Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself."  (1 Sam 18:1 NASB)

Aristotle defined friendship as one soul in two bodies.  You would think that he was describing Jonathan and David.  The Bible teaches that, although each soul is distinct and precious, it is possible to have our souls knit together in the loving bonds of friendship.

Leading not only involves LOVING and EXAMPLING. Leading involves ASKING. Ask others to join the journey, to take the next step, to stretch their stride, to raise the bar, take the next hurdle, take the next hill, and realize the next goal. Do not be afraid to ask people to help you solve a problem. We need to ask others to consider new possibilities and dream great dreams. Leaders help others realize their goals. Leaders develop teams and promote teamwork. Jesus invited others to join Him- "Co ...

It has been said that ours is a generation of managers. What we need today is leaders. Managers manage things. Leaders lead people. Managers coordinate projects, priorities, schedules, plans and budgets. Leaders motivate people to take purposeful action. They inspire people to journey together towards a worthy goal.

What can we do to effectively lead people? Let me furnish a list in the form of an acrostic: L-E-A-D.

Leading begins by LOVING. Jesus demonstrate ...

To ensure that we are personally optimized for making the most important and foundational connection of our lives, 'THE Connection of All Connections', we must start with a basic diagnostic question: "What must you DO to put yourself in a right relationship with God?"

The answer: "It's too late." It's already been DONE. What is needed to be put into a right relationship with God has already been done for us. The connection is available to us as a free gift. T ...

"As unreliable as a faulty (deceitful) bow." (Psalm 78:57 NIV). "They turn, but not upward, They are like a deceitful bow." (Hosea 7:16 NASB).

A deceitful bow is one whose arrows cannot keep a straight trajectory. To the dismay of the archer, the bow sends the arrow towards a destination other than the one targeted. Although the arrow is properly aimed, it goes astray when launched because the firing instrument malfunctio ...

Reflections on the Millennial Turn-Over

"'I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty." (Haggai 2:7 NIV).

It is ironic that the One whose prophetic title is "the desired of all nations", is currently treated by t ...

Somehow the dedicated 'self-life' is convinced that it can play the part of the Christian, despite all evidence to the contrary. It continually auditions for the role, insisting that it is capable of virtue, self-sacrifice and 'ever so humble' heroics. The official notification fails to register that the part has already been duly cast to Christ Himself. He is the only One fit for fulfilling its demands. The role of the Christian requires a divine performance in the spirit of the believer. The Chri ...

A gift has added significance when there is a story behind it. I received such a gift this Christmas. It was actually created in my presence during the previous months without me realizing it. On Christmas Eve the gift was personally delivered in a box that was wrapped in such a way that when you took the cover off, the handsome gift paper stayed intact. Ingenious! You could easily restore the gift to the original wrapped box so that it looked as if it had never been opened. If you so desired, you ...

The person of Jesus Christ is indispensable to Christianity. Christianity is Christ. While others have given the world philosophies and religion, Jesus came to give the world Himself. Other teachers have taught their developed philosophies and disciplines. Jesus gave us a life-system that only works with Himself as the central governing force of it.

The person of Jesus Christ is indispensable to our own lives. The core of Christ's teaching has to do with the fact that He has com ...

There are some who would say that Christianity is based upon a 'mythological' Christ. Yet the written accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John regarding the person and works of Jesus of Nazareth bear no resemblance to legend or myth. Instead they have the distinctive attributes one would expect of 'realistic history'.

1. The gospels bear no resemblance to legends in literary style. C.S. Lewis, Oxford Professor and literary historian writes, "As a literary h ...

As popular news magazines give their polite nod to Christianity’s entrance into its third millennium and chronicles its spread throughout the world at the end of its twentieth century, (an ironic phenomena, considering the bold predictions of its demise by such writers as Voltaire, H.G.Wells, and Frederich Nietzsche) it is remarkable how reporters fail to recognize the driving force that causes it to flourish. What propels Christianity is something more than the moral example and teaching of its fo ...

"I saw three ships come sailing in," are the opening words of a traditional English Christmas Carol. A later verse discloses the writer's ignorance of Mid-Eastern geography when the holy family is pictured sailing into Bethlehem as if it were a seaport, "on Christmas Day in the morning." Perhaps the carol was authored by a maritimer wanting as significant a tie-in to the sacred story as the local shepherd!

I would like to take the liberty to use the image of ...

"In your anger do not sin : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." (Ephesians 4:26-27 NIV).

