Category Archives: Biblical Truth

ANGELS IN THE DARK

Biblical Truth, Christian Discipleship, History, Spiritual Growth, , , , ,

My wife’s parents, Bill and Frances Skinner, were missionaries in Paraguay for 38 years.  They are both in their nineties today, sharp in mind and full of faith. Their incredible stories of seeing the hand of God at work while bringing the Good News of Jesus to the people of Paraguay strengthen my faith every time I hear them recounted.  In her book, Adventures in Paraguay, Frances Skinner reveals how faith is most powerful when exercised in the dark.

Her story begins in the small, rural village of Guayaybi, Paraguay.  Only accessible by primitive dirt roads, the missionaries had established a medical clinic near the village that they opened on weekends– offering medical help together with the gospel message of Jesus.  A dire situation occurred that required a trip back to civilization, but Dr. Bill was up to his neck in medical work so Fran agreed to make the trip for him, accompanied by a friend named Ruth– a German lady that Frances had randomly met on a trip to Argentina.  Ruth, just happened to unexpectedly show up for a visit to Paraguay, and so had gone with the Skinners to the clinic at Guayaybi.

There was a problem, a big problem!  It had rained a down-pouring tropical deluge  and main road had closed to all traffic.  Since Doctor Skinner was engaged in humanitarian services, he had been issued a permanent pass by the highway authorities to travel any road at anytime.  So Fran and Ruth took the pass and sallied forth.   In her own words, the following story is an excerpt from her book:

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THE TRUTH ABOUT THE WISE GUYS

Biblical Truth, Christian Discipleship, History, Spiritual Growth, , , ,

The Wise Men— the guys who brought gifts to Jesus have, over the years, grown to appear a bit different than the Biblical text actually records.  About 500 years after the birth of Christ, a document declared their names to have been Gaspar, Balthasar, and Melchior.  A medieval cathedral in Cologne, Germany claims to house their three skulls.  Still another source claims that there were 12 of them, not three.  Even another tradition says they came from Persia, India, and Arabia.  NO ONE REALLY KNOWS.  There may have been two, twenty, or even more, and all we know is that they arrived from the direction of the East.  The Bible is simply silent about other facts.  Still, what we DO know from the Biblical record is very interesting, and very spiritually significant.  Here’s what I have come to ascertain: Continue reading THE TRUTH ABOUT THE WISE GUYS →

IMMACULATE MIS-CONCEPTIONS

Biblical Truth, Christian Discipleship, History

Merry Christmas!!!  Christmas is not only a Christian holiday, it is also an official American holiday.  Our nation has traditionally celebrated Christmas through secular eyes, AND through deeply religious eyes– both at the same time.   We have learned to do it without much fuss.  Our own two daughters learned that the real meaning of Christmas was the birth of our Savior, AND they also were able to enjoy the entire Santa Claus experience.  We sang Jingle Bells and Joy to the World; we read Luke chapter 2, as well as “The Night Before Christmas” without batting an eye.  Any harm done?  No.  None.  Genuine Christian parents can thread that needle without any doing any damage to Christmas or to faith.  Christmas should be a time of joy and celebration, especially for a nation with a Christian majority.  After all, the first coming of Christ changed not only the calendar, it had eternal consequences for billions of people.  So what are the “immaculate mis-conceptions?” Continue reading IMMACULATE MIS-CONCEPTIONS →

THROWBACK 1966 (Part 1)

Biblical Truth, Christian Discipleship, History, Small Town America, Spiritual Growth, , , , , , , , , ,

mini-skirtI’m all about history.  It was one of my college majors; I taught it in school for almost a decade; I own multiple bookcases of history books (and have read most all of them);  and like Mark Twain once reflected about history, “We seem to have more of it now than we ever have.”  I love to study kings and queens, presidents and generals, war and peace, revolutions and revivals, and even (sigh) campaigns and elections.

But my FAVORITE is oral history.  I like to talk to people about their memories and experiences from the past.  I especially enjoy conversing with people who share the same memories as I do.  So, I have decided to throw out a random year from the past and see what my readers might remember together with me.  Perhaps those of you who are too young to remember the year will at least be entertained by our magical flashback.  So here goes.  Our first THROWBACK YEAR will be: 1966.  (Whoa!  That was a half-century ago!)

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THE MURAL AT MATT’S MARKET

Biblical Truth, BMMC, Christian Discipleship, Master's Commission, , , , ,

for-god-so-lovedMike Slater stopped me in the church hallway right after service.  The year was 1998 and I had just preached a sermon entitled, “God’s Invasion of Love,” based on the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians–

“Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:  Who, being in very nature God,  did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross!”

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