All Posts (Page 19)

All Posts (Page 19)

An Asbury Revival Report

My brother Bill has been in Asbury during the current unusual visitation from God. His analysis is right on and one of the most clarifying I’ve read. I had hoped to fly with a friend to be there myself today, but my pilot friend and his wife have gotten the flu, so it could not happen as planned. I wanted to observe firsthand the work of God. We do not know what these things will mean, but amid all the…

On Getting Older: A Letter From Jim

We have the privilege of keeping Pam’s mother in our home. She is 95 years old and adds a new and sometimes spirited difference behind our walls.  Doris Knight has always been a bright person, especially when it comes to numbers. As an illustration, many of her last years she has worked a difficult Sudoku puzzle every day. I have yet to do one!  Doris went to Ouachita Baptist College (now University) in Arkansas when she was just 16. She…

Quarreling

I find this guest article from Bill Elliff convicting and compelling. Read to apply. QUARRELING Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, but any fool will quarrel. (Proverbs 20:3) We do it all the time. It is rare in a marriage or a family for there to be an absence of quarreling. No one likes it. It is not productive. Good, respectful conversations can be helpful, but the heat of a quarrel always leads to anger, disrespect,…

Breathing the Air Above: Your Letter from Jim

I don’t watch television often, so for diversion I have become accustomed to reading classical literature. I’m enchanted again with a second read-through of David Copperfield by Dickens, a master at crafting personality types that we in some way identify with. Here, David is with his aged friend who likes to be called “Mr. Dick” instead of Richard. He is something of a project for David’s aunt who has become his rescuer . . . and David’s. Mr. Dick is…

Seven Ways to Get Smart About Kids’ Toys This Christmas

If you have plastic up to your gills, or if you want to be more frugal about gifts, or even if you enjoy using what God has given you in a redeeming way, you may appreciate these ideas this Christmas: Gather up as many bags of used toys as possible to put into circulation. Relatives or a church friend might need some of your toys for their younger children. Local organizations like foster care associations, rescue missions, or pregnancy resource…

Seven Principles of Finance for the Believer

One of the most recognizable differences in the believer and the world he lives in is his unusual relationship to money and possessions. However, even serious believers sometimes balk at the seeming extremities in the teaching and lifestyle of Christ and the leaders of the New Testament church. Can we duplicate this New Testament lifestyle in our day? This outline provides the diligent believer with some key principles preparing him/her for radical, other-worldly financial behavior. Alone, or if married, with…

Discouraged Pastors

There are plenty of pastors with generous smiles on their faces each Sunday who, deep down, are very disheartened. Pastoring a church is hard work. For one thing, it is usually thankless. I know there are some churches that seem to remember their pastors with such fanfare, but most do not ever esteem them. They don’t work for just the members ultimately, so they can get over it, but never hearing those words, “Thanks for what you do, pastor,” is…

Deacons in the New Testament: Questions and Answers

Written by the elders of Christ Fellowship of Kansas City, Missouri (christfellowshipkc.org) ________ The office of deacon has been subject to a wide variety of practices and interpretations, even among biblically minded Christians. Much of this variance stems from the fact that few New Testament passages mention the office, let alone explain its function. Yet the biblical information we do have indicates that deacons are a vital aspect of “how one ought to behave in the household of God, which…

As Forgiven As You Can Be

If you believe in Christ, you are as forgiven as you can possibly be. There is no other sacrifice for sins other than what Christ has provided through his death on the cross. Below are select Bible passages to help you remember and appreciate the pardon believers have in him. Meditate on them and rejoice. Train your mind and emotions with this unfailing truth.____________________________ Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten…

The Integrity of the Local Church

The following is a portion of a conference message presented to the Midwest Southern Baptist Founders Conference, St. Louis, Missouri, March 14, 2001 [revised 2022]. I have chosen chapter 5 of 1 Corinthians to help us consider the integrity of the New Testament Church. This is a short chapter with only 13 verses out of which I wish to uncover five observations. Before I read this passage let me tell you a story that took place in 1837. A protracted…

An Intimate Hour with God

The Lord invites us to know Him better. What a privilege! If the joy of heaven is in knowing the Lord’s presence without any sin to hinder us, surely seeking His presence now must be the greatest possible pursuit. Do you feel your need to pray? A person who has no need to pray cannot be living by faith. Prayerless-ness says, “I am sufficient in myself for everything required of me.” But is that so? And do you not grieve…

Missionary or Missionary Worker?

Missionaries must have other workers, long and short term, to assist. Many of these will naturally come from among those who show promise as converts through the missionary’s efforts. Paul, though perhaps exceptional in his management skills, had 38 whose names appear as likely assistants at various times. He was always traveling and laboring with a coterie of faithful helpers. There could have been even more! Some of Paul’s workers were women (18%, according to Schnabel, p. 251), although no…

Profitable Questions to Ask Missionaries and Their Helpers

We were very excited! All those we had developed and sent out for missions (plus one family about to leave) were going to be home at the same time. We knew it might never happen again. One family was back from Peru. Another young lady was just in from the Middle East. And one family, having served previously in South Africa, was headed there soon under our care. We just knew that we needed to get them (the adults) in…

The Cause Is Still As Dear

There are a some followers of Christ who laid it all down in the battlefield. Most of them are unknown. Not all had the same opportunities. But God knows who they are. Among them was my indefatigable grandfather, A. P. Elliff, who was still teaching the Bible until he died at 93. I want to be like him. Here is a short poem to call us to that kind of life. The Cause Is Still As DearJim Elliff The body…

The “Word of the Lord” Appearance to Jeremiah

Pay close attention to the phrase “the word of the Lord” in this encounter with Jeremiah: Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 6 Then I said, “Alas, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, Because I am a youth.” 7 But the LORD said to…