Occupied by the Word

Have you ever been so consumed by something that you are not even aware that someone is speaking to you?  Most of us have.  It’s an intense level of focus that literally tunes out distractions.  It happens when something complete occupies our brain and all of our attention.  This is the level of focus Paul

Stand on Lies, Fall for Anything

According to Merriam-Webster, gullible means ‘easily duped or cheated’. Although I think I prefer the Wikipedia definition better.  They say ‘Gullibility is a failure of social intelligence in which a person is easily tricked or manipulated into an ill-advised course of action.’ People who are gullible, find themselves standing on a bed of lies.  They

Death of an Apostle

Through texts outside the Bible, we learn that all but one Apostle were killed (most quite violently).  The Bible however only records the deaths of two of the Apostles.  One of course is Judas who was killed by his own hands after giving up Jesus.  The only other one recorded in the Bible was James,

In Our Own Tongues

In one of my Freshman Speech courses, the professor said we had to remember the most important rule in any form of public speaking.  “Speak the language of the audience or don’t speak at all”.  We actually had to memorize the Latin phrase for this statement… which of course I can no longer remember.  But

Need to Know Basis

Often when we get in the car as a family to go somewhere, the kids want to know everything about the trip.  Where are we going, when will we get there, how long will it take, what will we see along the way, what can we do in the car during the ride.  The questions

Malchus

There are thousands of people discussed in the Bible that are never named.  There are hundreds of people in the Bible that are named frequently, perhaps even considered ‘main’ or ‘supporting’ characters in the stories.  But I’m always intrigued by those who are only mentioned once.  The story about Malchus is mentioned in all four gospels,

Three Levels of Leadership

There is no shortage of info on leadership available.  It seems every where you turn, you find books, pod casts, writings, training and even sermons on leadership.  My goal is not to compete with that large sea of information, but perhaps to add one perspective to the mix.  In my experience I have seen three

Dead or Alive?

So what does an 80’s rock band have to do with biblical prophecy?  Nothing but the title.  Because while Jesus is telling His disciples about the end times, they are likely wondering if they will be dead or alive?  “You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some

Truth or Fear?

Everybody knows the game, Truth or Dare.  You either tell the truth no matter what, or you take a dare.  There’s no in between.  I want to talk about something close… Truth or Fear. When you are challenged about what you believe, about your faith or convictions, how will you respond.  There is no in

I’m not religious!

A statement that is quite popular her in the Northwest is this.  ‘I am spiritual but just not religious.’  What’s amazing is how misguided yet right on this statement is.  The misguided part is the fact that it is typically said in defense as to why they don’t believe in Jesus.  But it’s right on