To feel anger is no more a sin than it is to feel pain. Anger is merely an emotional response to a perceived injustice. Anger is also disguised as feeling hurt, cheated or frustrated. The danger with anger, however, is that it more often leads to des ...

A missionary couple had been working in the Middle East when they noticed that a dove had settled under the eaves of their simple home. Because the dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit in Scripture, they were pleased to have the gentle bird dwelling among them.

When Jesus was baptized by John at the river Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in a bodily shape like a dove. A voice came from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" ...

One evening during a particularly demanding season in my life, I stood on the church steps feeling fully expended. As I contemplated the immediate future I was overwhelmed with a sense of my own insufficiency. I did not see how I could go on doing what I was doing. "The grace has left me." I confessed.

I got in the car and drove home. Later that night I went outdoors for a prayer-walk and continued to pour my complaint out before the Lord. I had the immediate awareness ...

The phrase 'falling in love' can be misleading, as if the experience of love were merely accidental. Somehow you tripped, stumbled and were overcome by an abstract force. Real love involves a conscious choice. Often 'falling in love' is a trick that our hormones and imaginations play on us. People fall in love not with another person but with their 'idea' of who that other person is and what their relationship will be like in the future. There is an element of reality distortion as they imagine rid ...

Think of relationships that have worked in your life. Think of those that haven't. What have you learned from these experiences?

There is an enduring quality to what we call 'covenant relationships'; relationships where there is a mutual understanding and commitment to making God's love credible to another, be it a spouse, a friend, family member, colleague or stranger.

Marriage is the binding together of two lives with the understanding that each is committe ...

Jesus Christ, was to some, a difficult person. A perfect person, but difficult nonetheless. When the wedding celebration Jesus attended at Cana was in danger of becoming a social disaster, His mother gave him a nudge: "They have no wine" . (The male interpretation of this statement from the ancient 'Womanese' language means: "Do something about it.") Jesus responded: "Woman, what do I have to do with you?" ( "What hav ...

"Early in the morning, as he (Jesus) was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, 'May you never bear fruit again!' Immediately the tree withered." (Matthew 21:19).

The fig tree was originally created, like all things, for God's glory. It was designed to provide the blessing of food an ...

This morning I write from Israel after a time of meditation in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The thick gnarled trunks of this ancient grove of olive trees resemble rugged hands firmly clasped together with finger-like branches curving loosely upwards as if to mirror those of supplicants throughout the centuries who have postured themselves in prayer beneath their welcoming shade.

It is not difficult to imagine why this garden spot was a customary place of prayer ...

When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. (Acts 18:5 NIV).

Effective team work allows each team player to utilize their strengths towards the achievement of the common objective.

The Apostle Paul had an influence that went further than he could have ever imagined. His encounter with the resurrected Christ and his dramatic turn from being the feared persecutor of ...

"..Justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter." These words describe the perils of a society that leaves its moral moorings, denies the existence of Truth as an absolute, and sets sail only to drown in the sea of relativism (Isaiah 59:14).

Truth has stumbled in the streets. It did not fall on its own accord. Truth only stumbles when thos ...

There are 366 admonitions to "fear not" in the Bible. You might say there is one for every day of the year, with an extra one thrown in for leap year.

The admonition to "Be not afraid" would not be so prevalent if fear were not so common. Many pretend they are not afraid yet have adopted behaviors that are controlled by fears. They fear failure, fear poverty, fear the disapproval or rejection of others. We fear unpleasant circumstances. Some fear intimacy. Ot ...

A life without conflict would be a life where there is little growth. A life without struggle would lead to a life of mediocrity. Life without challenges in our personal relationships would be a life without the development of the important aspects of love known as the fruit of the Spirit. These qualities of character are not developed in isolation. They are perfected in the rough and tumble of our ongoing struggles in human relationships. It is here that we grow in humility, forbearance, patience, ...

An article appearing in the August 17th 1999 edition of The New York Times featured the results of a study from Duke University indicating that active involvement in a community of faith may be as big a factor in increasing longevity as refraining from smoking cigarettes. Dr. Harold Koenig reports that "Persons attending religious services once a week or more were physically and mentally healthier, had larger support networks and more confidants, and lived healthier lifestyles."

It has been said that motivation is what gets you started and habit is what keeps you going. Habitual actions, or customary practices, can either promote or undermine our progress towards reaching our lifetime goals.

The life of Jesus of Nazareth puts our thoughts about human life in proper perspective. Jesus stands as the paragon of what is best about humanity. His example and influence are without equal. His life and teaching revealed the truth about both humanity and deity. J ...

