“And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” – Acts 20:35 There is no doubt that giving gifts can be much more fun than receiving gifts. It is tempting to think that all children simply want toys for Christmas and that they are too young to understand that giving is better than getting. This is simply not true. If they don’t learn as children, they will grow up always wanting things for self pleasure rather than thinking of … [Read more...]
Sometimes chocolate comes with the ‘Great Comforter’
Think chocolate is not the answer? Maybe you’re not asking the right questions. Okay, I do know chocolate is not really the answer to all the world’s problems. But it does sort of make a challenge a bit more palatable. Chocolate-coating our discomforts – couldn’t hurt, right? Sometimes chocolate is not only in my comfort zone, but chocolate is my comfort zone. Did you hear about the recent scientific study that determined 10 out of 9 people appreciate chocolate? It doesn’t matter so … [Read more...]
Sending a gift for disaster relief? Maximize your gift’s effectiveness with prudence
As I write today the images from Tacloban, Philippines, are unbelievable. Massive relief efforts are underway to assist those who survived the howling 200+ mph winds and the estimated 20-foot storm surge generated by super typhoon Haiyan. The death toll is rising. We all have seen the images of thousands of survivors attempting to leave the area where water, food and medical assistance evaporated within a matter of hours after the storm. Yet, the roads and flights into Tacloban and other … [Read more...]
Biblical marriage takes a hit in Missouri
Missouri voters passed in 2004 an amendment to the state’s Constitution (known as Amendment 2) declaring marriage to be between one man and one woman. It was the first state do to so and did so by a 71-29 percent margin. Issue settled – or so we thought. In what has to be one of the most disheartening actions in the history of Missouri politics to thwart the will of the people, Democrat Gov. Jay Nixon directed state tax officials on Nov. 14 to accept tax returns jointly filed by same-sex … [Read more...]
Explore the Bible Series with Dr. Jim McCullen: Dealing with death; live selflessly
Dealing With Death • John 11:21-27, 33-44 • Nov. 24, Introduction: Recently I heard of a child who was killed in a car wreck. The father of this child was a pastor of a very liberal church and he held to a very liberal theology. During the funeral service no positive expression of life after death or a heavenly home were talked about for this lad. The last song, as they rolled the casket out of the church was “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,” because that was the boy’s favorite song. Without hope in … [Read more...]
Things unseen: Faith to see through God’s eyes
We’ve been talking about getting an invisible fence for the dog. Then I got to thinking, wouldn’t it be cheaper to just get an invisible dog? Immediate reduction in food costs. And the yard cleanup? No comparison. If your invisible dog decides to use your sofa as a giant face towel, you’re not any worse off. Not to mention, taking your invisible dog to the imaginary vet could save a boatload of bucks. On the other hand, invisible dogs are not very effective when you try to blame them for … [Read more...]
Of hooks, clubs and guiding ‘lambs’ to biblical truth
This past summer, I was invited to be the “storyteller” at an evangelistic block party in a rural Missouri town. I had four sessions. In the first one, I cut out a golden calf from gold foil wrapping paper and was good to go. Well, I asked what an idol was and explained that God didn’t like idols. And then I told the Golden Calf story from Exod. 32. Now, there were 20 in the place listening to me, 15 of which were under the age of seven or eight years old. I gave it all I had, but stuck to … [Read more...]
Did Jesus ever claim to be God?
Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses and atheists often argue, “Jesus never claimed to be God.” They assert that Christians have corrupted or misinterpreted the New Testament, or they reject the Bible outright. But for those willing to consider the eyewitness testimony of the New Testament writers, and the convincing evidence that their words are accurately preserved, we may point our unbelieving friends to seven ways that Jesus does, in fact, claim deity. First, Jesus calls Himself God. In … [Read more...]
God is moving, working in Missouri, let’s join Him
One essential part of an Annual Meeting is greeting the people we know and meeting new people who have joined us in our cooperative ministries. This year was no exception, as godly men and women gathered and fellowshipped. Sure, we had business to do, but this year it was obvious that we took away from the meeting a much deeper understanding of the ways of God. The meeting in Kansas City is now history. However, if you haven’t watched from the website the executive director’s address, … [Read more...]
Thanks from Pathway staff; pray for the persecuted
I would like to thank those of you at the Missouri Baptist Convention’s annual meeting who offered kind words of encouragement to The Pathway staff. Your overwhelming affirmation of your state newspaper is humbling. We are grateful to God for the privilege to serve Southern Baptists in Missouri and around the world. We will try even harder to exceed your expectations for truth and information from a biblical worldview perspective. I would also like to thank the nearly 1,000 messengers … [Read more...]
Full throttle, unprecedented opportunities
Mary Leigh, my wife, is a cancer survivor. She had the childhood form of leukemia as an adult. The Lord has healed her and she is a living testimony of the power of prayer. At every test, her markers exceeded those of so many others who eventually died. After six months of her three-year chemotherapy, we made a trip to the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. The traffic was bad; downright chaotic. I followed behind a yellow cab who really knew his stuff. I stayed right with … [Read more...]
Giving all – mind, body and brownies
My workout routine for today: stirred brownie batter. It was really thick brownie batter too. So thick I’m probably going to need a nap. Right after I eat this brownie. I was contemplating being out of shape the other day as I pulled out my new gym membership card. I should explain here that my new gym membership card isn’t nearly so much about my workout routine as it is my imagination. But I figure even if I don’t have an active lifestyle, at least I do have an active imagination. So … [Read more...]
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