Category Archives: What’s Hot

In honor of moms everywhere, here are ten things I learned from my sweet mother (who now lives in heaven).

1. To love Jesus
2. To pray before meals and before I go to bed at night
3. To treat a girl like she’s a lady
4. To always use ma’am and sir
5. To always say please and thank you
6. To NEVER, EVER, UNDER ANY CONDITIONS leave the toilet seat up
7. To put my napkin in my lap
8. To wash my hands before meals
9. To treat people less fortunate like they are royalty
10. To always be gracious, even when suffering terribly

Honorable mentions:

1. You just don’t go the hospital in cotton pajamas
2. It’s ok to make the firemen take off their boots and jackets before they come in your house, even if it is on fire
3. Being in hospice doesn’t necessarily mean it’s time to die

Happy Mothers Day!

Washington, D.C.
March 30, 1863

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation.

And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty seventh.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward, Secretary of State.

Comedienne Sarah Silverman made headlines recently when she tweeted “before and after” photos of herself boasting that she “Got a quickie aborsh in case R v W gets overturned,” referencing Roe v. Wade. She actually didn’t get an abortion but simply showed photos of her bloated stomach after eating a burrito.

The flippancy Silverman showed toward the abortion topic is stunning, very alarming and probably reveals a serious disconnect with Silverman and the realities that women who have had abortions have to deal with. I don’t know Ms. Silverman and have never seen or heard her act. In fact, I hadn’t even heard of her until I read about her unfortunate tweet. But I am afraid that she represents a growing sentiment in our country that sexual indiscretion and the life-ending steps we often take to deal with it are no big deal.

In over 30 years of ministry I’ve never met a women who had an abortion who would address it so flippantly. It’s a devastating decision that many women suffer from for decades afterward. There’s nothing simple, casual or flippant about it.

Christians need to respond to our culture’s ever-increasing callousness in at least three ways.

First, we need to offer compassion to women with unwanted pregnancies, regardless of how they got pregnant. We need to become their advocates and not their enemies. We must offer our extra bedrooms to them (if needed) and our homes to the babies they bear.

Second, we must advocate for the rights of the unborn. The misnomer in the pro-choice crowd is in the mantra that a woman should be able to do with her body whatever she pleases. That’s a fallacy–the moment a woman get’s pregnant it ceases to be just her body. It’s THEIR body–her’s and her child’s. We can’t overlook the needs of the voiceless and defenseless in this debate; in fact, we must defer to them.

Third, we must continue to pray for those who have had abortions and who still suffer because of it. There’s a reason Hallmark recently created and entire line of sympathy cards for women who had abortions. A world of pain comes with an abortion, and believers must be first in line to offer comfort and care.

Finally, pray for Sarah Silverman. Pray that she will never have to make the terrible decision to end a pregnancy. It’s not as funny as she thinks.

Bobby Petrino, the three-year football coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, has been relieved of his duties. The dismissal followed a series of events in which Petrino wrecked his motorcycle and failed to tell the university that he had a 25-year-old female rider at the time of the accident. The former UA athlete was recently hired by Petrino and he has since admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with her. The university announced its decision yesterday.

The situation is tragic on multiple levels.

First, the Petrino family must deal with the fallout of a public scandal and subsequent firing, not to mention the damage Petrino has done to his marriage.

Second, Petrino must face the issues within himself that would lead him, a 51-year-old, very well-known figure, to engage in such irresponsible behavior.

Third, the 25-year-old woman must deal with the reputation of being the “other woman.”

Fourth, the student athletes at UA have lost their leader and must now deal with the duplicity of their former coach, friend and role model.

Each of these situations is quite tragic and deserves our prayers. But there’s one more that, at least in my mind, defies understanding. It’s the pressure placed on the university leaders to not fire Petrino. The reason? He won games. He made Arkansas a contender in the SEC, the toughest football conference in America. He brought pride to the program. Ticket sales were up, recruiting was up, and early odds-makers have Arkansas making a run at the national championship in 2013.

And to many, you just can’t fire a guy like that, no matter what his indiscretions may be. Too much is at stake.

That’s the saddest part for me in this whole story: that serious discussions went on between UA officials and big-time donors, boosters and alumni because so many were lobbying to keep the man, even though his reputation is shot.

Football is just a game. Or at least it used to be.

Friends, integrity is everything. No matter how successful you are–in business, sports, the entertainment industry–if you lose the value of your name, if you lose your family, if you don’t take care of what God has given you to manage, then you really don’t have anything.

The UA officials made the right call, and the school will benefit from it.

A bill in the Oklahoma Legislature would grant full rights and protection to human embryos:

“If an embryo has full legal rights, abortion would represent murder. While the bill does not expressly prohibit abortion, abortion-rights advocates say there’s nothing to stop hospital administrators or local law enforcement agencies from restricting or criminalizing abortions under the law. The bill does not carve out exceptions for rape or incest. Missouri is the only state so far with such a “personhood” law on its books establishing legal rights for embryos, though similar initiatives have been proposed in a handful of states.” Read the full article here.

Choice advocates will argue that such legislation is only a veiled effort to limit a woman’s control over her own body. Pro-lifers will argue back that the embryo, if left to itself in a healthy environment, will become a fully viable human. Thus, it already has rights.

I’d like you to weigh in on this, but first I’ll show my own hand.

I find it more than curious that heavy fines and prison terms exist for those who threaten or harm certain unborn animals, including eagles. Furthermore, there have and will be again movements to extend certain constitutional protections to animals. Shouldn’t unborn yet soon-to-be humans be offered the same protections, if not more?

