“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why?” -Mark Twain The Bible records for us God’s salvation history of humankind and it is primarily His story, God’s sovereign activity unfolding in and through His people. The story begins with the creation accounts in Genesis 1-2, is closely followed by the fall of the human race ...
The very first official sermon I preached was based on Joshua chapter 4. It was the spring of 1990 and I was doing a pastoral internship at the church where I grew up, Calvary Lutheran Church of Golden Valley, MN. The sermon experience was memorable for me personally, for a number of reasons, and so it was a bit of serendipity that the main point of the text was the Lord’s call to remember. To refresh your memory, ...
In last month’s article, I offered my belief that God is leading us all into a season of remembering. Remembering who God truly is, as He is described for us in his Word, not necessarily the way we currently think of Him. To remember what He has done for us, in making salvation possible as a free gift and therefore saving us from the penalty of our sins. To embrace our true identities as God’s beloved sons and ...
The clear declaration of Scripture is that God loves us unconditionally. There is never anything we can do that would cause Him to love us any less, nor is there anything that we can do to cause Him to love us more. God loves us because “God is love” (1 John 4:8). It is a grace we receive by faith that is not only unconditional but constant and unwavering. Yet, most of us would confess that we don’t ...
I am writing this month about a new ministry offering we are launching this month called Transforming Together. I am personally very excited about what God is going to do in our lives as we experience spiritual transformation together through this monthly gathering. For many years I have loved how God has brought healing and freedom to hundreds of people here in the Omaha area through the ministries of Cleansing Stream and ...
In 1981, a radio station in Minnesota reported a story about a stolen car in California. Police were staging an intense search for the vehicle and the driver, even to the point of placing announcements on local radio stations to try and contact the thief. On the front seat of the stolen car sat a box of crackers that, unknown to the thief, were laced with poison. The car owner had intended to use the crackers as rat ...
Eighty years ago, as Notre Dame was preparing to play the USC Trojans in college football, Fighting Irish coach Knute Rockne was aware that his opponent had a far better team. So he devised a plan to intimidate the opposing players. Rockne scoured the city of South Bend, Indiana (Notre Dame's hometown), and hand-picked 100 of the largest men he could find—each at least six-foot-five and 300 pounds. He put the men in Fighting ...
"Bear one another's burdens and thus fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2) I had an experience a while ago that I have continued to reflect upon. I believe it was one of those Holy Spirit moments where He showed me something in my interaction with someone else so that I could pay attention to it in my own life. I have actually been reflecting on it for some time and though it ...
We live in a time when people, politicians, government, community organizations, companies and even churches over promise and under deliver. They say trust me, vote for me, give your money, buy our product, take this pill, do this exercise or attend our church and your life will be transformed. Do these things and you will have the life you always wanted. But we try the idea, vote for the candidate, buy the product, do the ...
On Sunday morning June 10th I woke up about my normal time but found myself with excruciating pain in my lower back. And when I went to get out of bed found I could barely walk. Over the next week, I would do some doctoring trying to figure out what was going on with my back. Despite the intensity of the pain and the severe impact on my mobility I never thought there was anything seriously wrong with me. Because there ...
“Little children, guard yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21) The issue of idolatry is often difficult for modern day Christians to get their minds around and as a result, they don’t believe they are involved in it. No doubt this is in large part due to the mental image that comes to mind when the words idol or idolatry are used. Many, immediately think of wooden or metal statues formed to represent the gods of ...
One of the more significant historical events in the life of the people of Israel was the exodus event. It is recorded for us in the books of Numbers, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. After 400 years of bondage in Egypt, God responds to Israel’s cries for deliverance, raises up Moses and supernaturally delivers the people. The promise of a Promised Land, originally given to Abraham in Genesis 15:18-21, confirmed to Isaac, is about to be ...
