OUT OF THE BOX

“…after the manner of men, I have fought with wild beasts at Ephesus.”   1 Corinthians 15:32   “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” 1 Corinthians 16: 9 The Surprise Attack My son Reuben and I were working in the yard one summer’s day a few years ago and stumbled upon a nest of bumble bees hidden in the ground beside a storage shed out back. Bumble bees are normally non-aggressive and mind their own business, but they will attack with a vengeance if anything disturbs their nest. Reuben and I backed away, but our dog saw an adventure and fearlessly began to bite and snap at the buzzing creatures as they flew out of the hole to defend their nest. This was the dog’s first experience with bumble bees, and she was enjoying it immensely --- until she received a couple well-placed stings. She was not expecting this. The startled dog cried out with a loud yelp and took off running as fast as she could around to the front yard and...

The paragraphs below are notes from my journal written back in 2001, about 18 years ago. They are vivid examples of how the Lord can encourage us with a word in season when we need it most. January 29, 2001 I was sitting at my desk preparing to go to work one morning and struggling with frustration at where I was in my life. I had gone from being a successful pastor to facing the failure of a new church plant and trying to find a job that would provide for my family. Looking through a notebook I came upon a poem I had previously written to encourage myself to persevere and trust the Lord in the waiting process: “When it seems you are forgotten and your good days in the past, His grace brings forth a new song. He saves the best for last.” The poem was based on the words spoken to Jesus when He turned the water into wine:  “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine…and then the inferior. But you have kept the good wine until now” (John 2: 10). Laurel and I believed this w...

Christians are to demonstrate the kingdom of God in the midst of an ungodly society in perilous times. This post touches on the Christian’s influence in a society that seeks to silence that perspective. –Billy Long The Church and Government The church as an organization should not control civil government, but Christian influence, however, should pervade the government via the involvement and participation of Christians in the political process. Government always reflects the worldview of those who govern and make the laws.   Christians as individuals should participate in government and express themselves and their values. Everyone else does; why not us? Every legislator votes according to his moral values or lack thereof. The problem for us is that humanistic and godless people have been gradually taking over and pushing the Judeo-Christian perspective into the corner and out of the room. God and the Bible are considered irrelevant and offensive. Christians have been to...