I find it sobering that one of the best biblical examples of successful ministry looks so different from my efforts. I’m probably not unusual in my preparation for speaking or leading a Bible study. Some messages take me several hours of Bible reading, research, and prayer before I am even ready to compile my rough […]
God often seems to get things backwards. It would be so much easier for us to follow Him if He explained where He was taking us right at the start. Instead, He expects us to obey a simple direction, take a meandering journey, and only find out why when we arrive at the destination. Now […]
I like to garden and I like parsnips. Each April I sow a few rows of parsnip seeds and wait two or three weeks for them to germinate. For the last few years, I have been unlucky; most of my seeds were stored too long and had died. The waiting period between sowing and sprouting […]
Dreams should come with a warning label—Handle with Care. They are notoriously difficult to deal with. Joseph, eleventh son of Jacob (Israel), discovered that while he was a teenager. When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they pointed, “Here comes the dreamer.”1 It was not a compliment; Joseph’s reputation elicited a sneer. What was wrong? Like […]