In this issue:

• An Update on "T.G.I.M."
• The Walden Woods Ministry Center Project
& ...

The largest timber framed building in the USA is a 31,000 square foot church in Powell Ohio. It was constructed under the supervision of the Amish master barn-builder Josie Miller and was the 500th barn-like structure built by Josie and his crew. The joints of each beam were cut by hand.

As Josie and his sons looked over the designs for the new building and explained the construction process to the workers they would refer to the beams as 'fellows' and 'guys'. They'd say things ...

I've been told that there was a problem with the early designs of ejection seats for military aircraft. When pilots needed to ditch their crippled planes in mid-air, they would eject from the cockpit while still remaining comfortably strapped in their seats. Many rode their falling armchairs to their peril, never breaking away to pull the ripcord and activate their parachute. Pilots preferred the comfort of riding the chair to their deaths than taking the necessary risk to break away into a freefal ...

"Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." (Acts 10:15 NIV).

Our standards of whether or not something is pure and acceptable are not always the same as God's.

It is a subtle temptation to measure a person's spirituality by their outward conformity to a certain code of behavior. For example, the Apostle Peter took pride in the fact that he had never eaten anyth ...

Not long after his conversion, Augustine was walking down the streets of Milan when a prostitute with whom he once had intimate acquaintance beckoned him: "Augustine! It is I!" He slowed down and with the newfound assurance of Christ's Spirit living in his heart, turned to her and replied: "Yes, but it is no longer I!"

The Apostle Paul put it this way: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I li ...

If you look up 'caterpillar' in an encyclopedia or dictionary, you will find it defined in terms of its future as a butterfly: "A caterpillar is the wormlike, often brightly colored, hairy or spiny larva of a butterfly or moth."

Prior to its metamorphosis into a butterfly, the caterpillar's visual perception may be so limited that it is unlikely that it can recognize the existence of the colorful winged butterfly in flight, much less make the connection with that it ha ...

When it comes to speaking about our final departure we are often lost for words. We are heavily influenced by our culture which either denies or fears the reality of the 'D' word.

Woody Allen says, "I'm not afraid of death. I just don't want to be there when it happens."

Men who delighted in their earthly riches, such as Louis XIV or William Randolph Hearst, forbade the mention of the word 'death' in their presence.

The young do ...

Why is it that happiness eludes some people? It very well could be that they are clueless as to what it means to be 'blessed'.

The Book of Psalms gives us seven specific ways to be blessed. The word 'blessed' ('esher' in the Hebrew) is derived from a word meaning 'to be level, right, happy and make progress'. 'To be blessed' is to be spiritually prosperous and happy as a result of a right relationship with God and others. A relationship flourishes when you are in loving 'on the ...

The voice of Darrell Scott, the father of two victims of the tragic Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, rises above the cacophony of commentary about the increase of violence in our nation. He courageously directs us to the spiritual nature of a problem that calls for a spiritual solution.

TESTIMONY OF DARRELL SCOTT FATHER OF TWO VICTIMS OF THE COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTINGS LITTLETON, COLORADO BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIME HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE UNITE ...

A recent study published in a popular business magazine revealed that the three qualities that distinguished 'champion' Chief Executive Officers from the many who fumble in leadership were: Integrity, maturity and energy. (Fortune Magazine, June 21 Issue, 1999)

What comes to your mind when you hear these words? Integrity. Maturity. Energy.

'Integrity' comes from the word 'integer' which means 'complete', or 'sound'; It is the state of being 'a whole', in cont ...

"For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance (a place of rich fulfillment)." (Psalms 66:10-12).

God wants us to be prosperous in the truest sense (See Jeremiah 29:11). But the way to prosperity is often fraught with dif ...

How would you like to be known as a "Dispeller of Shame"? There is one character in the Bible who bore the name, "Dispeller of Shame". His personal story gives us insight as to how shame, the emotional consequence of one's true guilt and one's fall from a good standing, can be forever dispelled.

Jonathan, the son of King Saul, had a son who was lame in both feet. His name was Mephibosheth (literally 'Dispeller of shame'). According to the Bible, Mephibosheth ...

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9 NIV).

In Jay Tolson's thought-provoking article* of May 10, 1999 published in US News and World Report, he observes that our nation's vast 'explanation' industry is failing to come to grips with incidents of horrific violence, such as the recent Littleton shootings, because it has lost a vocabulary ...

"Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations." (Proverbs 27:23-24 NIV).

