“Acceptance is the answer to all my problems.” – Alcoholics Anonymous “For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I am the one who helps you’” (Isaiah 41:13). Recovery is a long road. The first step is always the same – acceptance. Step 1…
“Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living, Just because He lives.” – Because He Lives Bill Gaither Because He Lives was written by Bill and Gloria Gaither when they were expecting their first child in the late 1960s. They were going through a traumatic time, as Bill was recovering…
Four years ago today, Billy Graham died at the age of 99. Too quickly, we forget our heroes. I never want to forget Billy Graham. On my dad’s last birthday (June 13, 1979), Billy Graham preached in Houston’s Astrodome. I was a 19-year-old student pastor. I drove a large van, packed with close to 20…
When I was a kid, I often explained my resistance to doing homework with a timeless refrain. “I will never need this in real life!” I appreciate social commentator Fran Lebowitz, who wryly observed, “In real life, there is no such thing as algebra.” Perhaps Solomon was thinking about algebra when he lamented, “It’s all…
I heard someone say, “People say nothing is impossible. I disagree. I do nothing every day.” I have found that it is the people who do nothing that get into the most trouble. By not staying busy, they create a vacuum. And just about anything can fill an open vacuum. One of the five basic…
Adversity can be your friend. The older I get, the less I think I really know. But one tenet has been tested throughout my life, and has always been found to be true – Whatever God allows, God redeems. We see this play out in the life of our Savior. “Because he himself was tested…
An unobservant driver made an illegal right turn onto another street. Exasperated, he turned to his young son in the passenger seat and said, “That was stupid! I just made an illegal right turn!” His son offered encouragement. “Aw, dad, it’s okay. The police car right behind us just did the same thing.” That boy…
There was a young boy who struggled with profanity. His father took him to a field across the street from their home, where there stood an old fence. He gave his son a box of nails and a hammer. “Every time you say a bad word, hammer a new nail into the fence,” he said. …
“Regrets, I’ve had a few. But then again, too few to mention. I did what I had to do, And saw it through without exemption.” – Frank Sinatra, My Way Regrets – we’ve all had a few. Let’s talk about regrets. According to psychologist Tom Gilovich, there is a difference between short-term and long-term regrets.…
God does a lot of things. He creates. He saves. He redeems. He forgives. He protects. He leads. He provides. He overcomes. He heals. But there’s more. God does something else. The old prophet declared, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with…