“… as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” (2 Cor. 6:10) “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4) Recently I was re-reading the book Hot Tub Religion: Thoughts on Christian Living in the Material World by J.I. Packer. I read it back in the late 80’s (when it first came out) and it had…

“There is tremendous relief in knowing that His love to me is based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me.” (J.I. Packer) “The cross declares for all time and eternity that we are bankrupt and have no currency to buy the favor of heaven.” (John Stott) “If you were a hundred times worse…

Dawson Trotman, Founder of the Navigators (1906 – 1956) A few weeks ago, I was thumbing through a biography (“The Navigator”)that I had read back in the early 1980’s. It was about Dawson Trotman, founder of the Navigators Ministry. God used that book (and Dawson’s life) to inspire and challenge me as a young 20-something…

I’ve always learned a great deal over the years from Ed Stetzer. Ed holds the Billy Graham Distinguished Chair of Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton College. He also serves as Dean of the School of Mission, Ministry, and Leadership at Wheaton and is executive director of the Billy Graham Center. As we move into…

“Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (Psalm 61:2b ESV) As we launch into 2019, I want to encourage you to put a Bible reading plan together for the new year (if you don’t have one already). Here are 4 Principles and 5 Plans to Read the Bible this Year from Pastor Philip…

Karen Swallow Prior (Author and professor of English at Liberty University) has written an excellent book entitled On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books (Brazos Press – 2018). Here are a few quotes I pulled out as I read her book this Fall. May they motivate and encourage you to slow down and…

“In everything give thanks.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 – NASB) God calls us to be thankful, grateful people. When we follow His command to “give thanks in all things,” we benefit. Bitterness and cynicism are unrooted from our hearts. It’s easy for us to think that the unhappiness in people leads them to have a complaining…

Dr. Charles “Chip” Kingery April 6, 1954 – September 10, 2018 A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of speaking at the Memorial Service for one of our Global Training Network staff members, Dr. Chip Kingery. Chip was one of the most optimistic, warm-hearted people I’ve ever met. It was truly a privilege to…

“Sooner or later he [God] withdraws, if not in fact, at least from their conscious experience, all supports and incentives. He leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs – to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish … “He cannot ‘tempt’ to virtue as we do to vice. He…

“Joy is a byproduct experienced by people who are aiming for something else.” (David Brooks) “Old age is no time to hunker down, unless disability demands it. Old is just another word for nothing left to lose, a time of life to take bigger risks on behalf of the common good.” (Parker Palmer) “Implosion happens…