The gospel is the good news of Christ’s redemptive plan to deliver us out of Satan’s grip in the world around us. It is the good news that Jesus stepped into humanity to become the sacrifice for our sins to rightfully redeem us from this fallen world. Here is what I call the ABC’s of the Gospel because they tell … Continue reading →
When a loved one dies, the love that you’ve had for them or with them does not die. Love and the relationship that you have had does not die with the person. You still carry that love with you and that is the reason you are grieving the loss. With the person no longer available for you to express your … Continue reading →
In the process of grieving, there is no time frame assigned or one-size fits all approach to assure a healthy grieving process. There are elements to healthy grieving that one can be intentionally incorporate into their grieving experience, and that is what I want to share here. I want to share some objectives to aim for as you move forward … Continue reading →
I want to address a topic that I find myself dealing with from time to time as a hospital chaplain and that is notifying children of a family death. It is not uncommon for children to be shielded from the condition of a dying parent or family member in the hospital. An unresponsive patient with breathing tubes and monitor wires … Continue reading →
In her 1969 book, “On Death and Dying,” Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a Swiss American psychiatrist, introduced us to what we now know as five stages of grief. When she originally penned these stages they were called the five stages of death. At the time, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross was working with terminally ill patients and she cited these five emotions as what were … Continue reading →
Previously I shared a post on Styles of Grief but here I want to share a post on Types of Grief. I’m taking my lead from several sources that have referenced multiple types of grief. So I am going to yield to their wisdom, and am going to use the terms used by Liz Kelly, a licensed social worker in … Continue reading →
Sitting with families who are hearing the bad news of a loved-ones death is a near daily occurrence for me, as a hospital chaplain at a trauma center. Since transferring to this trauma hospital and having this regular occurrence of witnessing people’s reaction to a death notification, my curiosity of grief styles has gripped my interest. The way people respond … Continue reading →
It wasn’t long into my hospital chaplaincy career that I figured out that physicians do not like notifying a family that their patient loved-one has died. I’m mainly referring to a patient who has come into the Emergency Department because of a trauma like a motor vehicle crash or a cardiac arrest. Typically the family of these patients are led … Continue reading →
When we open to Revelation 14, we find the three angel’s messages going out to the world in the midst of these end-times and just before the return of Jesus Christ. These angels are symbolic of the church giving these messages to the world. The word “angel” actually means “messenger” and that is what we see here in Revelation 14:6-12. … Continue reading →
I want to speak to pastoral care in the context of ministry within the role of serving as a pastor. So here I wish to bullet a few points to consider. • Too often the image of a pastor is built around a “leader-executive” role, but not that of a shepherd. The pastor is expected to focused on getting butts … Continue reading →
There is one Former Seventh-day Adventist Facebook group that I still follow, probably because it’s not as angry as the majority of these groups are. Although it has recently occurred to me that it too has the one or two critics who have found their fame in their anti-SDA cause. Over the years I have joined about all of these … Continue reading →
We concluded Revelation 20 with the end of the millennium, the judgment of the wicked dead, and their fate in the lake of fire. What follows is the remaking of Eden and earth made new by fire and as we’ll see in chapter 21, Heaven makes it home on the earth made new. It is also worth mentioning that in … Continue reading →
You may not be familiar with the term “spiritual self-care” so I am going to give you some definition. First, “spiritual” means that element that is non-material in the holistic understanding of man as body, mind, and spirit. The spiritual aspect of our being that is most recognized with the religious that reaches beyond ourselves to a higher existence and … Continue reading →
As we pick up with the story-line in Revelation 19 we find Jesus returning to earth to deliver His saints from the troubling world directed by the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet. Revelation 19:11 say that “in righteousness he doth judge and make war” and following that In Revelation 20 we are introduced to a 1000-year period where … Continue reading →
When it came to how we did church, CrossHope Chapel held to the following four church purposes and seven governing values that guide our practices and focuses as a church. Biblical Purposes 1. We seek to be a church where one can safely, without denominational bias, “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 … Continue reading →
For nearly 12-years CrossHope Chapel was an informal, simpler expression of church, where one could encounter the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, engage others in authentic New Testament fellowship, and be encouraged through the verse-by-verse study of the Bible. When you walked through the doors you would immediately notice that we had round tables, no pews or side by … Continue reading →
We are going to tackle a large portion of Revelation from chapter 17 through chapter 19, because it is all focused on God’s specific wrath against the Beast, apostate religion, and their partnership for global power, which we read about in the previous chapters. If you remember, from Revelation 12 to Revelation 14 we have an overview of Satan’s end-time … Continue reading →
Happy Independence Day! I share with you an insightful statement from 1906, found in today’s Maranatha devotional by E.G. White. The statement speaks in support of patriotism and against political deconstruction. Enjoy… “The Lord has done more for the United States than for any other country upon which the sun shines. Here He provided an asylum for His people, where … Continue reading →
The trials we face are different from the trials that another will face. All trials test us in a sense because they can be tools to adjust our faith in God or draw us further in opposition of Him. The trials that we all face come in many forms like disease, poverty, emotional distress, relationship conflict, stress, and may be … Continue reading →
From Revelation 12 to Revelation 14 we have an overview of Satan’s plan to war against Christ through the deception of the Beast and his image using wicked men to persecute the saints. Now as we come to Revelation 15 and Revelation 16 we read of God’s response to the wicked who have made their allegiance to Satan and rejected … Continue reading →
Harmony is a quality that helps maintain spiritual strength. In the workplace, the community, or home, harmonious relationships are less stressful and more productive to whatever the end that partnership should produce. The Apostle Paul advises, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” Romans 12:18 (NIV). When conflict exists in our … Continue reading →
On this day, Mother’s Day, I always think of a verse in the epistle of Paul to Timothy. The chapter includes some instructions to the young pastor about caring for widows and it is in the middle of this that Paul writes in regard to women as “known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children” (1 Timothy 5:10, … Continue reading →
In Revelation 12 we saw that Satan went off to scheme for an end-time war of deception against the people of God “which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17). In Revelation 13 we saw that this end-time scheme is the enforcement of the mark of the beast on a global scale that … Continue reading →
Matthew 12:40 is a reference by Jesus to His forthcoming stay in the tomb and this is what it says, “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Every Easter season this question comes up and based … Continue reading →