What is something that God has done for you, for a loved one, or for your church that makes you want to shout, "Do it again, Lord!"?   Scene 1 Just as the blistering sun's rays and stale air sucks the moisture out of the desert floor, leaving it parched and...

Stunned. Did I hear him correctly? Did he really say what I think he did? Are my hearing aids working properly? Robertson McQuilkin (1927--2016), then 85, walked by me on a parallel sidewalk five yards away. He pointed at me and exclaimed, "I prayed for you this...

The Ups and Downs of a Depression-Pocked Day You don't want to get stuck on an elevator.  You're stranded in a tight space with folks you don't know, in claustrophobic conditions, unsure how long you'll wait for rescue, all the while hoping that the others used...

Turning Fear Into Faith, Part 2 God is keenly sensitive to our tendency to feel afraid. He knew we'd often fret and feel threatened by obstacles and situations we can't control. Why else would the most repeated command in the Bible be "Do not fear"?  And the...

An unanticipated diagnosis causes your heart to lurch:  cancer. Your company replaces you with a younger executive who costs them less. Your fiancé pierces your heart, reneging on his commitment, infatuated by someone else.  Will your long-held desire for a husband...

Even in a person not prone to depression, delays fuel discouragement.  For those of us susceptible to despondency, waiting for something important can exacerbate the condition. Here's a revised version of an article I wrote years ago that has been tucked away in...

When we think He's frowning at us, the opposite may be true.   He had accepted Christ as a child, and lived out his faith through his high school years. His parents were strong Christians.  But he didn't handle well the adjustment of leaving home for college. ...

A Prayer for Change Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back. That's the title of a Charles Swindoll paperback I read in the 1980s. That's a realistic depiction of spiritual formation.  At best, it is a zigzagging line on a graph, showing highs and lows.  Over time,...

Vibrant. Handsome. Warm. That describes the face of the 36-year-old who stared at me today from the obituary page, squeezing my heart to the point of pain.  I didn't know him personally. A college honors graduate. A sensitive person who regularly volunteered...

When I was younger, I had the idea that God existed for my sake. Now I see from God's Word that I exist for His sake. When I was younger, I had a passion to speak for God. Now I am desperate for God to speak to me. When I was younger, I wanted to glorify God by...

To some extent, each of us is self-absorbed. More interested in our own needs being met than meeting the needs of others.  More motivated by our own reputation instead of God's glory.  Too sensitive to what others think of us (without realizing that they seldom do,...

One Man's Personal Story Tom Rea and his family served as church planting missionaries in France with ReachGlobal (Evangelical Free Church).  Afterward, he served for 15 years as a church-planting  pastor in Hermann, Missouri.  Now he's a bi-vocational pastor in...