When we flew to the 2004 wedding of my nephew Aaron Fudge in California, I had no idea of the mind-boggling spiritual challenge awaiting me there. Aaron, 23, and his wife Elizabeth are both deeply committed to Jesus Christ so I was not surprised when following the rehearsal pizza dinner they invited guests to their forthcoming one-bedroom apartment to pray for God's blessing and Spirit to fill them and their new residence. However I did not expect Aaron to give all his guests a book which he said had changed his life -- and which subsequently has transformed my own personal consciousness and … [Read more...]
GOD ENLIGHTENS BLIND MINDS
A gracEmail subscriber writes that although he serves Christ in a nondenominational fellowship that loves Jesus, builds up each other, gives to the needy and goes all around the world personally sharing the gospel, his mother considers him an unbeliever because he does not belong to her particular religious organization. The mother frequently gives him religious literature intended to correct his "false" views, but she is unwilling to read or listen to anything he might offer in response. What, he asks me, can he do in this situation? * * * I do understand your pain and frustration. Just … [Read more...]
THE JESUS MESSAGE
"Someone asks, "What is the core of the gospel?" This person hears preaching from the pulpit, through television, on the radio, via the internet, by video, cassettes and CD's. "None of it stirs my soul," she says. "Nothing grabs my emotions, challenges my mind, motivates my will. What is the heart of the Christian message that once turned the world upside down?" * * * They had little money and minimal education. There was no business plan, no human sponsorship, no institutional presence. Mass media was unheard of and mass transportation did not yet exist. Yet within one generation 13 plain … [Read more...]
THE UNEXPECTED MINISTER
Recently I flew to Baton Rouge, Louisiana on business, where I took a taxicab from the airport to my hotel. Upon entering the cab, I immediately noticed a large and well-worn Bible on the driver's dashboard. I commented concerning the stormy weather I had left in Houston and asked the cab-driver if they had experienced it in Baton Rouge. He responded that he had often wondered about the reason for storms but that he had recently discovered, in one of the Old Testament prophets, that storms are sometimes either punishment or warning from God. One thing led to another and we quickly launched … [Read more...]
DIVERSITY & FAITHFULNESS
The sky was pouring rain as I drove up to the Park-and-Ride bus shelter, where a line of commuters regularly chooses to ride to downtown jobs with strangers in automobiles rather than taking the city bus. We car-drivers like the plan, because it allows us to use the enclosed and fast moving high-occupancy lane instead of turtle-crawling down 25 miles of Katy Freeway from our homes on Houston's west side. My rider today was a Vietnamese lady, whose nationality I easily guessed from her accent and her appearance. We quickly struck up a friendly conversation. After I dropped a comment or two … [Read more...]
TWO RUSSIANS AND A THAI
Regular readers know that I take on riders at the bus stop each morning, enabling a fast commute in the high-occupancy lane to downtown Houston. Recent riders have included two Russian women, who chattered the whole trip in Russian, and a Buddhist lady from Thailand. The Russians and I conversed briefly (in English) about President Putin and their country's future. They despaired of progress, declaring all politicians to be crooks. I expressed my opinion that only Jesus Christ could give Russian people hope and strong character. The ladies responded with stone silence. The Thai Buddhist … [Read more...]
THE PROPHET OF THE MAGI
It's a veritable United Nations, the "228 Park & Ride," where thousands of Houston westsiders catch daily buses. A place also where scores of solo drivers like myself occasionally or regularly pick up some trusting stranger so we can zoom down the barricaded high-speed lane into the city rather than poke along in stop-and-go traffic on the freeway. Over the years I have chauffeured passengers from Africa and Asia, Barbados and Bolivia, Singapore and Scandinavia, Russia and Rwanda, China and Croatia. This particular day my passenger comes from Greece. His name is Farook, he tells me, … [Read more...]
LOST AND BLIND
Houstonians who work downtown enjoy an underground tunnel system, filled with restaurants and shops, providing air-conditioned escape from the weather and other inconveniences of sidewalk travel. Two encounters there on recent days have reminded me of the practicality and power of the biblical metaphors for our condition apart from God. Last Tuesday I was crossing town underground when I came upon a young Chinese man with a pack on his back and a puzzled look on his face. I stopped, and eventually understood that he was looking for the Greyhound bus station. "Follow me," I said, as we … [Read more...]
A CHALLENGE TO THE ‘SENT’ (2)
“Go! I am sending you out." -- Luke 10:3 “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.” - Albert Orsbom (1916) The Good News is enough. The Holy Spirit is alive and well. I think it comes down to this: we need to learn to love like Jesus. We are to be “sent” people . . . and unfortunately we aren’t going into a carnival-like environment where everyone loves Christians. We are sent out “like lambs among wolves” (Luke 10:3). I believe this means living vulnerable lives, allowing others to see our struggles. We need to take our hospitality to the streets, where we will rely on the hospitality of … [Read more...]
A CHALLENGE TO THE ‘SENT’ (1)
“Go! I am sending you out." -- Luke 10:3 “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.” - Albert Orsbom (1916) It appears to me that evangelism is much more difficult these days. It's a tough crowd out there. Look around and you'll see what I mean. People are church-phobic. Churches are changing their names so they don't sound like churches. Worship communities all over promote things like "The first twenty visitors will receive free Astros tickets!" or "Come to our Antique Car Show (worship service to follow)!" The church down the road from my house offers a sports camp. They know that people … [Read more...]
