SINNER AND SAINT One of my greatest encouragers was Grandpa Russell. I probably shared more stories back and forth with him than I did with any other human being. At 84 years old, Grandpa Russell traveled with Dad and me to the Brickyard for Carburetion Day. While he was entering Dad’s motor-coach, Russell was really […]
Sinner and Saint
Join the Celebration
Are you locked outside the celebration of the kingdom of heaven? The Restorer holds the Master Key of full surrender to unlock the gate of your heart to Restoration Road. That Master Key is cross-shaped. Full surrender vertically to God leads to humility horizontally toward others. When He walked the earth, He clarified inside a […]
Paid In Full
Are you trying to earn God’s forgiveness through acts of self-righteousness? Perhaps you think that you will pay Him back for all your wrongdoings. Jesus said, “My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30b). This meant that an invoice was paid in full. Those who surrender to Him are forgiven. On the cross, Jesus said, “It is […]
The Yoke
Do you have a teacher? Is there someone you continually seek for guidance and wisdom? When He walked this earth, Jesus made a transformational invitation to those who would surrender their wills to Him: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find […]
Rest
Are you attempting a self-restoration program to earn your way to God? Too often, sand hearts try to become stone hearts to regain their position with their Father, much like the younger brother in Jesus’ parable recorded in Luke 15. He had tried to contrive a plan where he would work his way into the […]
The Narrow Gate
Jesus described two gates, two roads, and two destinations: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Notice […]
The Wide Gate
We approach life with God through one of two gates, traveling one of two roads, leading to one of two destinations. One is religious, traveling from the outside in. The other is relational, traveling from the inside out. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus described the two gates, the two roads, and the two […]
The Gate, The Road, The Destination
Susan and I were returning from our annual anniversary week of rejuvenating in the sun at Atlantis in the Bahamas. We sat and talked in the Nassau Airport awaiting the boarding announcement for our return flight home. When our flight number was called, we quickly grabbed our bags and merged into the line to enter […]
Every Encounter Is A Three-Way Call: Connection Three
Jesus conveyed that we should not go to the world either condemningly with a hard heart of stone or carelessly with a loose heart of sand; rather, we should go connectedly with the Spirit of God in total humility, and with a soft heart of clay (Matthew 7:1-12). Every encounter with another person a three-way […]
Every Encounter Is A Three-Way Call: Connection Two
Every encounter with another person a three-way call. When we are connected with God and connected with others, then they are connected with God. Whereas pride brings static on the line, humility offers a clear connection. Here’s how Jesus described the three connections: Connection One-ASK God. Connection Two-ask others. Connection Three-others ask God into their […]
Every Encounter is a Three-Way Call: Connection One
What is the condition of your heart when you attempt to go to a lost and hurting world with Christ’s message of restoration? Jesus conveyed that we should not go to the world either condemningly with a hard heart of stone or carelessly with a loose heart of sand; rather, we should go connectedly with […]
Prison of Withholding Forgiveness
Are you holding on to an offense and withholding forgiveness from anyone? A few years ago, at the beginning of a school year, I received a call early in the morning from my daughter’s teacher who was coordinating chapels for the school. She confided that she had lost her chapel speaker for the first four […]
Me Too
Do you condemn others? Jesus linked a condemning heart with the eyes, or one’s perspective. Borrowing an illustration from His construction days, He said that the antidote to a condemning heart was to take the plank out of our own eye so that we can see clearly enough to help someone with the speck in […]
Condemning, Careless, or Connected?
Have you ever struggled with how you should go to others with the gospel of full surrender to the Restorer? When a person is caught in his sin, desiring life apart from God, we tend to go to him in one of two extremes: we are either condemning or careless. These responses are rooted in […]