spreading the fame

“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body […]

“Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” It’s a catchy little jingle, eh? Did you know that Barry Manilow wrote that for State Farm back in 1971? What this slogan implies is that people can have certain qualities that make them a good neighbor. What qualities make a person a good neighbor? Jesus gave […]

There are two Fridays that people reference frequently: Black Friday and Good Friday. How did Black Friday get its name? “Black Friday” had an early meaning of referring to the day that normally retailers “sell in the black” or make a profit from their sales for the year. Religiously, the day after Thanksgiving, we make […]

A few years ago, my wife served at Vision of Hope, a residential treatment center for women at risk. During her time on staff, we met many gals from backgrounds of horrific abuse, numbing addictions, and life-debilitating decisions. These gals came wrecked and desperate for change. Miraculously many of those gals intersected with Jesus, began […]

Rules. Rules. Rules. They are everywhere. There are rules for school, rules for the road, rules for table manners, rules for marriage, rules for parents and children, rules for governing, rules for meetings, rules for church, written rules, unspoken rules, and even rules for rules. Sometimes rules can seem nettlesome when we don’t understand their […]

Most religious people would not catch themselves in a biker bar or talking with pimps and prostitutes, but when reading through the Gospels we catch Jesus talking to these kinds of people in these kinds of places often. Why does Jesus hang with sinners? Well, in Luke 5:27-32, Jesus eats with a tax collector and […]

[HT]

In the photo above you have a gathering of $126 billion dollars. It is probably the single richest gather in modern history. These men and women have given money and time to make the world a better place. These peoples lives are marked by giving rather than receiving. It is indeed honorable what these billionaires […]

Clean. Clean. How beautiful. How free. Jesus Christ dying on a tree. Lonely. Lowly. Clean. Red blood dripping. Purity. Soldiers spitting mockingly. Black sky darkening soberly. Death of purity. Blood. Water. Clean. Hear the women crying. Thunder – paralyzing. Death purifying. Washing me clean. Poem by my wife Sarah

Who? Who made the flowers white – more white than morning snow? Who made the sound of water and the fireflies to glow? Who put the brightness in the sun and made the moon to shine? Who put the faith that saved my soul into this heart of mine? Who shakes the mountains? Who quiets […]

He is. Jesus holds me closer than a friend. He is my defender – Whose love will never end. He is all my smiles.  He is all my tears. Jesus is the truth that swallows all my fears. Jesus is my light. Jesus is my path. He it is Who carries me and pacifies God’s […]

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17; Cf. Rom. 10:4; Gal. 3:24). Jesus said these words. He has come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. He has come to to bring about that to […]

I grew up in central Wisconsin. As a teenager, I was a big fan of Brett Favre (along with 5 million other people in the State). I know his stats starting from 1992 to present. I would pretend to throw like him my backyard. I’ve read all his Sport Illustrated cover stories. I worked at […]

The first information we have about God is obvious, God is [Genesis 1:1]. There is not a long argument, just a statement of fact, “In the beginning, GOD.” He is. God exists as He is. He always was and is. God simply is. Shortly after God’s statement of existence we hear from God Himself, “Let […]

While visiting the market in North Africa, especially in bigger towns, it does not take long before children come to you begging for money. It is hard to withhold helping them when they are so dirty, skinny and needy. However, to give them money is to give the mosque money. These boy and girl beggars […]

hands Enough to pay an unimaginable price to bring her into complete alignment with himself. His hands tell the story. They are wonderful hands. Hands that fashion the Universe. “All things were created through him and for him.” Hands that took on flesh and became tiny baby hands. Hands that became tough as he practiced […]