Thought For the Week

Dear Friends, Today I offer you the story of two valiant missionary ladies who were the victims of something that had nothing to do with them. It took place in April of 1974, and though I was a senior in high school that year, I never heard about it. This story is found in, “The One Year Book of Christian History” by Michael and Sharon Rusten. (If you love history, especially Christian history, you will love this devotional book which includes one story each day that happened on that particular day, for the whole year.) This particular story takes place in Thailand, April 30, 1974. It’s entitled “Political Casualties.” “Thailand was a difficult place to be a missionary in 1974. The Vietnam War had spilled over into Laos, Cambodia, and northern Thailand. In southern Thailand there was ongoing conflict between the military and Muslim liberation groups that wanted independence for Thailand’s predominantly Muslim provinces. Malaysia, having a majori...

  Dear Friends, At a recent pastors and wives retreat I met a somewhat gruff looking elderly gentleman named Steve Campbell. He and his wife Wanda had started a ministry called “The Better Way” in one of the worst neighborhoods (the crime-ridden Short North District) in Columbus, Ohio, in 1986. They ministered there for 32 years, reaching out to the homeless, working poor, runaway teens, prostitutes, gang members, drug addicts, pimps, and anyone in the neighborhood who would listen, or come in for a meal or help. They handed the ministry over to others in 2018, and last year Steve wrote a book entitled, “He went a Little Bit Farther.” (I highly recommend reading it!) The title is based on Matthew 26:39, where Jesus told his disciples to wait and pray while he went on ahead, “a little bit farther.” It’s one of Steve and Wanda’s life-verses, which he uses to encourage others to go out of their way, or ‘go the extra mile,’ in serving others in Jesus’s name, just as Jesus...

Dear Friends, Today was a momentous day in the history of the church. It was the day in 1521 A.D. that the German Reformer Martin Luther arrived at the Diet of Worms, thinking he would have a debate about his 95 public criticisms of the Catholic Church. For those who don’t know, the word “Diet” referred to the calling together of a formal deliberating assembly of Catholic theologians and officials to consider an important issue, and this one was held in Germany, in the city named Worms. Luther had tried to resolve his differences with the church amicably, hoping the church would see its mistakes and make the necessary changes. He was surprised, therefore, to discover when he arrived in Worms that it was not to be a debate, but a trial. Pope Leo demanded Luther retract 41 of the 95 Thesis’ that he posted on the door of the church in Wittenberg or be condemned as a heretic. So, the purpose of the Diet was not to debate but simply to hear Luther either ren...

Dear Friends, In light of our celebration of the glorious event of the Resurrection of Jesus this past Sunday, I pass along to you my FAVORITE Easter poem. It was written by the well-known author John Updike, who after graduating from Harvard University in 1954, began attending a Lutheran church in Marblehead, Massachusetts — a church similar in many ways to the Lutheran church he attended in his youth in Shillington, Pennsylvania, on the outskirts of Reading.   When the church in Marblehead sponsored a Religious Arts Festival in 1960 and offered a $100 prize for the best artwork, Updike submitted the following poem entitled, “The Seven Stanzas at Easter.” He won the contest, received the $100, and promptly gave it back to the church. The poem is as follows. I trust you might enjoy it as much as I have. “Make no mistake: if He rose at all it was as His body; if the cells’ dissolution did not reverse, the molecules reknit, the amino acids rekindle, the Church will fall. It w...

Dear Friends, Today’s post is by the British New Testament scholar, Pauline theologian, and Anglican bishop, N. T. Wright. It deals with two common Christian prayers – the Lord’s Prayer and the Tax Collector’s Prayer in Luke 18 (sometimes called the ‘Mercy Prayer” or the “Jesus Prayer”). These two excerpts are taken from Wright’s book, “Simply Christian.” It’s a fresh way of looking at two well-known prayers. Enjoy. “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God have mercy on me, a sinner.’” The Lord’s Prayer isn’t the only prayer that has formed the basis of deep and rich traditions of Christian praying. There are other prayers which have been used in similar ways through the years, either as a pattern or as something to repeat in order to go down deeper into the presence of the God we know in Jesus. Perhaps the best known of these… is the ‘Jesus Prayer’: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have m...

Dear Friends, It is so important, in regard to a healthy prayer life, that we have an intimate relationship with God. Jesus had that and modeled it to us by sharing with us his preferred name for God – Abba. It leads me to ask: “How do you address God in prayer?” It does make a difference. Yet, interestingly, I have found over the years that many people struggle with intimacy with God, often because they had no intimate relationship with their own earthly dad or parental figure – something Martin Luther struggled with. Today’s selection offers us insight into this very important issue. It is from Martin Copenhaver, from his devotional “The Gospel in Miniature.” I pray his words might be a first step on the road to healing for those who lack intimacy with, "Our Father who art in heaven..." Enjoy. “When we cry “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit, that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs w...

Jeff Evans Dear Friends, There are some books written years ago which one can read today and still feel the warmth of the author’s affection for Christ. John Bunyan’s writings are that way. In fact, he was so captivated by Jesus, that he could not stop speaking about him in public places, which got him shut up in an English jail for 12 years. He could have walked out of that jail at any time if he had simply promised (and followed through on that promise) not to speak about Jesus (preach) in public places. Bunyan is best known for his phenomenally popular allegory on the Christian life entitled, “Pilgrim’s Progress.” Yet, he wrote many other very helpful works as well, including, “The Intercession of Christ” – from which today’s selection comes. As you read, I believe you will also sense the passion, gratitude, and warmth of his love for Jesus coming through so clearly. May that same warmth of affection for Jesus blow over your heart as well. Enjoy. “Christ is not only ...