In a previous post, I mentioned that my wife and I were in charge of s’mores for our Vacation Bible School. Part of that responsibility included keeping the fire going. Because it’s easier to keep a fire going than it is to restart one that’s died out. That means keeping a constant eye on the … Continue reading Are you fueling your fire?
Our church just finished its Vacation Bible School and it was a great time. We had lots of kids turn out every night, great messages and lots of faithful VBS workers. Everyone had fun. Before the start of day two, while pastor and I were headed to the Dollar General to get pool noodles and … Continue reading Stoking your own flame
Years ago, I worked at a thrift shop. My job was to process all the donated items that were electrical in nature. I was to plug the thing in, see if it worked, repair it if I could and then clean it up to be put out on the floor. Anything that didn’t work went … Continue reading How do you eat an elephant?
Perhaps the hardest part of any project is the halfway point. When a new ministry is started there’s a lot of enthusiasm. People are attracted by the “new project smell.” There’s the excitement, the novelty, the belief that this is going to break new ground. Then you get to the halfway point. The novelty has … Continue reading Advancing the Kingdom by being faithful in the mundane
What if we could go back in time and visit Joseph in prison, and let’s say we could ask him one question: “Joseph, don’t you think what’s happened to you is unfair?” I think if we were to ask him that, he’d be puzzled by the question, not because he didn’t understand it, but because … Continue reading Life’s Unfair! How to Deal with It. Part3: We worship the same God Joseph does
For Joseph, living for the Lord was the worst thing he could have done with his life. Well, from the perspective of casual observers that’s what it looked like. Because Joseph went from being his father’s favorite and God’s chosen to being his brothers’ enemy number one, then to being sold into slavery, then for … Continue reading Life’s Unfair! How to Deal with It. Part 2 (Or, Wait! It gets worse.)
I would not be surprised if when we get to Heaven and ask Peter about 1 Peter 4:19 that he would tell us “I was thinking about Joseph when I wrote it.” Because if anyone epitomized this verse, it was him. Looking at his life, however, you never would have guessed it. His life was … Continue reading Life’s not fair! How to Deal with It. Part 1 (Or, A snippet of what I’m going to teach in Growth Group this Sunday)
When David and Jonathan first met each other, the Bible says, “the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David.” It is the Bible’s way of saying they were kindred spirits. This happens sometimes between believers. The two might never have met before, but something in the heart of both, a shared faith … Continue reading For Jonathan’s Sake
One day at work two of my co-workers, I’ll call them “Joe” and “Fred,” came to my desk. Out of the blue, Joe asked me: “Hey, Glenn, wanna hear a dirty joke?” I told him, “No.” It was what Joe expected me to say, but what intrigued me was the exchange that happened between Joe … Continue reading Under the Magnifying Glass
The worst thing that can happen to us as believers is heaven.
Grace in Waves 