – to delegate choice to us?

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