THE NINTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. WHISPERS FROM GOD In his latest book, The Key Place: An Ordinary Place to Meet an Extraordinary God (Leafwood. 208 pages, 2015), gracEmail subscriber Gene Shelburne shares memories of his special encounters with God in a special place known to very few. When he bought the tiny house his mother grew up in, Gene Shelburne says, he could not imagine how much the Lord would bless him as this isolated getaway became his perfect retreat from a hectic world. "During quiet days beside our creek," he writes, "I could … [Read more...]
Family Notes 02/09/2015
THE SECOND DAY OF SEPTEMBER IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Dr. Ron Highfield, elder, preacher, author, professor of religion at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, one of today's more effective Christian apologists, longtime gracEmail subscriber, and (like myself), a native son of North Alabama, has announced the publication of his latest book on Christian Apologetics, titled: ChristianityIs It Really True? Responsible Faith In a Post-Christian Culture. Last year Ron blogged in answer to the question, "Is Christianity True? producing 48 … [Read more...]
Family Notes 26/08/2015
THE TWENTY-SIXTH DAY OF AUGUST IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. CHRIST'S RETURN To be a Christian in the first century was to be a person awaiting Jesus' return (1 Thess 1:9-10). How sad, therefore, that throughout church history this defining value of apostolic Christianity has so often gone missing. Which gives special reason to rejoice that Intersections of Faith and Culture, a twice-yearly magazine published by Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, devotes its current issue to the theme "Prepared for Christ's Return." A dozen articles (including a very … [Read more...]
Family Notes 12/08/2015
THE TWELFTH DAY OF AUGUST IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. A STORY OF CRIME, FORGIVENESS, AND REPENTANCE Misty Wallace was eighteen years old when Keith Blackburn, 18, shot her through the face. Miraculously, Misty survived and eventually she was able to forgive the man who shot her. Today, after serving ten years in prison for attempted murder, Keith holds a Master of Divinity degree and is a chaplain in the Indiana prison system. Misty is Indiana Regional Coordinator of Bridges To Life. Together, they share their overlapping stories on a daily basis at venues around the … [Read more...]
Family Notes 22/07/2015
THE TWENTY-SECOND DAY OF JULY IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. CAN JESUS SURVIVE RELIGION? One of the great strengths of the Christian faith has been its ability to endure, accommodate, and use the cultural shifts across the centuries without losing its essence. Even in its most misguided forms, the Christian religion has continued to pass along its central message about Jesus death, burial, and resurrection. People in the most abysmal of churches in the most corrupt of cultures still have been counted among the redeemed. There were people in a church Jesus pronounced … [Read more...]
Family Notes 15/07/2015
THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF JULY IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. TRUE HUMILITY If someone tells you that somebody else is saying awful things about you, don't defend yourself against the accusations, but reply, "He must not know about the other faults that I have, if these are the only ones he mentioned." -- Epictetus, Enchiridion. LOVE, NOT TERROR Increasingly, believers around the world are finding the traditional doctrine of unending conscious torment to be a slander against the character of God. It has no scriptural basis and should be discarded as a horrible … [Read more...]
Family Notes 08/07/2015
THE EIGHTH DAY OF JULY IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. YOUR FEEDBACK ON PERSPECTIVE The gracEmail for July 5 titled "Perspective" touched on the influence of Christianity in America. Not surprisingly, it generated even more feedback than usual. Following is a sample of your comments: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FRANK COATS -- Beautifully said, … [Read more...]
Family Notes 01/07/2015
THE FIRST DAY OF JULY IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. GRAND ADVENTURE TRUMPS NOT-SO-FRIENDLY SKIES Two Sundays ago, wife Sara Faye and I were scheduled to depart Houston at 7:15 a.m. for Chicago, change planes at O'Hare for a short hop northeast over to Traverse City, Michigan, then drive 30-45 minutes to our destination, Northport Bay Retreat. There were thirty-seven of us, representing four generations of Fudges from California, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, who would spend a week together at what must be one of the most beautiful settings anywhere. Sara … [Read more...]
Family Notes 17/06/2015
THE SEVENTEENTH DAY OF JUNE IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. NOT DIET BUT RENEWED MIND When you first meet gracEmail subscriber and marathon runner Eddie Robbins, you could not guess that in 1999 this Christian brother from the Greater Atlanta area weighed one-third of a thousand pounds, that he shed one-third of them during the next twelve months, then ran a marathon to celebrate his accomplishment. Eddie is an excellent story-teller and he tells his story in his book, All My Strength: My Journey from 333 to the Chicago Marathon. What is the secret to his weight loss? … [Read more...]
Family Notes 10/06/2015
THE TENTH DAY OF JUNE IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. A PLACE IN HISTORY Finding their Voices: Sermons by Women in the Churches of Christ, edited by D'Esta Love (ACU Press, 2015), 254 pages. This new book not only relates history, it also makes history, preserving sermons of 29 women from Churches of Christ, a new notion during the past 100+ years among this fellowship, although its earliest days saw more than one woman evangelist on the American frontier. The editor was Pepperdine University's first chaplain, and I applaud Pepperdine for leading the way in that … [Read more...]
