Links & Quotes

Greg and I unpack a quote from Andy Murray which says, “Culture happens through crisis. Unfortunately, many team environments have structured the crisis out.” We make the case that your team needs some tough times to bring them together and bring out their best.

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Earlier this week I shared some thoughts about childlikeness, and then I read this insight from the ‘What is Greatness?’ reading plan on YouVersion: “Children approach life with genuine curiosity and authenticity. They haven’t learned to filter their joy or calculate their responses for maximum social or career advantage. They’re fully present in each moment, eager to learn, and unafraid to show their need for help. Jesus’ teaching wasn’t about being childish or wild; it was about recapturing the genuine, open, vulnerable approach to life, embodied by kids, that so many of us often lose in our rush toward our own ideas of success and greatness.”

Noah Webster wrote America’s first dictionary (which is interesting enough on its own), but did you know that he also wrote a couple of other influential books?

“We live in difficult times. Pray for this nation. We have all the marks of a declining civilization. Pray that the God who hears and answers the prayers of His people might intervene on behalf of our country and bring a spiritual renewal that might save the nation. People of unbelief might think you are kidding yourself to think that prayer can make a difference. They might think you are like some superstitious pagan who depends on God because you are weak. They might compare you to those who really are a bit out of touch. The fact is that God cares for the nations in which His servants live and serve Him. He favors and blesses the land of the righteous (see Proverbs 3:33). I find it necessary to affirm that the problems we face nationally and internationally are a direct result of the decline of faith and morality in our nation. My only hope of a prosperous future for this country rests not on the size and firepower of our military, nor on the wisdom of its leaders, nor on the sprit of her people, but only on the love and obedience of the people who name themselves after Christ, that their prayers might be heard and for the sake of these, God might look upon us with favor.” —William Wilberforce

A new discovery of 18,000 individual dinosaur tracks in the Bolivian El Molino Formation contains the highest number of theropod dinosaur tracks in the world.” These tracks also show dinosaurs heading for what may have been the last high ground during the global Flood recorded in the Bible. 

Adolofo Kaminsky may have kept upwards of 10,000 Jews alive during Wold War II by his masterful forgeries.

Links & Quotes

Jesus showed us how to remain faithful as a shepherd even in the face of painful attacks. If you are a pastor—or if you love your pastor—please check out my books Shepherd Leadership and When Sheep Bite. 

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Every year I see the same unsubstantiated claims that the Christian celebration of Christmas is a hodgepodge of pagan and cultic myths cobble together and hijacked by Christians. Here are three myths refuted by archeological evidence.

Dr. Allen Tennison points out how Luke emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit all throughout his Gospel, and then continues that theme as he moves into the Book of Acts.

“One of the first gospel blessings is that of complete justification. A sinner, though guilty in himself, no sooner believes in Jesus than all his sins are pardoned. The righteousness of Christ becomes his righteousness, and he is accepted in the Beloved.” —Charles Spurgeon 

“For the apostle Paul, as, indeed, for all the apostles and early Christians, the Church is the Body of Christ, the continuing incarnation of the reigning and conquering King of Glory. The Church, according to the apostles, is the centerpiece of Christ’s historical agenda (Matthew 16:18). Whatever Christ intends to do on earth prior to His imminent return, the focal point of that work will be in and through His Church. … We do not have the mind of Christ if we are not thinking the same way about His Body, the Church. We need the Church, and if we do not think this is so, then we do not have the mind of Christ. We need the Church. But we need it according to the purpose with the guidance and blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ.” —T.M. Moore 

What an amazing story of faithfulness! The faithfulness of God is seen in the loving actions of an unnamed Sunday School teacher and in a lifelong missionary.

Cold-case detective J. Warner Wallace contrasts blind belief and unreasonable belief with what he calls forensic faith. His conclusion: “A forensic faith gives you confidence in uncertainty, strength in adversity, and the ability to engage intellectually with both believers and skeptics. It transforms faith from mere hope into informed trust, and that makes all the difference in how you live out your beliefs in a world that’s constantly questioning them.”

“Depression is one of satan’s most dynamic weapons to divert you from God’s purpose for your life. If he can scatter a little dejection here and there in your thoughts—and even in your prayers—he can convince you to remove your breastplate of righteousness because it is too cumbersome and will go against your material and temporal interest. Do not give in that easily!” —William Gurnall, The Christian In Complete Armor 

Links & Quotes

As I was studying the Book of Jude, I came across this phrase, “Though you already know all this, I want to remind you.” This prompted these three quick thoughts that I want to share with my fellow pastors.

