Category: Transformation Generation
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Bridge to the next generation
Following is a letter we sent out over the weekend to all our MemberPartners and major donors. It’s a letter that explains why we need to raise $5,000 by the end of the day today. We are sending it out this morning to everyone because 1) we realize some might have missed it, and 2)…
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Pushing back the darkness
“The heroism is standing up to evil, standing up to darkness. We can’t just be bystanders, we need to be activists and get out there and be heroes. Light pushes away darkness.” – Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, Poway, California In Marti’s story for Jocelyn, our granddaughter, The Pigeon and the Ruby Collar (see yesterday’s…
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True followers in every generation
Okay, it was bound to happen. We heard from somebody between boomers and millennials. Actually, two somebodies. Two Gen Xers have written me feeling left out. This is good. That means there are at least two of you out there passionate about following the Lord. I’m sure I will hear from more.
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The universal tragedy of being good
Holy, holy, is what the angels sing, And I expect to help them make the courts of Heaven ring; But when I sing redemption’s story, they will fold their wings, For angels never felt the joys that our salvation brings. Johnson Oatman, Jr. (1856-1922) Think of the host of angelic voices that pierced the darkness…
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‘Everyone’ means everyone
For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone. Romans 11:32 Mercy is what everyone gets because everyone is guilty. Read that last sentence again, slowly, and then the verse above it, making particular notice of the word: “everyone.” Everyone. Shall I write it again? Everyone. If we could get…
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Birthday memories
We interrupt our study in Acts to spend a moment with Miss Jocelyn Anne Fischer who turned two yesterday, and whose birth was acknowledged and duly celebrated with a small family gathering in Brea, California at the home of Mr. Chuck E. Cheese. At two, we’re not sure how much of the events around her…
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The key to transformation
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” John the Baptist (Matthew 3:11) The stories that unfold in the Book of Acts come from the most transformative period and…
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Don’t look now but you’re on fire!
[Unlike the California fires that lick their tongues with devastation in fast and furious ways, the fire of the Holy Spirit spreads life and requires to be known as something other than us. It is powerful and gives everlasting life and never ever destroys.] On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in…
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Go to your room!
Once when [Jesus] was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:4-5) My wife, Marti, likes to call this the “Go…
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Children of the day
In 1 Thessalonians, the coming of the Lord is likened to a thief coming in the night. “When people are saying, ‘Everything is peaceful and secure,’ then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). This story of the coming…
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Just a pawn in the game
The early Christians believed in, talked about, and leveraged their faith on the imminent return of Christ. That was 2,000 years ago, and they believed just like we believe, that His coming was right around the corner, in fact, they probably believed it more than we do. That’s because it was an integral part of…
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The imminent return of Christ and why it’s important
The return of Christ is imminent. Tell me you haven’t had a thought about that lately with all the earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, wars and rumors of war going on. These are the signs of the times and they mean something. Jesus told us to pay attention to the signs and purify ourselves in the hope…
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Christ is coming back any day now
When [Jesus] had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus,…
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Forgiveness: Yes!
And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ You are…
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The greatest news ever
The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from…
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Ending well
Jesus Christ ended well. He ended with a flourish. He rose from the grave, appeared to His followers numerous times over the course of 40 days, proved to them He was actually alive, ate with them, talked with them about the Kingdom of God, gave them final instructions, ascended into heaven, sent two angels to…
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Just Chapter One
“Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before,” Jesus had said. “John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:4-5) The apostles were starting to wonder about whether Jesus’s idea of “a few days” was…
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All’s Well That Ends
All’s Well That Ends Well may suit a Shakespearian play by that title, but it doesn’t suit the Los Angeles Angels, whose major league baseball season ended two days ago even though they have three more games to play. For the Angels as for the 19 other teams that won’t make the playoffs, it should…