There are two things that perplex us about Judas. First, why did he do what he did? Second, after he had done it, why did he feel so guilty? He was so evil that he sold the Lord Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Later he felt such remorse that he committed suicide.Over the centuries there have been many different reactions to his story. Many peopl…
At the moment it is 10:55 PM in Valencia, Bukidnon Province, in the Philippines. I am sitting in the hotel lobby balancing my laptop so I can give this quick update.We are dead tired pooped tonight. We left the hotel at 7 AM and spent the entire day at the Mindanao Ministers Conference. I knew going in that I would be preaching four times. When I g…
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32).These words must have seemed strange to Peter, coming as it were out of the blue. It has been well remarked that Peter in many ways is the most huma…
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…