Thought For the Week

Dear Friends, Not long ago I was given a copy of a book entitled, “Gaining by Losing” by J. D. Greear. Its message may not be what many want to hear, but I believe it is what we (if we are Christian) need to hear. In this excerpt I have chosen to share the first of four things he believes we need to understand, and do, if we love Jesus, and desire to see His Church grow. I have found myself nodding in affirmation often! I would encourage any believer to get a copy and read it. It is insightful, wise, practical and (in my opinion) spot-on. Enjoy. Why the Future Belongs to Churches That Send 1.) Increasingly, in a post-Christian society, unbelievers will simply not make their way into Our churches, no matter how ‘attractive’ we make them. For years, the Western Church has enjoyed a common Christian language with the culture through which we could communicate the gospel. Not everyone went to church, of course, but the bedrock of the culture was Christian. Our primary focus h...

Dear Friends, Today I share an article that I found in a copy of “World Magazine” (May11-18 edition, 1996). It is entitled, “What to Do in a Storm,” and was written by David Chilton. I pass it along for those who may right now be going through a “storm” in their life. I found it insightful, encouraging, God-exalting, and hopeful. I trust that any going through a hard time might as well. Enjoy. “May is a big month for big springtime storms: Tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and flash floods can and do strike with frightening speed. And those caught in such inclement weather can just as quickly feel helpless, on their own. The gospels record several times when Jesus seemingly left his disciples “on their own,” without any immediate visible assistance from himself. On one such occasion he sent them straight into a storm, while he went away by himself to pray. Both Matthew and Mark record that Jesus was not polite about it – he made them go ...

Dear Friends, As a pastor one of the recurring questions I am asked is, “How can I truly know I’m saved?” The question is usually followed by things the person sees as evidence that they may not be. They tell me of trials they are going through, slip-ups they’ve made, doubts they have, a lack of joy, a loss of spiritual passion, and so on… Therefore, knowing it is a common question or concern, I offer two “thoughts” that speak to this issue. The first comes from Thomas Watson, in his book “A Body of Divinity” written in 1660 (I have updated the language). The second is taken from Tim Challies blog entry from Oct. 28, 2018 entitled “Eight Ways Satan Tempts You to Question Your Salvation” (I share only the first three, but you can always hop on the web and check out the last 5 if you should so desire)! Enjoy. When a True Christian Lacks Assurance of Salvation The Puritan Thomas Watson addresses what the believer needs to remember when he or she lacks assura...

Dear Friends, One of my goals in sending these “thoughts” out is to give people food for thought. Not so much “answers,” since answers are not always what people need. But material that will get you to think. Jesus did that through His common tactic of asking questions which would get the listener to think about things from a different perspective. God’s perspective, of course, rather than the generally accepted religious or cultural perspective. This week’s “thoughts” fall into that category. Certain people speak of things in a way that gives us cause to pause, and think, and sometimes (after contemplating their words) nod in agreement, wondering why we’d never thought of it that way before! These are just a few that I ran across. In fact, I’d love to hear back from you if any get you to think about things in a slightly different way. Enjoy. “The most qualified to speak the gospel are those who truly know how unqualified they are to speak the gospel.” ...