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Using the words from Isaiah 40:10-11, Sarah Young has Jesus speaking these words to us: “Adverse circumstances become growth opportunities when you affirm your trust in Me no matter what.”

Ken Blanchard has long used a challenge for leaders to catch their teammates doing something right. That phrase has now become the title of a biography about Ken. He says, “Great leaders who want to encourage and motivate their people set up a positive cycle:

  1. A great leader catches someone doing something right and praises them. 
  2. The leader’s praise helps the person feel good about themselves. 
  3. People who feel good about themselves produce good results. 
  4. A great leader notices when people produce good results. 
  5. See #1.”

This is a very encouraging read for men! Scott Hubbard writes, “You may not have ability for preaching and teaching, as Timothy did. But the Holy Spirit does not leave any Christian giftless. … You may have a small vision for your life; God does not.”

An amazing series from T.M. Moore on the law in a Kingdom economy. T.M. writes, “Christians don’t keep the Law to be saved; we keep it because we are saved, because it is the path that Jesus walked (1 John 2:1-6); and we recognize its value for helping us realize more of the life of holy, righteous, and good works for which we have been redeemed (Romans 7:12; Ephesians 2:8-10).” 

Geologists have discovered what Creationists already proposed about plate tectonics related to the Flood described in the Bible. “Flood geologists have predicted that plate motion slowed at the end of the Flood year, and now conventional scientists are finding it to be true.”

The Assemblies of God has always responded to popular religious trends with solid biblical exegesis. The “latter day rain” movement in the 1940s is a good example.

“Mature leaders swallow their egos and recognize God as their power source. They walk confidently in His authority, but never assume credit for it. Faith enables them to stretch, while humility enables them to stoop.” —John Maxwell

Links & Quotes

Whether we see the world through a naturalistic lens or a biblical lens makes all the difference!

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Columba was a powerful Christian leader in history. Even the legends about him are pretty cool! 

Isaac Newton said, “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.” Isaac Newton and Johannes Kepler are two gigantic figures in the world of science. These men were both devout Christians. Check out these mini-biographies from the ICR.

“What made David’s heart remarkable wasn’t the absence of sin but his unrelenting pursuit of restoration with God.” —YouVersion reading plan Men of God: Ancient Virtues for Modern Warriors 

It’s always fascinating to read about archeological discoveries that overlap with the historical accounts of the Bible.

Whether you are a pastor, a Sunday School teacher, or just a Christian sharing your testimony with your friend, we need to handle God’s Word correctly. John Piper’s lesson on 2 Timothy 2:14-15 is spot-on.

Links & Quotes

In biblical times, the Jews looked down on the Samaritans. But not Jesus. One of His longest conversations is with a Samaritan woman. If He had a poor attitude about her, she would have felt that. Instead, she felt His love. Jesus died so that “whoever believes in Him would not die but would have eternal life.” We need to treat everyone like one of the whoever’s that Jesus died to save.

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One hundred years ago, William M. Faux called the churches in the Assemblies of God to pray more for our missionaries. “Pray, beloved, pray for missions. Are more workers needed? Yes. Praying is the secret of securing them. Are more funds needed? Yes. Prayer is the force that opens men’s hearts to give to God their resources. Is greater spirituality needed? Yes, surely. Prayer is the agency that brings greater spirituality to the entire church (Matthew 9:38). Louder than the Macedonian cry ‘Come over and help us,’ which rang out to Paul, sounds the cry today, ‘Brethren, pray for us.’ Let the Scripture warning ring in our souls—‘God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you.’ Prayer is the greatest force that we can wield. It is the greatest talent which God has granted us. And this talent He has given to every Christian.”

“Faith knows that every seashore on earth has less sand than God has wondrous deeds and thoughts toward us.” —Tanner Swanson

“I had always vaguely felt facts to be miracles in the sense that they are wonderful: now I began to think them miracles in the stricter sense that they were willful. I mean that they were, or might be, repeated exercises of some will. In short, I had always believed that the world involved magic: now I thought that perhaps it involved a magician. And this pointed a profound emotion always present and sub-conscious; that this world of ours has some purpose; and if there is a purpose, there is a person. I had always felt life first as a story: and if there is a story there is a story-teller.” —G.K. Chesterton 

John Piper discusses how Christian apologists can contend for the faith properly without sliding into “word fights.” 

