Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” – John 6:28-29 Faith is a calling. It is backed up by a universe of tangible facts about the goodness and greatness of God. Yet […]
Walking, Running, or Stumbling? Read More »
Imagine you could go to any expensive restaurant any day and the owner would insist that you didn’t have to pay. Imagine you could pick any new car on any lot and it would be given to you. Imagine you could decide in a day to run for the U.S. Senate, and you were guaranteed
In future weeks Everything New will include practical advice on how we can be positive spiritual influences in the lives of the people around us or the organizations we are part of. At work and in life. There is an exciting new movement today of believers wanting to be used by God to “make everything
How to Be a Positive Influence Read More »
A Call for Wisdom in Government Mel Lawrenz To our leaders in government: We will perish in foolishness if we do not grow in wisdom. We elected you to office to do near-impossible tasks: to defend us in an unsafe world, to structure the basic services of an ordered society, to protect those who are
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On and off over the years I’ve had the pleasure of teaching students in Bible and doctrine classes, and those classes tend to take on different personalities. I remember one class that was dominated by lively, energetic believers who were always pushing me ahead, always asking the questions that were just a step or two
The Horizon of Doubt Read More »
A chill went up my spine when I got home from church on Sunday and heard about the shooting at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, just miles from where I live. I was stunned because the shooting was taking place at the very time I was preaching at Elmbrook Church on Psalm 46:9:
Violence, Scripture, and the Sikh Temple Read More »
We all know we live in a world that is wrong in so many ways. How can we influence things in order to make things right? Here is the inspiring story of a young man in a position of influence who did the unthinkable, William Wilberforce.
Stories of Influence: Make Things Right Read More »
(photo: Bewilderment at the scene of the shooting.) The tragic murders that took place in the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, just a few miles from where I live, raises the question, just who are the Sikhs, who constitute the fifth-largest organized religion in the world? One interesting thing: the word “sikh” means “learner.” Same
In the past year many thousands of people have been captivated by the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer as told in the new biography by Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. He stood up to the power of Hitler, he spoke prophetically to the church of his day, he focussed on Christ. We have put together
Stories of Influence: The Power of Truth Read More »
All of us wrestle with the expectations that other people have of us. The only expectations that matter, ultimately, are God’s expectations. If we live up to those, with God’s help, we will be fulfilling the reasonable expectations others have. The prophet Micah said, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what
What Does God Require of Us? Read More »
To be human is to believe, holding in your consciousness a whole galaxy of realities that include the visible and the invisible. Not to believe, or being unwilling to believe, or thinking that believing is far too much to ask, is to tear out the heart of who we were made to be. It is
Reason or Faith or…? Read More »
Here is one definition of faith: “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is not a catalog of things we know because we accumulate knowledge of them through our eyes or ears or touch, but it is the knowledge of things that
Certain of What You Cannot See Read More »
When we think of the great leaders of the past, we may remember their accomplishments, but just as likely we remember some great idea–a seminal idea–which dominated their lives and drove them to accomplish the great thing. Seminal, from the Latin word for seed, means something so compelling that it has a profound influence on
Planting the Seminal Idea Read More »
When faith happened in my life it was like the irrepressible onset of dawn. I love watching the sunrise on the horizon of Lake Michigan, and it always reminds me of the dawning of the new life of faith. The black-painted sky gradually thins and stars lose their sparkle against the graying morning. On the
Over the years, I have been interested in lighthouses, probably because Door County, Wisconsin, where I grew up, has many lighthouses around its 200-mile shoreline. There are treacherous shoals around this peninsula, and in the days of wooden ships, hundreds were lost. A great, great uncle of mine lost his ship on one of the
Beacons of Salvation Read More »