Please take a moment and prayerfully finish the following statement: As I allow Jesus Christ to lead me, the conditions that I put on my service to him are….

In what areas do you tell God what you’ll do instead of asking what he wants you to do? Do you ever tell God you’ll do it if you have time? By the way, this is a way of saying it may not get done because we usually have the ability to find time to do the things we really want to do. Other common things we say to God are, “I’ll give to others if I have extra.” “I’ll work in this ministry only if I like the other people who are also helping.” “I know the Bible says I’m supposed to forgive but I’ll only do if the person who hurt me asks for forgiveness.”

How much are we willing to embrace the Biblical concept of faith, dedication, and perhaps even suffering for Christ?

The following announcement was published in the bulletin of a congregation in the US. “(Our congregation) is sponsoring a women’s-only mission trip to beautiful Guadalajara, Mexico! We’ll spend the week of June 11-18 in Guadalajara “also known as the shopping capital of Mexico”, where we will have the incredible opportunity to minister to, pray for, and teach women in a vibrant church community. And this trip isn’t a “rough-roach-in-your-bed” kind of experience either – we’ll be housed in nice clean hotel rooms, eat lots of salsa, and have plenty of time to shop! Our hope is to take at least fifteen women (including teenager daughters) on this Mexican Ministry Outreach… We trust God will expand our hearts for Him as He expands our ministry to the women of Guadalajara. If you’re remotely interested in this adventure-or if you’re just in the mood for Mexico after all this winter weather-call for more details about this fantastic outreach opportunity.” (more…)

How would you respond if someone came up to you and said, “I know you’re a Christian. What is the kingdom of God and what does it look like?

Jesus gives us a glimpse of it in Luke 17:20-37. This passage tells us, “ ²⁰ Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, ²¹ nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

²² Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. ²³ People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. ²⁴ For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. ²⁵ But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. (more…)

Many years ago, my friend Harry asked me to go with him and his sons to a NASCAR race in Martinsville, Virginia. I was excited because I’d never been to one before. The weather forecast called for rain the day of the race. We decided to “go for it,” hoping the weather would cooperate. It didn’t. Rain sprinkles fell from the sky the entire four hours it took us to get to Martinsville.

We made our way to the bleachers and waited to see what would happen. Since this was a new experience for all of us, we enjoyed watching the crews prepare for the race even though they were under canopies and the cars were covered. Eventually the track officials ordered the emergency vehicles to drive around the track to see if they could dry it off. This seemed to be working until the heavens opened. The sprinkles became steady rain. After several hours, the race was postponed until 1 PM the next day. (more…)

On January 3, 1982, an Air Florida 727 took off from Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, headed to Ft. Lauderdale, FL with seventy-nine people on board. Due to ice buildup on the wings, the plane crashed into the 14^th Street Bridge and landed in the Potomac River, which was also covered in a thick layer of ice. Seventy-three people in the plane and four motorists on the bridge were killed.

Six people survived the crash. When they surfaced, they couldn’t swim to shore because of the ice in the river. They clung to a piece of wreckage that was floating in the water. The water temperature was 31 degrees. Hypothermia was quickly setting in. One survivor said the cold water against their skin felt like knives were being shoved into them.

Within several minutes, a police helicopter arrived and dropped a lifeline to the people in the water. One survivor was so cold, disoriented and temporarily blinded by the jet fuel in the water that she couldn’t hold on to the line. She kept falling into the water and was close to drowning. (more…)