The Merriam-Webster Dictionary tells us the word “appreciate” primarily means “a feeling or expression of admiration, approval or gratitude.” When you value something, someone, or a certain behavior, you want to say something. As they used to say a few decades ago, “You gotta let it out.” Express yourself when you sense value in someone who has blessed you or encouraged you, or maybe someone you see that just needs to be blessed by your words. Perhaps somewhere in the swirl of the Covid-19 … [Read more...]
Fight for life, journalism and the marking of a year
Far more than mere documents, the U.S. Constitution and Missouri’s Constitution represent “the way of life of a citizen-body.” That, at least, is how the ancients talked about constitutions. Now abortion activists are asking Missourians to enshrine the culture of death in the Constitution defining the state’s “way of life.” In 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, Missouri thankfully became the first state in the nation to ban abortion. But earlier … [Read more...]
A pleasant potpourri
The Pathway is not just one thing it is a potpourri of many things. Often its stories are like a pleasant scent—there’s just something special about God’s people on mission with Him. Potpourri is that dried, good smelling stuff in a jar or a cannister that you drag out of the closet or cabinet to fill a room with the aroma of the season. Maybe you are like me when a seasonal pumpkin scent hits the olfactory nerves in my nose, I start salivating for a big slice of “punkin pie.” “But … [Read more...]
God’s Word a miracle, a gift that keeps on giving
Our world, as someone has said, is “awash with words.” Words wake us, entertain us, console us, pester us, defend us, teach us, lull us to sleep. From infancy, we learn how – with a puff of the diaphragm, a tightening of the throat, a twist of the tongue and curling of the lips – to speak a simple word, like “water.” As children, we struggle to decipher and then scratch on paper the intricate lines and curves that make up the written word, “w-a-t-e-r.” Then, as we age, we become used … [Read more...]
Love is greater than fear
It has been sitting on my desk for a while, maybe two or three years now. It was once one of the most valuable items around. (If you could find it, that is.) It sits on the far corner of my desk with a bunch of pens, the tape dispenser, and an extra pair of reading glasses, unused and under-appreciated. The half-empty bottle of Germ-X hand sanitizer reminds me of what the world was like just a few short months ago. I remember my son coming home from school after hearing that a local store … [Read more...]
Fun, more fun, most fun!
“Sorrow is better than laughter, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.” – Ecclesiastes 7:3 What? How can sorrow be better than laughter? We all enjoy a good laugh! However, is there any place in the Bible where we are told to channel our efforts toward having fun? Of course, we all like to have fun, but what does it accomplish to direct our efforts to constantly having fun? As I look through Facebook postings, I am appalled at how many times the word “fun” is used. It would … [Read more...]
This is worth the investment
Some days, when you’re monitoring your dollars and cents – you know, that stuff Jesus our Lord commands us to manage while here on earth – you have to ask the questions: Is this a worthy investment for the kingdom? Do my finances show that I am laying up treasures on earth or in heaven? The stuff on earth we can hold in our hands, smell with our noses, or see with our eyes. The treasures in heaven are measured more by the investment we make in people for gospel purposes. The earthly stuff … [Read more...]
‘Belt of truth’ holds us secure amid temptation
“Pablo Picasso’s creative genius towers over twentieth-century art,” Christian author and sociologist Os Guinness writes in his classic book, The Call. “But in his relationships, especially with women, he could be a devouring monster. The ‘Minotaur’ was his own name for himself, and ‘monster’ was the word used by friends such as sculptor Alberto Giacometti. ‘When I die,’ Picasso said, ‘it will be a shipwreck, and as when a huge ship sinks, many people all around will be sucked down with … [Read more...]
Do we live in gospel disconnect?
Is Christianity just for Sunday mornings? Or is the Christian worldview meant to pervade all aspects of human life? In my nearly seven years serving as a senior pastor, I have encountered what I call “gospel disconnect”—the lack of applying the gospel to all areas of life. My sense is most Christians have no problem listening, talking, and applying the gospel at church on Sunday mornings. But what about the rest of the week? What about in the areas of our life not normally associated with … [Read more...]
New life, five stars, highly recommended
Always read the reviews. Unless you really want that thing. Do you ever find that special treasure online—the one you’ve been searching for so much longer than you want to admit? And you know, you know, you should read the customer reviews. But you’re also afraid those reviews will mess it all up for you. They’ll destroy your purchase joy. Do not give me bad news here, other consumers. Don’t we have to consider the possibility bad reviews could be coming from people who are just plain … [Read more...]
Taking another step of faith
Sharon and I came to Missouri with a deep sense of call. In our journeys across the state to visit our churches, we sensed the Lord was at work in Missouri Baptists. Part of my role is to promote, celebrate, and persuade people to capture in their minds the power of the Cooperative Program. God wants to do something special with people who trust Him with their earthly possessions. He wants to do the powerful, not necessarily the ostentatious, through local churches. He wants to do … [Read more...]
Despite hectic headlines, the gospel gives us peace
A glance at global headlines from the past several weeks makes one thing clear: The world is starving for peace. Apparently, this is true even on the baseball field, where Guardians third baseman José Ramírez and White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson threw off their gloves, Aug. 5, for a game-stopping, bare-fisted fight at second base. But global turbulence and brokenness has spread far beyond the ballfield, as made evident by a few recent reports from WORLD News Group: • In a South Korean … [Read more...]
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