Recently I shared this on Facebook: In all my hardest times, God has been there. He’s been faithful to me when I had to resign as a pastor, had issues with church leaders, went through lawsuits and public scorn, was restricted to minimum wage, and faced disease and depression and the deaths of close friends and family members, including the death of my beloved wife and best friend, Nanci. I don’t understand why everything has happened, but I have seen a... Read more
One of the things I love most about our ministry is that our staff take the time to minister and talk to people who contact us. One of our EPM staff, Amy Schafer, shared about a wonderful conversation she had with a customer who called to order Heaven booklets: She has one booklet already that she was able to read daily to her mother who had Alzheimer’s, and it was such a comfort and always brought peace to her mom (and her).... Read more
In addressing the issue of abortion in the case of rape in my prolife books, I pose a series of questions to readers: What if you found that your spouse or adopted child was fathered by a rapist? Would it change your view of their worth? Would you love them any less? If not, why should we view the innocent unborn child any differently? Rape is so horrible that we easily transfer our horror to the wrong object. We must not... Read more
Charles Spurgeon said, “By perseverance, the snail reached the ark.” This beautiful art illustrating Spurgeon’s words was created by Eden Kell, 15-year-old daughter of author and pastor Garrett Kell: I’ve been following Garrett’s updates on Eden on her CaringBridge page. Precious Eden suffered a serious and unexplained seizure in December and has been in the PICU. It has been, and continues to be, a long haul for the Kell family. Please join me in praying for them and for Eden’s recovery.... Read more
Over the years I’ve frequently been told that life issues are not what the church of Jesus Christ is to be about. A seminary student at my church once told me something I’ve often heard in one form or another: “Issues like abortion are just a distraction from the main thing.” “What’s the main thing?” I asked. “The Great Commission,” he said. “Winning people to Christ. That’s what we’re supposed to do. Everything else is a distraction.” What that... Read more
If I had any doubts about whether people are genuinely interested in learning about and applying God’s perspective on finances, they ended late in 2001 when my little book The Treasure Principle: Discovering the Secret of Joyful Giving was published. It immediately went through eight printings and sold more than 200,000 copies within ten months. Amazed observers asked, “Are people really that interested in giving?” The answer is yes. The Treasure Principle addresses only one aspect of stewardship, but we desperately need... Read more
A friend asked me, This was in my Bible study: “‘Christianity’ is more easily perceived by what you do than what you believe.” It really made me think. What are your thoughts on this statement? I’ve been studying Paul’s life, and was reading in Acts 23-24. It was diving deeper into “The Way” that is used in chapter 24 to describe Christianity. That’s a great question. I said decades ago in one of my first books (back in the 80s!)... Read more
Millennials may inherit over $68 trillion from previous generations by 2030. According to Newsweek, some experts believe this “could be the largest transfer of wealth in the history of humankind.” What will younger generations do with that wealth? Studies show the younger someone is, the less he or she tends to give financially. Not just less in amount, but less in proportion. According to Barna Group, “Only 13 percent of Millennials and even fewer Gen Z (6%) give money on a frequent... Read more
Every sacrifice we make in following Christ will always result in our long-term good—but it’s more than that. It will also most often result in our short-term happiness. Listen carefully to the words of Jesus to His disciples: Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses... Read more
A reader on my Facebook page asked this question about the nature of treasures in Heaven: “What does that even mean to ‘store your treasures in heaven’? What treasures are we storing up?!” The Greek word translated “treasures” or “riches” in Matthew 6 normally means “accumulated wealth in the form of money, jewels, or other valuables.” That’s exactly what Christ’s disciples would have immediately thought of: tangible wealth, valuable assets, precious possessions. It’s true that when Jesus speaks about “treasures... Read more
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