Good morning from the Philippines. Today is a huge day for us. I start speaking at 7:30 AM and speak four times, the last one being at 7 PM. Pray for stamina and for clarity and anointing and for my voice to hold out. We had fine start to the conference last night. I introduced my series on “Beyond Denial: Seeing Ourselves in Peter’s St…
“I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15). Genesis 3:15 is the first mention of the gospel in the Bible. You might have missed it because the name Jesus isn’t in the text, but he is there nonetheless…
We started the weekend in Manila, then we flew to Davao City in the southern Philippines where we were greeted with great kindness by Pastor Antolin Zamar, his wife Nenita and the good folks of Heritage Baptist Church. This morning we traveled by bus to Bukidnon in the central highlands of Mindanao Island. We’ll be here through Thursday noon …
Why didn’t Jesus fight back when he was arrested? Losing is not a popular idea today. It’s definitely not a very American concept. As George Patton famously remarked, “Americans love a winner. America will not tolerate a loser.” We all want to be on the winning team. That’s why millions of people fill out their March M…
Proverbs 15:1 tells us that “a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” I have a friend who learned this verse the hard way. Whenever she said something in a harsh tone, her mother made her write this verse 50 times on a sheet of paper. It must have worked because many years later she has no trouble recall…
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:27-28).A woman wrote me to say that she realized she needed to forgive her husband who left her for a younger woman after 26 years of marriage. She found out later that he had been having an affair for the previous …
I am writing this note from our room on the 8th floor of a hotel not far from the Manila airport. We arrived around 1 AM after a 29-hour trip from Tupelo. Suffice it to say that this morning (we’re 13 hours ahead of Central Daylight Time in the U.S.) we are tired but ebullient. All the Filipinos we have met have been very friendly and glad to…
It is now early on Good Friday. Jesus was arrested by the Jews sometime around midnight. Since then he has been taken from one hearing to another: Annas, Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin. They all had their shot at him. Along the way, he has endured mocking jokes, insults, and false accusations. The Jews want him dead but only the Romans have the power of c…
It is 4:42 AM as I write this note. In a little over an hour we leave for the airport. This happens to be one of the rare trips where we can fly from Tupelo. Once we leave here we fly to Memphis, then Detroit, then Tokyo, then Manila. The total time in transit will be about 27 hours, the longest leg being thirteen hours from Detroit to Tokyo.There …
Who is ultimately responsible for the death of Jesus Christ? The answer may surprise you. According to the Bible, God takes responsibility for the death of his Son. This is the first part of Isaiah 53:10 in the New International Version: “Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer.” The New King James gives th…