Pilgrimage

Celebrating the resurrection of Christ in His church is one of the highlights of year for me. Christmas is glorious, but Resurrection Sunday gives a spiritual high that has no equivalent. Isn’t it interesting how Jesus spent the time from his resurrection until His ascension (40 days) continuing to do what he did before His death. While He was on the earth after before he went to be with the Father, He spent his time teaching His disciples, encouraging them, and telling them about what was going happen in the future. While the resurrection fundamentally changed His body (it became glorified), it did not fundamentally change His vocation. There are many applications here, but for today, let’s enjoy our redemption and celebrate with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

This is a very insightful post from Art Katz posted today at the European Prophetic College

Life is cheap…or so modern society would have us think it is. The cost of an early murder-in-utero is only a few hundred dollars.

Secular science has proven the life of a baby in the womb is distinctly separate from the mother. Secular science has proven that the baby in the womb IS NOT just tissue, but is an actual living human. The debate on abortion has moved past this concept. While in years past it would have been horrific to acknowledge these things and still be a proponent of abortion it is now becoming socially acceptable. Abortionists now argue that population control and the welfare of the more highly developed (i.e. the mother) is a more important consideration than protecting life in the womb. I have not time to articulate this slipperly slope other than to ask what are the future implications for the mentally handicapped? the elderly? terminally ill? Continue reading

The means of living the sanctified Christian life has been a subject of debate since the first century. Scholars have argued the significance of various Scripture passages seeking to determine the desire of God for His people’s lifestyle and calling. There are some aspects of the Christian life, however, which God determines to remain behind the darkened glass. He seems to shed enough light on the subject matter for believers to wrestle with it yet keeps it hidden just enough to cause the conclusion to be elusive. So it seems with the doctrine of sanctification. God has offered enough information in Scripture to determine how one should live, but the methodology whereby one may experience sanctification seems much less clear. God requires believers nonetheless, to seek His divine purposes and will with regards to their lives; thus they must wrestle with the Scriptures for personal illumination. Continue reading

Dorchester Heights was and is remembered in American history for something known as the Fortification of Dorchester Heights during the American Revolutionary War. After the battles of Lexington and Concord, Revolutionary sentiment within New England reached a new high, and thousands of militiamen from the Northern colonies converged on Boston, pushing the British back within the city limits. In June 1775 British soldiers under General Howe attacked and seized Bunker Hill, but in the process sustained many losses. Following this encounter, the Continental Congress in Philadelphia gave George Washington the title of commander-in-chief and sent him to oversee the efforts outside of Boston. Continue reading

My heart aches today because a little girl, 13-years-old, passed away. For about eight years of this little girl’s life, I watched her grow and learn. I knew her mom and dad. I was on staff at the church where they attended.

This past Friday she contracted a cold which turned into a bacterial infection that spread throughout her body and by Monday she was lifeless. Parents are grieving. A church is grieving. I am grieving.

Where is the power of the scriptures? Am I the only one so bold as to ask this question? As a minister, how many bedsides of people have I stood beside with terrible diseases and watched as they slipped off into eternity? I would clasp my hands, shake my head, comfort the grieving, say a prayer and walk away. Continue reading

Someone shared with me this very insightful post on pastoral ministry from Brian Purtle.  You can read it here. God is truly searching for men who will heed the call to be true shepherds of their congregations AND their families.  Gone are the days of a “sage on the stage.”