This past weekend we hosted Walter and Ida Cowart for our Activate, Ignite seminar. It was a wonderful time of worship, teaching and most importantly activating our spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. In reflecting on the weekend I was reminded of Paul’s instruction to Timothy “to kindle afresh the gift that is within you.” He goes on to write “for God has not given us a spirit of ...
We have just passed through the Memorial Day weekend, a time to remember the sacrifices made by the men and women of our nation’s military, specifically those who didn’t come home alive. My dad was a veteran of World War II and as a 19-year-old in the US Army Air Force flew bombing missions over various locations in Germany. He was one of the fortunate ones who came back alive and without any significant physical ...
On Sunday morning March 25, 2018, churches all over America entered into Holy Week with traditional Palm Sunday celebrations. Many had their children process down the aisles with palm branches in their hands, waving them to and fro. The pastor might have preached on Matthew 21:1-11 or the parallel account in Luke 19:29-38. Each would attempt to create the mental image, or word picture, of Jesus’ triumphal entry into ...
It was Thomas Edison who said, “Opportunity is often missed because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” What he was saying was that many opportunities in life pass us by because we are not willing to work for them, we are not willing to pay the price. There are of course other reasons that we miss out in life; we are not prepared, we are not paying attention, we are afraid, we can’t make up our mind ...
Over the last 30 plus years, I have attended hundreds of Christian conferences and retreats of varying kinds. Discipleship conferences, worship conferences, denominational gatherings, Promise Keeper conferences, healing meetings, prayer meetings, youth retreats, marriage retreats, pastor’s retreats, along with training seminars of all different types. However, out of all of them, there has only been one retreat experience ...
“And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary” (Galatians 6:9) This past summer Barb and I were doing some landscaping in the back yard of our home and God used the opportunity to drive home a lesson He wanted me to learn. The previous owner of our home had a variety of shrubs and plants scattered around the yard that were either dying or had become overgrown ...
Several years ago, I was spending time with a friend and he was telling me of an experience that he and his wife had while visiting a church in their community. It seems that the church they were visiting was growing in numbers, had lots of programs and activities and even was putting on an addition to accommodate the large number of children that were coming for Sunday School. Yet in spite of all the activity and other outward ...
We have just completed our 2nd Cleansing Stream retreat for this fall season. While each retreat is unique, they often share commonalities, especially within retreat seasons. The most common comment this time was “I just had no idea.” They had no idea that they had been performing for God to earn His approval. They had no idea they had believed so many lies about God, themselves and life in general. ...
Anyone who has been married for any length of time knows that the covenant relationship between a husband and wife takes time, energy and attention. Yet, when it comes to living out our covenant relationship with God many Christians believe, or at least act as if they believe, it will just happen. For some, this belief is born of their concern that they not fall into legalism or works righteousness, lifestyles that assume ...
Like most pastors, I love to read. When I have time, it is not unusual for me to read a couple of books in a week, especially if they are short. There is something about the joy of discovery, gaining new insight into spiritual truth that is both edifying and exciting. In some ways, this pursuit of truth can become intoxicating to the soul, even addictive. As odd as it sounds, having much knowledge about God, and His ...
Anyone who has been married for any length of time knows that the relationship between a husband and wife takes time, energy and attention. And it is generally accepted that one must “work” at keeping the marriage relationship vibrant, healthy and alive during the many seasons of life that a couple will experience. Daily times of uninterrupted communication where each is allowed to share their dreams, hopes and desires ...
Over the years I have spent considerable time looking at the various commissioning texts where Jesus takes His disciples aside, gives them final instructions and then sends them out to duplicate His life and ministry. One such text is Mark 6:7-13 and it highlights for us the fact that the proclamation of the kingdom, the healing of the sick and the casting out of unclean spirits (deliverance) were all a part of Jesus’ ministry to ...
But the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26 It is interesting to me how the seasons and cycles of life affect us spiritually, especially our sense of dependence upon God. As a younger man contemplating God’s call to become more involved in ministry, I carried with me a deep sense of inadequacy regarding my ...