Diversity. Tolerance. Inclusivity. These are the buzzwords, the politically correct, celebrated virtues of our current American culture. Let’s be honest with ourselves. All these are very commendable qualities . . . when rightly applied. God created diversity—He’s incredibly creative. He has been supremely tolerant, for thousands of years, with our sin (see Romans 2:4). And […]
As I’ve mentioned on a number of occasions, God has apparently called me to be a missionary to the medical community in Reno. Due to my frequent visits for both emergency and chronic medical conditions, I have repeated opportunities to share the Gospel with medical personnel in our city. I have now shared my Covid-19 […]
The unthinkable happened this morning. We ran out of toilet paper. The thought is sobering enough, but before your imagination runs wild, let me assure you that the crisis was averted. First, it was an epidemic (in two bathrooms only), and not a pandemic (the third bathroom had some). And Jeanie did come to my […]
Detecting Cultural Deception “Do not be deceived.” The phrase occurs four times in the New Testament. In each case, it warns Christians about downplaying the very real consequences of sin. And it has never been more relevant than it is in our country today. Just how subtle and hard to detect spiritual deception can be […]
Practicing What You Preach I was reading the Gospel of Matthew in the New International Version the other day, and noticed that Jesus talked about the very subject of our devotion today. He was condemning the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law as they were in the process of condemning Him to death: “So […]
Contemplating Our Mortality Last count, 63 medical doctors have succumbed to the Covid-19 virus in Italy. Eighty-three hundred healthcare workers there have been infected. A relative of mine who is a nurse in Chicago texted family members saying Covid-19 hospitalizations are doubling daily in her hospital, and she, with other nurses, are being retrained as […]
“Oh, oh, I’m getting scared. . . It could be true.” It was a landmark statement, considering its source. He was a 20-year old cook, a self-professed hedonist, self-assured that there would be no consequence in this life or the next for his “if it feels good, do it” lifestyle. I was a 33-year-old seminary […]
Jesus’ brief rebuke of two of his closest disciples, James and John, ought to make us pause and consider our own spiritual lives and ambitions. “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” (Luke 9:55-56a). The […]
The unthinkable has happened. One hundred million Americans are on lockdown—ordered to stay home. Fifty-five million American school children are at home—as states have cancelled classes for who knows how long. Non-essential businesses are shuttered everywhere. All mass gatherings have been cancelled or postponed—even, God forbid, sporting spectaculars such as March Madness and the 2020 […]
It was a different Sunday morning in the Wallace household. I was sitting at the breakfast table about the time we would normally be greeting each other before morning service. Being the spiritual leader that I am, I decided to encourage Jeanie and Abby by reading a CNN article about the most optimistic best-case scenarios […]