[Some have commented on my ‘absence’ during the last couple of weeks. At times the mind is overwhelmed with thoughts and activities and a break is needed.–by] In our physical families, we have close relatives and distant relatives. So also spiritually. For Jan and me, our ministry and missions efforts mean that we spend a …
Continue reading “It’s Sunday Again: A Day with our “Near Family””
Today’s title does not suggest that it is a novelty that I am thinking. I am thinking about novelty in religion. I have been rereading Jeremiah. How has novelty become desirable, even an asset, in religion? Judging from news reports from around the globe, it seems that the more unique and strange the “religious” event, …
[The first paragraph below is an introduction to this brief blog series–reprinted from the first entry in the series.] In a recent conversation with a brother in Christ, our discussion turned to the challenges facing the contemporary church. As in other conversations over the last few years, the topic soon turned to a single question: …
There are few problems more challenging than the problems that come because people cannot get along with one another. The problem exists almost everywhere in the world of human relationships, but it is especially accentuated in the spiritual family among those who are supposed to be able to get along with one another. The problem …
Our visit with a different part of our “forever family” yesterday did not disappoint. The opening scripture and prayer led by a young teenager, songs of praise and adoration, a thoughtful and challenging meditation as we surrounded the Lord’s Table, prayers for special needs including a special time of assembled prayer to send a member …
The little girl, only six years old, was in awe at the number of people who attended the ceremony as her mother remarried. Since the accidental death of her father three years earlier, the little girl and her mother had struggled. Her mother’s family was quite small, her mother an only child. Few relatives lived …
Continue reading “It’s Sunday Again: Are You Part of My New Family?”
Today we are traveling, but it will not hinder the desires that now after more than half a century of developing habits, are easily and naturally associated with the Lord’s Day. On this day, we will worship God, declaring adoration and praise, thanksgiving and loyalty. We will share time with the spiritual family of God. …
Continue reading “It’s Sunday Again: Desiring God, Desiring God’s Family”
Two weeks of travels and interactions with God’s family in various places has reminded me of how special it is to be “part of the family.” We have worshiped and prayed with brothers and sisters from about 20 states. We have experienced worship in different styles–we have listened to capable expositors of God’s word that …
An interesting phenomenon in recent years is the tendency of Christians to assemble only with their local church family when they are at home and to avoid assembling when traveling, on vacation, etc. At best, some will spend a few private devotional moments in lieu of gathering for worship with the family. Jan and I …
I was blessed this morning to read an email exchange among members of God’s family at the Main and Oklahoma church in McAlester, OK. The excitement was contagious–brothers and sisters who were blessed and encouraged by yesterday’s times of shared worship, study, and fellowship. Jan and I enjoyed Bible study and worship with God’s family …
Continue reading “Monday Morning Reflection: When Sundays Encourage God’s People”
