Today, my wife reported to me that she had seen on the news a house which had been totally destroyed by the recent tornados with two exceptions – the grandmother and the three grandchildren were protected. Also, their Christmas tree and all of the presents under it had been disturbed although the rest of the house was gone. Clearly a miracle!

Have you been through a time when you feel like God is not speaking to you? No Bible verses are impacting you; no messages from the pulpit are impacting your heart; no worship song is getting through the fears and the darkness in your soul – it is a hard place. How tormenting that is - the quietness of God.

We are finalizing our first Season (55 episodes) of our Conversations with Christians Engaged podcast this week and I have been reflecting on some of my favorite interviews since we started this fun adventure in June 2020. Will you join me on a journey of remembrance over my personal top 10 podcasts?

Death is the great equalizer. Death comes to every person whether we are prepared for it or not. We will all die – rich or poor. At that moment our lives will not be defined by how much we have accumulated - our houses or our lands, but our eternal destinies.

Psalm 49 reads more like a proverb than a Psalm as it lays out its deep and resounding wisdom for every living person – we cannot carry anything into the grave but our relationship with Christ.

Increasingly, Christianity is being oppressed by government entities at all levels. The Church in Magdeburg faced tyranny and persecution and their application of Biblical truth to their situation is instructive for the believer in the United States in the 21st century. It offers both a theological and a practical approach to civil and political engagement in the face of persecution.

This is a special edition of our President’s Letter by Bunni Pounds for Giving Tuesday 2021. Read our report on our first 2 years and hear what we have planned for 2022 and beyond.

A perfect example of God’s faithfulness and ultimate victory in the end is Jerusalem. As Psalm 48 says – this city will become “the joy of the whole earth”.

In Psalm 48 we see the ultimate heavenly city and the warfare surrounding it, but also the physical city of Jerusalem and the warfare of destruction that has always been around it and continues to this day. Ultimately these two realities and two stories will converge into a beautiful tapestry of God’s faithfulness and presence seen on earth.

That was it. No wallowing in self-pity, no sadness; no defiance, complaints or recriminations; no regrets.

Just gratitude. Thanksgiving for the blessings God had given him. Thanks for the people who meant so much to him - and to whom he had meant so much.

What a proclamation of praise and exuberance seen in Psalm 47 as the King of the whole earth is exalted and lifted up as the supreme ruler.

The command of the New Testament is to incorporate patience into our hearts as we wait for the Lord to return. This Psalm gives another picture to set in our minds as we wait patiently for everything to be made right and Jesus to give us our full inheritance as the Bride of Christ.

There is always a way into peace and joy even in the middle of tribulation. The nations can be raging, the kingdoms of power can be moving, but God will utter His voice, and everything will melt and stop.

It seems that the United States of America is getting a bad rap. Americans are frequently criticized for being selfish, materialistic, and self-absorbed – “greedy capitalists”. But is this true? The U.S. actual giving has increased from $54 billion to $390 billion between 1954 and 2016.

This bride is one that is completely desired by the King. That kind of intense love and affection is what causes worship to spring up in the heart of the bride. It is a response to His great love.

The worship that comes out of her is pure and not afraid of rejection. It is this abandoned worship that makes the bride even more beautiful and more desirable to the King as she comes bringing gifts. He draws her close, entreating her to leave behind all worldly relationships and cleave only unto Him, her bridegroom to whom she is now betrothed.

We’re accustomed to politicians who see all sides, talk all sides, take all sides.

Personal ambition too often rises above principle. Fear weakens conviction. Indecision clouds courage. Apathy steals confidence. Deception covers surrender and confusion prevents judgment.

If we’re not careful, this can happen - to you and me.

Persecution is real.

Not only in ancient Israel did the children of Israel go through intense times of suffering but throughout Christianity especially in the dark ages – this Psalm has been used to bring comfort in the middle of Christian persecution.

Have you ever considered what it would be like to know you are going to be burned at the stake? 

Ben didn’t want to think the worst when the money came up missing. It had to be an honest mistake - not embezzlement. It wasn’t a big company - about 80 employees on average. There was a logical explanation, a bookkeeping error, an innocent oversight.

Trying to convince himself, Ben wrestled deep inside. This had never happened before. Ever.

Sometimes it feels like the world is against us. Many times – we feel the oppression and the pressure of a national crisis beating down on our hearts and minds. The Psalmist in Psalm 43 felt that too – so these five small verses were his way of dealing with the pressure.

Hunger for God – it sounds so deep and theological, but it can manifest in an ache, a longing, and a feeling of exhaustion without Him.

I can just imagine the deer without water for hours upon a time and panting at the edge of the brook for a drink. Finally, the deer has arrived after miles of travel to the source of life. It leans over and fully drinks. How refreshing it is!

If we insist on viewing history through an inverted ideological periscope, our vision of the future will be irretrievably blurred. Without the guidance and wisdom of the past, we will drift off course, and our Ship of State will lie at anchor.

It is right to be aware and concerned. For the follower of Jesus Christ who loves and cares about people, ignorance can never be bliss. The eagle, not the ostrich, is our example. Neither must the state of our times rob us of our Christian joy and hope.

If you are reading this blog, it is because at some level you care deeply about our country and your community and you are concerned about the trajectory of both.