Travel Troubles

May 11, 2009

Detroit Airport5:43 PM It’s been a long day already and I’m not yet in Maine, though I should have landed in Bangor two hours ago. My troubles started before the trip when the computer wouldn’t let me choose seats. In Memphis the folks at the counter had trouble finding my reservations, and then they couldn’t assign seats eit…

Maine!

I’m writing this note–hurriedly–from the Cincinnati airport. So far I have completed two legs of a five-leg journey that started at 4 AM in Tupelo and will end in Danforth, Maine this evening. By then I’ll be at Living Waters Bible Conference, a lovely spot on the eastern edge of Maine, just across the lake from New Brunswic…

Three Quotes

Yesterday I happened across these three quotes that stuck in my mind  . . .“If God used only perfect people, nothing would ever get done.” Rick Warren“When the tide goes out you find out who has been swimming naked.” Warren Buffet“I am trying to be a super hero. Thank God He already sent us a Savior so that I can …

“I Get to Go See Jesus”

May 9, 2009

This afternoon Marlene and I talked to Nancy Magnusson on the telephone. She and Kent have been dear friends since we met them soon after moving to Oak Park 20 years ago. Over the years we got to know them in many different ways. Kent served on the board of Oak Park Christian Academy, and he and Nancy spent untold hours helping the school go forwar…

A Mighty Fortress

Here’s a beautiful a cappella version of Martin Luther’s hymn by Glad. It’s the hymn you’ve always known, but sung with some new harmonies. I like it because the new treatment helps me focus on the message. Though we don’t think of it as a spiritual warfare hymn, that’s really what it is….

Joanne Kemp

May 8, 2009

Peggy Noonan has written a wonderful tribute to Jack Kemp who died of cancer last Saturday at the age of 73. The entire column deserves careful reading because, as Noonan puts it, Jack Kemp “had the power of a happy man.” Something worth remembering in this all-too-cynical age. The article ends with a glowing tribute to Joanne Kemp. I r…

You Can’t Help a Liar

I originally wrote this column in February 2007 and in the process of doing some research came across it this week. The message is timeless. Recently I spent time with someone involved in ministry to students. Occasionally he is faced with difficult disciplinary decisions when the young people break the rules of the group. “I’ve dealt w…

“Much Work for Us Yet to Do”

May 7, 2009

On this National Day of Prayer we need to remind ourselves that God works through history to accomplish his purposes. During the Civil War Abraham Lincoln often drew on his faith in God sometimes to comfort, sometimes to challenge his countrymen. During the early days of the war, at a moment when there was no news from the front and many feared the…

Radio Twice Today

I’ll be on the radio twice today . . . 10 AM-12 Noon (CDT) American Family Radio. To listen, go to AFR Online  and click on “AFR Talk.” In the first hour we’ll talk with Terry James about “Is the United States in Bible prophecy?” In the second hour David Aikman brings us up to date on the church in China, Ir…

God of Our Fathers

Did you know that America has a “National Hymn”? Most people don’t know that, but we do, and I’m not speaking about the National Anthem. I’m talking about the hymn God of Our Fathers. We don’t hear it or sing it very often nowadays, and that’s a pity because in many ways, it is an ideal marriage of tune and …