But from the biblical standpoint, we have no wiggle room. Not only does the Bible teach that God is at work in the womb at the moment of conception, but it also repeatedly commands us to be the defenders and advocates of those who have no voice or protections in society. And if there is ever an at-risk, exposed group that needs our protections, it’s the unborn.

Christ-followers need to continue to love and serve those with unwanted pregnancies and help them see the miraculous nature of what is in their womb, regardless of the circumstances under which it was conceived. We also must be the first to offer our homes, not just to the mothers who carry unwanted or unplanned children, but also offer our homes to the babies they will give birth to. Anything less is mere lip service.

OK–there’s my two cents. What do you say?

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:15

It’s Good Friday, and today we celebrate and remember the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross.

Because of that day:

• God became accessible
• Salvation became possible
• The curse of Adam was reversed
• History was redirected
• People like you and me became God’s Temple
• The Holy Spirit lives within us
• Hope became tangible
• Heaven became our destination
• Hell lost its power
• Death lost its sting
• Demons lost their swagger
• Satan was emasculated

And Jesus’ name was exalted above all names.

What a difference a day makes! Praise the Lamb!

It’s happened again. As many as a dozen tornadoes swept through North Texas yesterday, damaging over 650 homes and causing at least 1500 people to spend the night in shelters. You and I could have just as easily been one of those 1500.

So when storms hit–and they will again–how should we respond? It’s easy to get motivated when the crisis is in your town, when you know the names and faces of those who have suffered loss. But when crisis hits another city, state, or somewhere else in the world, it’s hard to be motivated to do anything.

I mean seriously, am I supposed to respond to every disaster that I read or hear about?

Beyond that, many of us couldn’t respond even if we wanted to. We have no margin. We have very little savings or discretionary income and we really don’t have the time to take a weekend, drive to Dallas or Joplin or wherever and help with the clean up.

Isn’t that why we have agencies? Shouldn’t non-profits or churches or the government take care of these things?

That’s why I’m on a personal crusade these days to encourage folks to live on less. Not only are our consumption and spending habits in this country unsustainable, they leave us with no ability to come to the aid of our brothers, sisters and neighbors when they really need it. I hold the strong conviction that God does not give us more than we need so we can spend it on things we want, live more comfortably and take longer and nicer vacations.

God gives us more than we need so we can help those who have less than they need.

And today, we have another great opportunity to do just that.

So here are two things you can do:

1. Send a check to the American Red Cross for the Dallas Tornado Victims. Or contact Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas to see how you can help. They have a world class disaster relief organization that will know what support, supplies and monies are needed.

2. Rethink why you have more than you need. Most of you reading this today have the ability to live on less. You could scale back and reserve both your God-given time and money for those who need it.

People are suffering. Opportunities abound. And yes, you really are supposed to be part of the solution.

Two headlines stood out to me in my news feeds yesterday. One was about the “Reason Rally”–a first-of-its-kind event for atheists and religious skeptics that drew over 20,000 people in a persistent rain on Saturday in the National Mall. The other headline was about the Hubble Telescope’s recent photo capture of Messier 9, a globular star cluster located near the center of our galaxy. The cluster is some 25,000 light years away (a light year is the distance light travels in a year at 186,000 miles per second–you can do the math) and is too faint to be seen with the naked eye, but Hubble has captured more than 250,000 individual stars there. The stars that make up Messier 9 are calculated to be around twice as old as our sun. Wow.

Messier 9, as seen from the Hubble telescope

I found the juxtaposition of the two stories to be ironic. Atheists love to play the “Reason” card. It’s not reasonable to believe in God, especially the God of the Bible. They want us to reject such fanciful notions of a deity and embrace reason, think for ourselves and let science tell us about what’s really going on around us. These same atheists think it reasonable to conclude that the magnificence of Messier 9 captured by Hubble is random and has no overt, intelligent, creative source. They believe that the something that is our universe obviously came from nothing, and that by accident. That’s reasonable?

Atheists will counter that it is unreasonable to make “God did it” the answer to every question about life and the universe that we don’t have an answer to. They’ll argue that just because we have a gap in our knowledge, it’s unreasonable to stick God in the gap. My friend Dale Dudley shared that line of thinking with me last week on his radio show. The problem  with such thinking is at least two-fold: 1. The concept of a creating God isn’t unreasonable. Ripples in a pond usually indicate that something caused them, and our universe is full of ripples, literally. 2. They don’t have a better answer. They don’t want God in the gap but don’t have anything compelling to offer in his place.

What really gets me is that no one would think it reasonable to assert that the amazing Hubble telescope just happened. The technology that designed, built, launched and operates Hubble so that we get such breathtaking shots of our universe is well-documented and obvious. Such sophistication and precise mechanics never just happen. And yet, we’re supposed to believe that the universe Hubble is built to gaze into–a universe we have yet to be able to fully measure and that we learn new things about every day, a universe whose size, sophistication, fine-tuning and mechanics is beyond scope of our understanding–we’re supposed to believe that such magnificence and sophistication is random and has no source. Give me a break.

Welcome to the new definition of “reason.”

I spent the week with about 250 University of Texas students who are also leaders in Young Life. It was an amazing week. I’m encouraged for our nation’s future. These are bright, talented kids who are sold our for Jesus. Below is a brief video of Spring Break worship, Young Life style. Below that is a photo of a beach baptism.