A Tour Of The Tabernacle

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I was absolutely fascinated by a Messianic Jew’s insights on the Old Testament Tabernacle, and how every aspect of it pointed to Jesus the Messiah. 

The overview of the construction of the Tabernacle starts in Exodus 25 and covers the next fifteen chapters in that book. Here are a few of my main takeaways from my friend’s teaching. 

All of the Scriptures I mention can be found here. 

The materials for the Tabernacle are brought as a freewill offering given by freed slaves (Exodus 25:1-2). This gold, silver, bronze, linens, and other materials were gifts from the Egyptians when the Israelites left on the night of the Passover. 

The Tabernacle is at the center of the Israelite camp (Numbers 2:1-34), signifying God’s presence in the center of our lives. When the Israelite community moved out, the tribe of Judah went first. Judah means “praise.” What a great reminder to let praise to God be at the forefront of all we do! 

In Exodus 27:16, the materials to be used for the curtains compromising the entrance to the Tabernacle are blue, purple, and scarlet. The blue is for sky (Heaven), the purple designates royalty, and the scarlet signifies the blood of the sacrifices. Jesus came to earth as royalty from Heaven, and by His shed blood He opens the way for all of us to be with Him in Heaven forever! Jesus said He was the only way to Heaven (Hebrews 2:14-15; John 14:6). 

The bronze altar for cleansing was just inside the entrance (Exodus 27:1-8). The worshiper offered this sacrifice in place of their sin. The priests would then move to the laver to wash off the dirt of the world. It’s important to note that the priests wash at the laver, not in the laver. Jesus is the One who washes us and cleanses us (Ephesians 5:26). 

There are four different coverings over the Holy Place. As the priest progresses farther into the Holy Place, the coverings become thicker, so less outside light is visible. 

  • First covering (Exodus 26:1) was blue, purple, and scarlet yarns (like the colors at the entrance) with cherubim woven into the fabric. The priests looking up would see these angels. 
  • Second covering (v. 7) was goat’s hair. Goats were used for sin offerings, reminding the priests that there was a sacrifice to cleanse them so they could approach the presence of God. 
  • Third covering (v. 14) was a red-dyed ram skin, showing the blood that covers us. 
  • Fourth covering (v. 14) was the durable leather of a badger. Now there would have been very little light from outside, but the angels would still be seen for those inside the Holy Place. 

In the Holy Place was the showbread (sometimes called the bread of presence) pointing to Jesus as our Bread of Life (Exodus 25:23-30; John 6:35). Also in the Holy Place was the lampstand filled oil (vv. 31-37). Only one stick holds the oil and supplies the other six branches. The priests could only work by the light of God. Jesus is our light (John 8:12). And we also find the altar of incense here (30:1-7). This was a unique perfume that wasn’t used anywhere else. The prayers of the saints that arise before the throne in Heaven as said to rise as incense (Psalm 141:2; Revelation 5:8). Worshipers in God’s presence are saturated with the aroma of Jesus (2 Corinthians 2:14-15). 

In the Holy of Holies is the ark of the covenant of the Lord (25:10-22). Inside the ark were the stone tablets that contained the Ten Commandments. On top of the ark, overshadowed by the wings of two huge cherubim angels, was the mercyseat or atonement cover. Notice that mercy is over the Law, and that the blood of the sacrifice of Jesus covers my disobedience and makes me at one with God (the literal definition of atonement). 

How beautifully all of these aspects of the earthly Tabernacle point to Jesus (Hebrews 8:5, 10:1)! And even more amazingly, Jesus fulfilled every requirement in this Tabernacle to make it possible for all who put their faith in Him to enter the Heavenly Tabernacle and remain in His presence for ever and ever! 

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Links & Quotes

William Gurnall was right when he noted that joy is the highest testimony of a Christian’s peace. Check out the full sermon from which this clip came.

