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Penelope Stokes in Words In Season wrote, “The trouble with turning over a new leaf is that once you’ve done it twice, you’re right back where you started.” I recently read that more bad habits are broken in the month of January than during any other month. And yet that same article pointed out that only a small percentage of New Year’s resolutions are realized long-term. I’d like to encourage you. Change in your life is not only possible, it is necessary. When Christians sto

One of the greatest stories in modern engineering history is the Wright brothers journey into the age of aviation. People had been trying to fly since Adam’s creation, and we’ve all seen the bizarre models and attempts inventors have made through the centuries to replicate birds. Then, in December 1903, after years of experimenting and mechanical development, and dozens of attempts, the Wright brothers were successful in getting their “flying machine” off the ground. That st

If you know me, you know I love the family, and you know my family knows that I love them. But is the family supposed to first? What about second? You often hear of a hierarchy of priorities where people list what is supposed to be most important and it often goes something like: 1) God, 2) Marriage, 3) Children, 4) Church or Friends or Work (this is where the order gets switched around depending on who is speaking). As with a lot of things, people hear this and shake their h

Winter: it’s long, cold and dark. I know, we are still in the fun part with Christmas lights and all, but January is around the corner. The temptation is to just endure the season and long for April and May (though we had snow last April!). But it doesn’t have to be that way. Thinking back, some of my most memorable times in life took place during the winter. Linda and I were engaged in the winter. I built our first house in the winter. Our youngest child was born in the wint

Here it is….Christmas season! Are you ready? Decorations up? Gift list completed? Shopping started? Plans for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day settled? Let’s talk about that. While most everyone talks about Christ being left out of Christmas, I find that Christians are as guilty of that as anyone. While we say Christmas is about Jesus’ birth, we get our kids more excited about the myth of Santa than we do about the truth of Jesus (and in doing so causing a lot of later doubts–

They often are not. Really. I recently visited a couple of locations where television programs are regularly taped for the History Channel. I was surprised both times. Television can be very deceiving. Some of it is due to the nature of camera lenses and TV screens, and the way our imagination fills in what is past the camera’s periphery. But a lot of it is intentional deception written into the director’s instructions to give a desired illusion. All-in-all, these two locatio

In 1830, a man named George Wilson killed a government employee who caught him in the act of robbing the mail. He was tried and sentenced to be hanged. However, then President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, sent him a pardon. But Wilson did a strange thing. He refused to accept the pardon and no one seemed to know what to do. So the case was carried to the Supreme Court. The great Chief Justice John Marshall wrote the opinion. In it, he said, “A pardon is a slip of pap

A paramedic was asked on a local TV talk-show program: "What was your most unusual and challenging 911 call?" "Recently we got a call from that big white church at 11th and Walnut," the paramedic said. "A frantic usher was very concerned that during the sermon an elderly man passed out in a pew and appeared to be dead. The usher could find no pulse and there was no noticeable breathing." "What was so unusual and demanding about this particular call?" the interviewer asked. "W

I was standing in line registering for a college class when two life-changing events occurred. First, my wife Linda and I had our first extended conversation (we were in line together). Second, I saw my first personal computer. Don’t get me wrong. Meeting Linda and getting to know her was a big deal. But that would be a different blog. This one is about computer that computer. So while standing in line waiting to enter the Academic Dean’s office to get permission to take more

Last week, a man in Gallatin, Tennessee, walked into a Wal-Mart dressing room with a new pair of designer jeans. (They have designer jeans at Wal-Mart?). Anyway, he took off his old tattered jeans and put on the new ones from off the rack. They fit good! So, he ripped off the tags and walked out…..all they way out of the store. Thinking he got away with it, he met up with his girlfriend in the parking lot and the two of them headed to the nearby Longhorn Steakhouse. After a g

Have you heard of the Zeus Trojan internet virus? The story this week about the international internet based identity theft ring is the makings of a pretty good movie. The FBI, in cooperation with Scotland Yard in Britain and Europe’s Interpol, made multiple arrests this week breaking up an international organization of at least sixty cyberthieves, who have already emptied the bank accounts of thousands of unsuspecting victims. Using the Zeus Trojan virus (name that comes fro

There are a lot of reasons I am excited about the Greg Laurie Chicago Harvest at the Allstate Arena this weekend. I am looking forward to the music. Some of the finest Christian musicians will be displaying their gifts in worship and we will be privileged to join them in singing. I’m looking forward to the excitement of having that many people together with a common goal of reaching the lost and worshiping our God. I am certainly excited about the way Pastor Greg will be bold

The first attempt to dig the Panama Canal across the Isthmus of Panama was made by a French company. Thousands of men and tons of machinery tackled the remote mountains and thick jungles. After millions of dollars had been spent, however, the project was abandoned, not because of the mountains but because of the mosquitoes. Yellow fever from mosquitoes killed thousands. It was not until American doctors found ways of protecting people against mosquitoes that the project was

My youngest son, Brock, is studying American History. It’s the one subject I can help him with, and I enjoy it. I love history! He is currently learning about the incidents that led to the Revolutionary War, and while helping him study, I became fascinated with how much of an influence Patrick Henry was on the thinking of the early colonial patriots. It’s hard to imagine the revolution without him. Long before the revolution, Henry was a prominent figure in the colonies, serv

Bill was buying a car. The dealership was offering an unbelievable rate, so he elected to finance it. He now says it was the worst decision he ever made.

The screen on my phone is cracked so I took it in to get it replaced while it is still covered under its extended warranty. So I have a loaner phone. I’m kind of a techy, but since I only have the loaner for a couple of weeks, I am not bothering to learn how to use it too well. I wasn’t even able to answer it the first day. I now know the basics, but I think I’m even missing voice mails. But I’ve discovered something. The break has been nice. My other phone can pretty much do

My wife, youngest son and I were on vacation last week. I have a funny way of relaxing on weekends when I am not preaching. I go to as many churches as I can. Believe it or not, my wife enjoys it as well (not sure that the kids saw it the same way growing up). So this last weekend, we visited three different churches between Saturday night and Sunday morning. We enjoyed great corporate worship with fellow believers of other congregations, learned about some different ways of

Self-denial. Delayed gratification. I know, not exactly the best thoughts to draw readers in. How’s this, then…. Success! The way to prosperity! Trouble is, most people think the two concepts are diametrically opposed to one another….that is self-denial and success. And that’s why success is a fleeting prospect for so many people. In reality, the two are inseparable. There is no way to prosperity without self-denial. There is no success without sacrifice….in any aspect of lif

Robert Fulghum used to write his musings down and would share them with a few family members and friends. Some of it was pretty good. So good, in fact, that those family members and friends would photocopy his typewritten notes (often included in Christmas cards) and pass them on to coworkers and friends (before the days of those dreadful mass email forwards, people did that with photocopy machines :-). A little girl brought home in her school bag one multi-copied piece entit

The twelve disciples of Jesus are a fascinating group of guys. We’ll do a study some day on the character and accomplishments of this rag-tag group of diverse men who were chosen by Jesus to turn the world up-side down. But in my Bible reading this morning, there is one thing that stood out to me about these guys. While they are quite the assortment of personalities and backgrounds, there appears to be one characteristic that brought them all together. When Jesus called, they