One Sunday in a small town church families are worshiping God together with children playing and dancing happily. The next Sunday a madman shoots half those people, killing 26. That was the scene at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas two days ago. November 5, 2017 marks the deadliest church shooting in US history.…
Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled… My Father’s house has many rooms… I am going there to prepare a place for you… I will come back and take you to be with me.” ( John 14:1-3) This is a wonderful promise! As Christ-followers we don’t need to despair over death; we can…
Holy Week is a special opportunity to draw on Jesus’ empathy in new ways. You know that the last seven days of Christ’s life changed the world, but you may not have thought of them as filled with empathy for your pain and brokenness. Empathy is tuning into what someone else feels, validating the bigness of it,…
Jesus promised that those who follow him, “Will not see death.” They will not taste it. They won’t even experience it! (John 8:51-52) Is Jesus crazy? Everybody knows that eventually people die. No. Dallas Willard (pictured on the left) explains that Jesus was standing in another world, the reality of the Kingdom of God. He…
Kristi and I just returned from Dallas Willard’s funeral which was on May 14, 2013. It was a small gathering for family and friends at his home church, Valley Vineyard in Reseda, CA. A large public Memorial Service for Dallas Willard will be held on May 25, 2013 at 10:30 am at Church on the Way…
My heart is heavy. I just got the news that Dallas Willard died today at 5:55 am. He had been battling pancreatic cancer for a number of months. He was 77 years old. He was born on September 4, 1935 and died on May 8, 2013. Dallas’ passing was peaceful and gentle. He told his…
Much of who I am comes from my spiritual mentors. The same is true for you. The men or women who you have looked to as Christ’s Ambassadors are used by God to shape you and your ministry to others (2 Corinthians 5:20). Nurturing those relationships and memories is vital. Ray Ortlund Sr. was a…
In the darkness and torture of Good Friday’s crucifixion, if we look carefully we see the light of Jesus dying so gracefully. Jesus’ invisible source of love and life that overflowed to all, even his enemies, came from his being with the Father in the kingdom of God even as he hung on the cross.…
Life is precious and brief. How can we “redeem the time” before our days on earth slip away? (Ephesians 5:16). The ancient devotional masters were helped to live each day for Christ by meditating on their dead body being put into a tomb. Probably you haven’t done that before! Most of us today try not…