Black Tax and White Benefits—Stop Black Tax! So, what should we do about God’s obvious love of great variety and the fact that no scientific or biblical evidence is to be found for the common view of race? The answer to this question is a simple one but far from being...

I am simply awestruck with God’s creation. When we are at our cottage in the countryside of East Texas, I have my quiet times journaling on my laptop, sitting on the porch with the lake across the street in full view. That is what I see. But what I hear are birds,...

I have taught for a very long time that the Bible is all about relationships: relationship with God; with physical family; with spiritual family; and with those who need to become a part of our spiritual family. Those who major in all of these relationship categories...

One of the medical workers who often served me during those long nights in the hospital had a genuine spiritual interest, and that led us to several spiritual conversations. He was a deep thinker and the concept of our purpose in this life was one topic he wanted to...

I have already said quite a lot in this series about how highly Jesus valued the quality and practice of servanthood. I will dedicate the next episode to the hospital staff who served me in amazing and often challenging ways—all with a smile! But does servanthood...

The last book I wrote was also the shortest I’ve ever written, entitled, “God, Are We Good?” What prompted me to write the book is the awareness that most of my neighbors and extended family members know little Bible. What they think they know has most often not come...

Aside from those who supposedly have multiple personalities, all of us are two people in one. My favorite passage in the Bible, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 makes our dual nature clear and also what our focus should be in light of that nature. Look at verse 16: “Therefore we...

A Night to Remember! As I shared one part of my hospital story with my friend Otoma Edje via email, he made this comment: “What you share about ‘getting your house in order’ is very sobering.” Early in my hospital stay, as I’ve said, I was in bad enough shape that the...

On the Spectrum of Surrender (Surrender’s Spectrum) The second book I wrote was “The Victory of Surrender.” Although written long ago, it has remained the “crowd favorite.” As I have continued to wrestle with my view of God and the nature of my relationship with him,...

The Fruits of Servanthood 4 (Influence Multiplied) Through the years, I have had many leaders in many situations. I only remember details about two types and two types only: those who were harsh and those who were servants. Both types have led me to pray a lot. The...

The Fruits of Servanthood 3 (Awareness Awakened) Servanthood brings an increased awareness of many types. The awareness of the situations others face and their subsequent needs is one. The awareness of our own nature, complete with its weaknesses and sins is another....

The Fruits of Servanthood 2 -- A Righteous Life The effects of sin in our lives are always bad and often disastrous. I didn’t believe that when I was young. I was taught it but I hadn’t seen enough evidence yet to buy in to it. I had friends and relatives who were...

The Fruits of Servanthood 1 -- An Abundant Life Jesus did come to give us life to the full, the abundant life (John 10:10). That is his goal as the greatest servant of all. Satan will try to convince us otherwise, but don’t be fooled. God loves us and wants us to be...

Once I understand intellectually that the supreme description of Jesus is that of a servant, I have to clear out any hurdles that keep me from emotionally accepting this marvelous truth. Since God’s “harshness” in the OT has been one of my greatest hurdles to clear,...

Implications of Matthew 20 Let’s go back to the text of Matthew 20:25-28 and ask of it some questions that are begging to be asked. Why did Jesus begin with a description of worldly leadership? That was obviously where the apostles were conceptually. Ten of them were...

A Beautiful Realization How do you know a person, really know them? This knowledge can come through several avenues. One is through their actions. “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise,...

The Bible Makes it Clear Most importantly, the Bible itself shows the type of relationship that God longs for with us. Many passages could be quoted to prove that point. Here are just a few of them, taken from the OT only, for reasons you can probably guess. “The LORD...

A Personal Relationship With God? Religious folks often speak of having a personal relationship with God. What does that actually mean? How personal can it be? When you read those aforementioned passages from the OT, it is not easy to grasp that God even wants a...

Face to Face With God The nights were the worst. I was having hallucinations and delusions. I imagined myself in different places, with other people present and some really strange smells as a part of it. I couldn’t sleep much at all and was thinking about death and...

Five Bad Days—Then the Hospital When I received my official diagnosis of cancer on January 5, 2022, I was surprisingly not disturbed emotionally. For one thing, a preliminary diagnosis had been suggested earlier, but remained a bit uncertain for several months. Thus,...