Abundant blessings

May 13, 2010

Does it sometimes seem like everything is getting dumped on you at once? Have you ever felt like God’s timing was different than what you wanted? In the midst of that, have you ever stopped and realized that God is up to something out of the ordinary? That’s where Julie and I find ourselves today, […]

Santa Claus is coming to Christ?

May 7, 2010

Santa Claus isn’t a believer. Yet. Don’t be a doubter – he’s real! At least, the one I’m talking about is real. He’s a 10-year-old Sekadau boy. And his name is kind of normal. Missionaries Paul and Bella Gervasi have encountered a number of seemingly odd names among the Sekadau people of Indonesia, including Aspirin, […]

Going for a swim

April 8, 2010

Isn’t it great to take a swim on a hot day? I realize this past winter may have some of you trying very hard to remember what a hot day is like. I’ll wait. You’re back? Got a picture of a hot day? Good. Now picture a refreshing cool swimming hole. Don’t you want to […]

Mike has a really Wild name

April 6, 2010

Wouldn’t it be great to be known for your good works like Barnabas was? Acts 4:36 tells us his name was Joses, but he was known as the Son of Encouragement. You know how you get a name like that, right? You earn it. So I was impressed by the name the Wano people have […]

Not the typical road trip …

March 30, 2010

You probably have a favorite “road trip” story. Americans travel by car a lot, and stuff always seems to happen – often the stuff of stories. Of course, not all those trips takes place in the USA. Remind me sometime to tell you about the all-night trip through the mountains in Latin America in a […]

Now THAT is dedication

March 26, 2010

What’s dedication look like to you? Got a picture in mind yet? Now compare that with this Bible teacher from the Abau tribe in Papua New Guinea, who teaches in a neighboring village each week. Here’s what he said: “Every Wednesday I leave our village and go to this other village to share God’s talk […]

Finding a word for God

March 25, 2010

What word do you use for God? When you’re translating the Bible, you can often simply use “God.” That word was introduced to the English language, after all, and many tribal people have heard the word and have some familiarity with God. Although it’s often a flawed and shallow understanding, that can be corrected by […]

Encouragement, a lost teaching (part 5)

March 24, 2010

Looking at the words the Bible uses for encourage — paramuthia and parakaleo – we saw that they really have no exact English translations. They both mean encourage and comfort and exhort, all the time. In English those are three different concepts – but in the original Greek they are one concept. From that we […]

God provides answers

March 12, 2010

Have you ever just wanted to know, “Why, Lord?” Ever been in the midst of trying times or tragedy, and wanted to know what God was up to? Wouldn’t it be great in circumstances like that if you could get just a glimpse of God at work? That’s what Scott and Jennie Philips got. Wikipai’s […]

Looking for God

February 23, 2010

Have you ever gone looking for God? It’s not like I think He’s hiding or anything. And He’s always with you, of course, if you’re His child. So why would you go looking for Him? OK, so maybe you wouldn’t. But I do. In fact, I am. As this goes public, I am somewhere along […]