The Daily Memo

Listen “What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could ‘be like gods’ - could set up on their own as if they had created themselves - be their own masters - invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history - money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution. classes, empires, slavery - the long terrible story of man trying…

Listen The Poor in Spirit…. Mourn…. Meek…. Hunger and Thirst.... Merciful…. Pure in Heart…. Peacemakers…. Persecuted – which is pretty much all of us at some point in our lives. When Matthew records one of Jesus' most quoted and talked about sermons, he reminds us all how fortunate we are to have a Savior that understands us and blesses us in our most difficult moments. My mother passed away in 2021 at the ripe young age…

Listen Church is not a building. Church is not an event that takes place on Sundays. I know, it's how we think of it. "I go to First Baptist." "We are members of St. Luke's." "Is it time to go to church?" Much to our surprise, that is not how the Bible uses the term. Not at all. When the Scripture talks about church, it means community. The little fellowships of the heart that are outposts of the kingdom. A shared life. They worship,…

Listen I saw a photo recently where a banana was standing in front of a mirror. From the cameras perspective the real banana was beautifully ripe and perfectly yellow, just the way you want it to look before peeling. The banana reflected in the mirror was brown, bruised and battered. The image reflected back to my banana friend looked a whole lot different than the reality of what this inanimate object looked like from mine or anyone else’s perspective. In the…

Listen The future is an untraveled trail with complex twists and turns. Appealing activities can be detours that lead away from the Lord, and engaging philosophies are paths that often end in a mire of muddled thinking. Even the best route isn’t all sun-dappled meadows and quiet riverside lanes. At times we’ll journey over rugged terrain or through dark valleys. The only way to be sure we’re walking on the right path is to follow one who knows the way. God…

Listen The kingdom of God will not advance as it needs to advance without girls rising up and playing their role. Guys will not become the men they are meant to be without godly women and girls pouring into their lives. The transformation and healing of a guy requires the presence, strength, and mercy of women and girls. Girls will not become who they are meant to be without the strength, encouragement, and wisdom of other women and girls nurturing their lives. Yes, it will…

Listen We’re living in a post-truth era. It’s unsettling. When it comes to news, I’m skeptical. Social media, which is anything but media, is the largest culprit of spreading untruth. Perhaps social opinions would be a better way of describing it. But…. If it’s on the internet, it must be true. Unfortunately, when human beings get involved in anything, the truth gets skewed. Certainly, we all remember “whisper down the lane”. Line…

One young woman asked me the following questions: ‘What will it be like in heaven? What will our heavenly bodies look like? Will we be able to fly? Will we be sexless? Will we be able to see the Garden of Eden? Will we recognize family and friends? What sort of friendships will we have? What will we do? Will there be Bible studies and Alpha? Who is the congregation?’ The Bible does not give the answers to all our questions. I have a book on my bookshelf,…

Listen Stuff that used to define us no longer has mastery over us. When you’ve relived those memories in episodic moments of healing through Jesus, it just doesn’t hold the same power over you. You don’t forget but you re-interpret. The healing journey is a series of discoveries. Discoveries of the lies that we believed about ourselves AND God. They make their way into our psyche through very traumatic moments. Research has shown that traumatic events,…