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“Your failures are your accomplishments because it makes you prepared for whatever it is that you are going to do next.” —Lee Daniels 

One of my favorite Christmas movies is Miracle on 34th Street, where a well-timed letter to Santa Claus arrives at the courthouse to tip the scales of justice for Kris Kringle. The US Postal Service reports that they still get thousands of letters addressed to Santa each year. Have you ever wondered what happens to them. The Smithsonian has the heart-warming story

“The more we learn from God’s Word about how creation praises and reveals Him, the better able we will be to explain His revelation to others. But we’re not content for people merely so experience some revelation of God from the things He has made. We want them to know Jesus. For that, we’ll have to lead them to the Scriptures. The better we know the Scriptures and are daily immersed in them, the more we will see Jesus there and be made like Him. The more we are made like Him, the more we will see Him in all His works, and the more our hope will grow and be visible to others, some of whom may ask a reason for the hope that is within us.” —T.M. Moore 

“No priest, no theologian stood at the manger of Bethlehem. And yet all Christian theology has its origin in the wonder of all wonders: that God became human. Holy theology arises from knees bent before the mystery of the divine Child in the stable. Without the holy night, there is no theology.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Early Pentecostals generally viewed the observance of the ‘church calendar’ as remnants of liturgical traditions. Apart from Easter and Christmas, there were few days that Pentecostal churches set aside for special services. One exception was New Year’s Eve, when a ‘Watchnight Service’ would be held, typically starting around 7 p.m. and lasting until after midnight.” Check out the notable history of people “praying in the New Year.”

Scott Hubbard writes, “Spiritual health yesterday does not guarantee spiritual health today. So, at the end of a new year, on the edge of another, let’s stop to take some spiritual vitals. How healthy is your soul?” He then gives us six biblically-based questions to help us assess the healthiness of our soul. 

An amulet discovered under the chin of a man buried in a tomb dating to AD 230–270 shows the spread of Christianity into Germany by the middle of the third century.

Links & Quotes

Let’s not let the candidate for whom we vote be something that separates us from others in the Body of Christ. As the apostle Paul says, “Let’s agree together in the Lord.” Check out my full sermon How Christians Can Live Biblically in an Election Season.

I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“It was from Joppa (Acts 10:5) that God sent Jewish Peter to Gentile Cornelius. In this same Joppa, 800 years before, God had to use a little extra persuasion on Jewish Jonah to get him to go to Nineveh, a city of Gentiles (Jonah 1:3).” —Henry Halley, Halley’s Study Bible 

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” —George Bernard Shaw 

“No big challenge has ever been solved, and no lasting improvement has ever been achieved, unless people dare to try something different.” —Tim Cook, CEO of Apple

Jesus went to the Cross to fulfill His Father’s “predetermined plan.” This brought glory to God and joy to Jesus. God has a plan for your life, too. He sees you, He planned for you, He equipped you. As you live for Him, your life is also bringing glory to your Heavenly Father and joy to your heart. Unlike Jesus, you may not see how your part fits into God’s plan, but you will know it completely when you hear your Savior say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Links & Quotes

Psalm 133 tells us that in order for us to sharpen others—and for us to be sharpened by them—we have to be around other them. Christian saints put a high priority on spending time with others.

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From Desiring God’s Here We Stand series comes this great snippet from the history of the Reformation: “[John] Calvin intended to go to Strasbourg for a life of peaceful literary production. But while Calvin was staying the night in Geneva, William Farel, the fiery leader of the Reformation in that city, found out he was there and sought him out. It was a meeting that changed the course of history, not just for Geneva, but for the world. Calvin remembers, ‘Farel, who burned with an extraordinary zeal to advance the gospel, immediately learned that my heart was set upon devoting myself to private studies . . . and finding that he gained nothing by entreaties, he proceeded to utter an imprecation that God would curse my retirement, and the tranquillity of the studies which I sought, if I should withdraw and refuse to give assistance, when the necessity was so urgent. By this imprecation I was so stricken with terror, that I desisted from the journey which I had undertaken.’”

I am always fascinated by the way archeology affirms the historicity of the Bible! Here is an archeological biography of King Artaxerxes I.

Have you ever heard people claim that celebrity deaths seem to come in threes? It does seem that many times the major cataclysmic events happen in bunches. Dr. Roy Spencer has an interesting post (with corresponding data) in which he outlines the role of randomness in these events.

