One of my favorite places on earth is a grove that sits on the Guadalupe River. It’s a peaceful place. And trees, oh the trees. They weather the winters and celebrate the summers. And they are all bent. There is no perfect tree. Even so,...
D. L. Moody was one of the most influential Christians of his generation. He led thousands of people to faith and established many institutions of education and training. He was famous for saying, “Right now I’m having so much trouble with D. L. Moody that...
“Why do you notice the little piece of dust in your friend’s eye, but you don’t notice the big piece of wood in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3). Anyone who thinks Jesus never cracked a joke hasn’t read these words from the Sermon on the...
There is a way the world should be run. And when others behave in ways we don’t like, we call that a pet peeve. Not a colossal divide or a legal violation…just a pet peeve. You know, joy is such a precious commodity. Why squander...
Every person needs to hear a “wonderful.” Here is why. Companies spend billions of dollars to convince us that we are chubby, smelly, ugly and out-of-date. Inadequacy indwells a billion hearts. Would you distribute encouragement? Will you make some happiness happen? Will you remind humanity...
Turn on the TV or open a paper and the financial news can be unsettling. “A recession is coming!” says one expert. “No recession,” argues another. “Save more, spend less, just in case!” cautions a third. And with all the conflicting reports, our joy level...
Three years into my role as senior minister of our church, a former senior minister returned to live in our city and serve on our staff. Charles Prince was thirty years my senior, Harvard educated, and a member of the Mensa society. I was in...
Encouragement occurs when we “come alongside and call out.” Jesus modeled this. Peter was prone to speak too soon and boast too much. Yet Jesus saw something in the heart of this crusty fisherman worth calling forth. Jesus asked his followers, “Who do you say...
God is “the God who gives endurance and encouragement” (Romans 15:5). God encourages us. So does Jesus. Jesus called the Holy Spirit paraklétos, the noun form of the very word for encouragement. Scripture encourages us. “The Scriptures, according to Romans 15:4, were written to teach and...
My big brother used to pick on me. For Dee no day was complete unless he had made mine miserable. He stole my allowance. He called me a sissy. But all his cruel antics were offset by one great act of grace on a summer...
