PTL Wednesdays

He tried to muster a confident smile but his halfhearted attempt fooled no one. “Relax. I’m sure you’ll do fine,” the receptionist said as she tried to reassure him. It felt like hours but only a few minutes had passed since he last glanced at his watch. To pass the time away he began to go over potential questions they might ask, but her voice broke his concentration, “Sir, sir, they’re ready for you now.” The answer to so many of his prayers was on the other side of that door but is he ready? It’s a question we all should be asking ourselves. We pray and pray for God to change our lives and you better believe he will. Our Lord is in the blessings business: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (‭‭Matt ‭7‬:‭7‬-‭8‬). God can bless you so abundantly that it can be overwhelming and if you’re not ready, you’ll stumble. You don...

The young man nervously glanced at the crowd of people that filled the pews. He knew in his heart he was making the right decision but the significance of the moment began to weigh on him. The reassuring smile of the elder steadied him as he began to wade into the water. “Do you believe Jesus is the son of God?” The elder asked. “I do,” The young man confidently replied. “I now baptized you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” the elder proclaimed as he submerged the young man into the baptismal pool. Rising out of the water he could hear the applause from his new Christian family. The angels were also rejoicing for the newest member of the chosen, of those separated by God to be a royal priesthood.   Yes priesthood? I know it’s a lot but Christian are called to be God’s representative to the world. It’s a big challenge to go from being worldly to preaching to it. Let’s be honest, we don’t just stop doing many of the things we did before we were saved. If we we...

Today marks the official end of slavery in the U.S. and millions will gather all around the nation. Some will pay tribute to those who struggled to break the chains of bondage while others will lament how much the nation has changed in the slow but steady march towards freedom. There’s nothing more consequential to the core of our being than freedom. So as we mark this momentous occasion I want you to stop and ask yourself why are you still a slave? Don’t get me wrong. You’re far removed from the days when a master controlled a slave’s every move. I’m quite sure you do exactly what you please and that’s the problem. We’ve perverted the freedom Jesus purchased with his life by the pursuit our worldly desires. Paul warned  “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh…” (‭‭Gal 5‬:‭13‬).    There are so many of us who claim to be Christians but we live and look just like the world.  That’s why I’m imploring, I’m ...

You’re a reasonable person– right? If someone presented you with strong evidence about something, you’re open minded enough to consider it– right? Surely, you’re not like those people who still think the earth is flat. You know, the die-hard skeptics you can show videos of satellites orbiting the globe or pictures of the earth from space and they’ll say it’s fake. Even a trip to outer space wouldn’t convince them the world is shaped like a volley ball. It’s quite shocking to watch them flat out (pun intended) ignore all of the scientific evidence. Ironically, they remind me of the people who seem reasonable enough but they reject all of the evidence of Jesus being our savior.   It’s shouldn’t be surprising given the fact people actually saw Jesus raise someone from the dead– from the dead! And they still didn’t believe Jesus was the messiah. The Sadducee’s were so hyper skeptical that after Jesus brought Lazarus back to life they plotted to kill both him and Jesus. Their pride and ...

And on that day many will say “Lord, did we not make inspirational posts on social media? Did we not play gospel music and get dressed up for church on Sundays? Did we not donate to Good Will and say ‘God bless’ as we gave a dollar to the guy at the intersection wearing dirty clothes with no shoes?” And Jesus will respond, “Get away from me. I never knew you.”  I put a spin on Matthew 7:22-23 because I wanted to make it a little more relatable to help us see that talking and acting like a Christian doesn’t make you a Christian. No more so than standing in your garage makes you a car.  Christians are followers of Christ. It’s straight forward enough but we need to understand what it means to follow. You see, following someone inherently means you’re not first. You don’t decide; you’re not the guide. Our inability to follow is why many of us fail. “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,” (John‬ ‭10‬:‭14‬). In this verse Jesus plainly tells us who he knows (his...

Don’t you just love graduation season? For me it’s one of the best times of year. It warms my heart seeing all of the Facebook posts filled with smiling faces as everyone stands around the graduate. It’s a culmination of years of hard work for the student and a lifetime of support from the parents. The coolest part about graduating is that it represents the closing of one chapter of life and the beginning of another. It’s quite similar to how baptism marks the ending of your old self and the beginning of the new you ‭‭(2 Cor ‭5‬:‭17‬). So in the spirit of graduation season I’ve put together a short quiz to see how much you’ve matured since you graduated from the world and became a Christian.   1. I help people even when I don’t feel like it.  Hardly ever                       1 point Sometimes                       2 points More often than not       ...

What do your friends say to you when you let them know about a problem you’re facing? They probably offer some advice which is usually followed by something like “don’t worry, it’ll be ok” or “it’ll work out.” They may even break out a Bible verse or two but more often than not you still worry. Don’t get me wrong, it’s comforting to hear those words but most of the time we go right back to worrying. We can’t help but worry because it’s our problem. We’re the one who has to deal with the consequences. Besides, everyone worries about stuff; it’s part of being human. But– you knew a retort was coming– but did you know that all of the stressing shows a lack of faith in God? I’m not trying to be hyperbolic…when you can’t stop worrying you’re telling God you don’t believe He’s there for you. We can profess to trust God all we want but as the old saying goes “actions speak louder than words.” Like a good friend, I have some advice to solve our worrying problem and just like any good Christian...