Early in Jesus’ ministry, a leper approached him and asked him to “make him clean” (Mark 1:40-45). Moved to compassion, Jesus touched the leper (which was an amazing move of grace – as it also made Jesus ceremonially “unclean”) and healed him of leprosy. But Jesus wasn’t done yet. He gave the man specific instructions … Continue reading Deliverance and Transformation

I ran into my friend Felix at Starbuck’s today and he told me how much he enjoyed Friday’s blog (“Fear and the Myth of Friday the 13th”). He shared with me how one of his major fears is disappointing other people’s expectations (don’t we all have that one?) He said that that fear often influences … Continue reading The FEAR that ‘Fear’ Fears

I’m not superstitious but a lot of people are. And some of those people are Christians. Today is Friday the 13th (of September). To me, it’s just another day of the week to glorify the Lord. For others it’s a day of extra precaution, avoidance or even fear. Studies have shown that there are visible … Continue reading Fear and the Myth of Friday the 13th

Today is my son’s (Jonathan) 21st birthday. Today is a reminder of God’s special gift to Letty and me. Let me tell you the story behind this: It was about 24 years ago that Letty and I considered having a third child. We had been blessed with two boys, Tim and Daniel. We thought that … Continue reading Gift From Yahweh

The bruised and smoldering wick that I wrote about last week served its master well. Most of my tea lamps last two, maybe three, days before burning out. This wick lasted five days – kind of like the Hanukah story! I watched it give out its last bit of light before it flickered off. I … Continue reading The Blazing Wick

My good friend, Krista, shared this story with me. She started her day right, with a great Personal Worship Time with the Lord. She was charged up, filled with the Spirit and ready to glorify God through her day. She decided to bless her husband by making him a smoothie before they headed out to … Continue reading When We Still Cry Over Spilled Smoothies

A week ago I had the privilege of preaching on Whole Life Worship at Newborn Church (Pastor Felim Valentinus), the young adult congregation of the Indonesian Christian Church in Rowland Heights, CA. They are a delightful group of 15-30 year olds who want to change the world for Christ. It was a very refreshing experience … Continue reading One Quarter at a Time

One of my favorite sports movies is, “For the Love of the Game” (1995). It stars Kevin Costner as an aging Major League baseball pitcher who is contemplating retirement as he pitches one last game. My favorite scene (and it’s probably the main reason why I watch this movie) is when he is on the … Continue reading Clearing the Mechanism

Two weeks ago, Letty and I got to baptize our grandson, DeeJay. Actually, DeeJay is technically our step-grandson as he is our daughter-in-law’s son from a previous relationship before she married our son, Daniel. But for all intents and purposes, to us DeeJay was always our grandson; even before Daniel and Casey got married. DeeJay … Continue reading The Biggest Prayer We Could Pray

Jesus made a remarkable statement, one that stunned his disciples in Matt 18:3, when He said:“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.”You can picture their minds racing: What does that mean? How should we become like little children? And how does that … Continue reading Childlike vs. Childish