“In Hebrews 12:2 the writer uses a participle—‘fixing your eyes’—to describe what should be the characteristic orientation of our every waking moment. True and full faith wants to say with David, ‘I have set the Lord always before me’ (Psalm 16:8). … If we are living full faith, having the eye of our heart fixed on the world of unseen things, the reality of that world and all its beauty, goodness, and truth will begin to be evident in our daily lives, filling our lives with the overflowing Presence of Jesus Christ (John 7:37-39).” —T.M. Moore 

“There are three kinds of people in the world; those who have sought God and found Him and now serve Him, those who are seeking Him, but have not yet found Him, and those who neither seek Him nor find Him. The first are reasonable and happy, the second reasonable and unhappy, and the third unreasonable and unhappy.” —Blaise Pascal 

Evolutionists are now using language that sounds like words Creationists use: “Flowers like hibiscus use an invisible blueprint established very early in petal formation that dictates the size of their bullseyes—a crucial pre-pattern that can significantly impact their ability to attract pollinating bees.” Check out this article from the Institute for Creation Research.

Another very helpful apologetic video from J. Warner Wallace. This video explains how the origin of DNA is best explained not by scientific theories but by the existence of God. 

Using passages from Pilgrim’s Progress and weaving them with Scripture, Greg Morse shares five powerful steps for those struggling with depression or even suicidal thoughts. 

Just as the smallest enzyme is invaluable to the human body, the gift God has given you is invaluable to the Body of Christ. Check out the full sermon called Let’s grow together.

Links & Quotes

Leaders need to give others confidence to try something new. We need to help people get moving so that we can coach what they are doing. For more great leadership insights, check out The Craig and Greg Show.

I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

A couple of thought-worthy quotes for pastors. First from David Mathis: “Pastors, observe that in and of itself, mocking is no clear reflection of the faithfulness or fruitfulness of preaching Christ. Wise preachers do not take mocking as an indicator of failure, nor as an indicator of success. Twice in Athens some mock Paul, which may seem like a failure compared to his homiletic triumphs elsewhere. However, others say, ‘We will hear you again.’ And then, in the end: ‘some men joined him and believed’ [Acts 17:32-34]. … How foolish it would be to distract ourselves with the mockers. Or to call special attention to the mocking as some great badge of our own faithfulness. Rather, we have the example of Paul at Mars Hill, who, so far as we can tell, wholly overlooks, with a holy disregard, these mockers and concerns himself instead with those asking honest questions.”

…and then one from John Piper: “Preaching is a happy business. Because even if the text is a hard word that devastates the hearers, the preacher connects the hard word with the gracious word and the hopeful word, and he catches them as they fall. So, in the end, all preaching is a happy business.

“A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower

“For condemnation to work, we must say to God what the devil has said to us and believe it. If I want to stand before God with excuses that make what He said to me void, I’ll have to quote the devil to God. Does that sound like a good thing to do? God’s will for me is not to condemn me, but to liberate me from everything that holds me back from being what He created me to be through an ongoing relationship. To accomplish that, I need to do the opposite of what I used to do when I walked in condemnation. Instead of quoting to God what the devil is saying, I quote to the devil what God has said.” —Jim Wiegand, in Recruiting To Releasing 

Thinking about “how Martin Luther, a professor at Wittenberg University, helped to spark the 16th century Protestant Reformation,” J. Calvin Holsinger conceived the idea of preparing missionaries to US colleges and universities—a ministry called Chi Alpha.

Another great story from the “Here We Stand” series of biographies of notable people during the Reformation. “An attendant asked [King Henry VIII] whom he wished to have at his bedside. The king asked for Thomas [Cranmer]. By the time Cranmer arrived, King Henry was unable to speak. Foxe tells the story. ‘Then the archbishop, exhorting him to put his trust in Christ, and to call upon His mercy, desired him though he could not speak, yet to give some token with his eyes or with his hand, that he trusted in the Lord. Then the king, holding him with his hand, did wring his hand in his as hard as he could (Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, 748).’ The scene sweetly punctuates the most important friendship in the English Reformation. Whatever King Henry believed when he squeezed Cranmer’s hand that day, God used the bond between them to break England free from Roman Catholicism and to recover the one true gospel.”

The ICR reports, “Genesis claims that people in the pre-Flood world routinely attained 900-year lifespans. The best-known example is Methuselah, who had the longest recorded lifespan of 969 years (Genesis 5:27). Skeptics dismiss these great ages as fanciful legends, but recent fossil data are providing unexpected, albeit indirect, corroboration of the Bible’s testimony.” Check out this full report.

“In my experience, each failure contains the seeds of your next success—if you are willing to learn from it.” —Paul Allen, cofounder of Microsoft