The scripture verse 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 has been very meaningful to me over the years. It goes like this: “7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, ‘“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in w

By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household (Heb. 11:7). There are so many hurting, broken, stressed out or “hanging on by the skin of their teeth” people today that there are plenty of opportunities for sharing the love and faithfulness of Jesus. And that’s just in the church! James, the half-brother of Jesus says, “Count it all joy when you encounter various trials” (Jas. 1:2). But I know, I k

“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them" (Acts 16:25, NKJV). The background text to our focus verse, Acts 16:25, is Acts 16:6-24. In those verses we learn that Paul and Silas were sent to the province of Macedonia by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As they went forward in their charge from God, they began their work in the city of Philippi. There they encountered t

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14, NIV). For years I have used the movie Sister Act to graphically illustrate what the local church being Christ’s Body in a community might look like. In short, it is the church being “present” in the community and “dwelling among them." Despite this illustration, a lot of people don’t get it. They tell me