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After Mary’s encounter with the messenger Gabriel, she travelled to be with her relative Elizabeth. When Mary greeted Elizabeth, Luke notes that “the child leaped in (Elizabeth’s) womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1.41, CEB). Then Elizabeth said … God has blessed you above all women, and he has blessed the … Read more
The last book we read/discussed for our monthly Matthew 28 peer group meeting was Deep Change: Discovering the Leader Within by Robert Quinn. It’s a good book, but one of the things that struck me was not even a major point in the book. Quinn briefly discusses the difference between a reactive person and a … Read more
One of the real keys of discipleship is learning to say yes to God. Saying yes to God will inevitably, at times, means saying no to ourselves and other things. Jesus put it this way … All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. … Read more
This post is part of the Common English Bible Tour. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed … A voice is crying out: “Clear the LORD’s way in the desert! Make a level highway in the wilderness for our God! Every valley will be raised up, and every mountain and hill will be flattened. Uneven ground will become … Read more
This post is part of the current Common English Bible Tour. You can read Isaiah 40.1-11 in the CEB here. In Isaiah 40.1-11, Israel is in exile, a very dark place in their history. They doubted their status as God’s chosen people; they even doubted the sovereignty of God. This portion of scripture seeks to … Read more
This week, I’m re-reading Power Through Prayer, a small book written by E.M. Bounds in The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer. This book has been influential in my life, especially in the early days of my spiritual journey. It has inspired a couple posts in the past, including It Takes 20 Years to … Read more
This is the seventh post (with one to go) in a series of posts I’ve been writing to engage Nancy Duarte‘s book, Resonate (see Communicate for Change, What I Like About the Book, The Presentation Form, Stories Transform Lives, The Big Idea, and S.T.A.R. Moments). A few years ago, I wrote a post on using … Read more
Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S. For followers of Jesus, giving thanks is an essential discipline! A couple passages of Scripture come to mind: 1 Thessalonians 5.16-18 and Philippians 4.4-6. This is our first post in the current Common English Bible Tour, so here are the verses in the Common English Bible … Rejoice always. … Read more
WordPress is a great option for church websites. It’s an especially good option if your church doesn’t have a web designer or the resources to hire someone to build a site. But even if you have the personnel and the resources, WordPress is still a great option! Several years ago, WordPress began as a blogging … Read more
Earlier this year, Kindle ebook sales at Amazon.com reportedly surpassed sales of both hardcovers and paperback print editions, combined. That development happened without any help from me—mainly because I have so many printed book on my reading pile! I bought my first ebook a couple months ago (the new Bible translation, Common English Bible). Besides … Read more