fisher of men

“But Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant.’” Matthew 20:25-26 (NLT) These wise words from Jesus remind me of the lessons my parents taught me. They were a great example of what it meant to live a life of service and helping others. Growing up, our home was frequently filled with people. Almost every weekend, my parents would invite children from a nearby girls’ home to stay with us. These girls were treated no differently than if they were my sisters, as my parents warmly welcomed and included them in our everyday lives and activities. Jesus’ statement in Matthew 20 came...

In the entire Bible, the prophet Malachi is mentioned by name only once: in the first line of the slim Old Testament book that bears his name (Malachi 1:1). In spite of this, his words are either quoted directly, or alluded to, at least 15 times in our New Testament. Even Jesus himself quoted Malachi’s prophecy when telling a crowd about the place of John the Baptist in heavenly history (Matthew 11:7-15). So who was this nearly-anonymous prophet? When did he live? And what were his messages? Let’s find out. The Hebrew Meaning of Malachi “The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi …” (Malachi 1:1) So begins the last book of our Old Testament. In that verse we have the only indication of the person who actually wrote this prophetic message to the people of Israel. What’s interes...

Etty Hillesum was a Jewish woman who wrote about peace in one of the least peaceful moments of her own relatively short life. Imprisoned by the Nazis during World War II, she perished at Auschwitz on November 30, 1943. Though she could have gone into hiding, avoiding the fate of millions of Jews, she refused, choosing instead to “share her people’s fate.” A year earlier, in September of 1942, she wrote this diary entry: Let me just note down one more thing for myself: Matthew 6:34: “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.—” We have to fight them daily like fleas, those small worries about the morrow, for they sap our energies. We make mental provisions for the days to come, and everyt...

Here’s a brand-new podcast called Angry Times. Yesterday on Moody Radio Chris Fabry and I talked about how to keep your cool when everyone else is losing theirs. We need this because our witness depends on speaking the truth in love. Click here sign up for the free email sermons.

The child is cheered as he sings, “This my father knows”; and shall we not be comforted as we discern that our dear and tender Friend knows all about us? 1. He is the Physician, and if He knows everything, there is no need for the patient to know. Calm down, you silly, fluttering heart, prying, peeping, and suspecting! What you don’t know now, you will know later; and meanwhile Jesus, the beloved Physician, knows your soul in adversities. Why does the patient need to analyze all the medicine or estimate all the symptoms? This is the Physician’s work, not mine; it is my business to trust, and His to prescribe. If He shall write His prescription in a fashion that I cannot read, I will not be uneasy on that account, but will rely upon His unfailing skill to make e...

TheBible is truer than any other book ever published. The Bible was written by God, who always tells the truth. It is a book of trustworthy truths about eternal realities. Jesus and the apostles viewed the Old Testament Scriptures as not only a revelation from God but also a revelation of God. They accepted the factual statements in the Bible and then saw the spiritual implications of its important truths. In the Bible, you find two kinds of facts: simple truths (easily grasped facts) and complex truths (facts that exceed your grasp). You will never plumb the depths of the Bible’s complex truths because God’s thoughts far exceed the collective brainpower of all humanity (Isaiah 55:8–9). It’s no wonder that God doesn’t pretend to tell you everything (Deuteronomy 29:29). It’s also ludicrous ...

One of the great myths of relational life is that community is something found. In this fairy tale, community is simply out there – somewhere – waiting to be discovered like Prince Charming finding Cinderella. All you have to do is find the right person, join the right group, get the right job, or become involved with the right church. It’s kind of an “Over the Rainbow” thing; it’s not here, so it must be “over” there. This is why so many people go from relationship to relationship, city to city, job to job, church to church, looking for the community that they think is just around the corner if they can only find the right people and the right place. The idea is that real community exists somewhere, and we simply must tap into it. It’s not something you have to work at; in fact, if you ha...

BUT I’M JUST SO ORDINARY One Wednesday night, I asked my congregation some questions: 1. How many of you played Division 1 college athletics?  No hands went up. 2. How many of you were valedictorian of your class?  Four hands went up. (I have a smart church!) 3. How many of you were voted most likely to succeed?  A couple of hands went up. 4. How many were voted most beautiful or most handsome?  No hands went up, except mine.  (I was runner-up most handsome in 9th grade, but I was home schooled.) 5. How many of you were in Who’s Who?  A couple more hands went up. 6. How many of you have not raised your hand yet?  A ton of hands went up. You know what that test proved?  It proved that the vast majority of God’s people are just ordina...

This article is adapted from the eBook, Thinking Biblically about Immigrants and Immigration Reform from the Evangelical Immigration Table. Click here for your free copy. Too often, we’ve not looked to the Scriptures as our primary authority when it comes to forming our views toward immigrants and immigration. A LifeWay Research poll commissioned by the Evangelical Immigration Table in 2015 found that just 12 percent of evangelicals cited the Bible as the primary influencer of their thinking about immigration (LifeWay Research, “Evangelical Views on Immigration,” February 2015). In fact, when it comes to the top factor that informs their views on the topic, more evangelicals cited the media than the Bible, their local church and national Christian leaders combined. Some might pre...

Which Grace Do You Need Most Today? August 12 “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10 The Bible speaks of the “manifold” grace of God. What does that mean? It means we can experience God’s grace in many ways. For instance, there is singing grace. When Paul and Silas were in prison, God gave them grace to sing (see Acts 16:25). There is speaking grace. Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” God will give you the ability to talk about your troubles with His grace. God also gives us strengthening grace. Timothy was often sick with many infirmities. Paul told him to “be strong in the grace that is in Ch...

God visits Death Row on a regular basis. Prisoners who have committed unspeakable crimes turn to Jesus Christ to find forgiveness and new life. Outside the prison walls, people react in wonder, resentment, or disbelief that God delights to save such individuals. The Story of King Manasseh King Manasseh in the Bible knew God’s delight firsthand. From his grimy cell on Babylon’s death row, he looked back on years of unspeakable crimes—worshipping the sun and stars in the Lord’s own Temple, shedding the blood of innocent people, sacrificing his own sons to idols. He realized his high-handed rebellion against God had brought him nothing but pain. Then he looked up to the God of his fathers and cried out for help. Thankfully, the Lord always hears the cries of the humble and delights to answer ...