In his book, "Leadership is an Art", Max Depree confesses that one of the most challenging jobs of a leader is "the interception of entropy". Things that have worked well in the past, ...

The masked gunman confronted the Christian teenager in the high school library where he found her studying her Bible. He raised his gun to her head and asked, "Do you believe in God?" The shy seventeen year old took a breath that she knew might be her last and then spoke up in a voice loud enough to be heard by her classmates who were taking cover under nearby desks and tables, "Yes, I believe in God."

"Why?" the gunman responded mockingly. Before C ...

Winds of spiritual deception can quickly blow us off course. When we least suspect it we can find ourselves down dead-end tributaries, in perilous waters or marooned on some island of isolation. As John Bunyan reminds us in his "Pilgrim's Progress" it is easy to turn off the correct path to the Celestial City because we are tempted by a promised shortcut through an attractive "Bypass Meadow".

Not all visions are created equal. If our personally 'envisioned fu ...

It was meant to be a criticism. The apostle Paul said "Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual...Are you not acting like mere men?" (1Corinthians 3:1,3).

The humanist celebrates the virtues, values and capacities of the human being as if they were 'the ultimate'. Paul argues that such vision is short-sighted. Left to itself the human race is bound to a course of self-destruction. Envying, strife and divisions sabotage its progress on every fro ...

In Lewis Carroll's childhood classic "Alice in Wonderland", when Alice comes to a crossroads and does not know which road to take, she turns to the Cheshire cat for advice.  The cat asks, "Where are you going?" Alice replies, "I don't know." The cat responds, "Well if you don't know where you are going, any road will do very nicely."

How is your sense of direction in life? Do you know where you are going? Or will 'any road' suffic ...

The front page article in the Easter Sunday edition of The Boston Globe began with a compelling lead: "The resurrection is not for sissies. It is either an unproveable murder mystery story or the most profound miracle of the Christian faith." ¹

Most legal and historical experts would dispute the claim that the case surrounding the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is anything similar to an 'unproveable' murder mystery. There is an overwhelming am ...

Columbia University's Melvin Mencher, author of the classic journalism textbook, "News Reporting and Writing", 'news' as reports containing:

1. Information about an important interruption or change in the usual or expected unfolding of events and
2. Information people need to make intelligent decisions about their lives.

He also cites 7 other factors to determine 'newsworthiness':

I thought I could avoid it. The hoopla and hosannas. I'm talking about the Academy Award Celebration in Hollywood. I could just as well be talking about the college basketball championships. America's religious involvement with sport and entertainment is near its zenith. In fact, this year the Hollywood ritual of bequeathing the golden statuette, the Oscar, moved to what most seem to believe is its proper place - the Sabbath.

I was especially hopeful that I might miss the ubiqui ...

"I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." (Ephesians 4:1 NIV).

In his book titled "The Odyssey", John Sculley tells how Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer, challenged him when he was then the 38 year old president of Pepsi-Cola: "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?"

The twentieth century was supposed to be the 'humanitarian' century where respect and compassion would be shown towards all human life. Instead it has been a century of 'human genocide'. Over 100 million innocent people have been exterminated through systematic policies of mass murder in this century. Millions of Armenians, Jews, Chinese, Russians, Cambodians, Sudanese, the peoples of Rwanda, Croatia and elsewhere, not to mention the unborn children of the womb, were victims of the murderous polici ...

In the book titled "Working", author Studs Terkel interviewed ordinary people, asking them how they felt about their jobs.

A 28 year old woman writing health care literature responded, "Jobs are not big enough for people. It's not just the assembly line worker whose job is too small for his spirit, you know. A job like mine, if you really put your spirit into it, you would sabotage immediately. You don't dare. So you absent your spirit from it. My mind has been so ...

One of the things that distinguishes the Christian in the workplace is the redefinition of what is the 'bottom line'. The bottom line is not merely the line on a financial report showing the net income or loss. The most important issue for the believer is not just the maintenance of a profit margin, increase in sales, or customer satisfaction. It is more than the pursuit of excellence or realizing a productivity goal. The bottom line is ultimately to please God. Jesus said "Make the k ...

How can we make good decisions?

We are where we are today to a great extent because of the decisions that we have made in the past. Where we will be in the future will largely be the result of the decisions that we make today.

If the outcome of our lives is based upon our ability to make good decisions, it is of primary importance that we have wisdom.

Solomon asked for wisdom, above wealth, r ...

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalms 90:12 NIV).

A fable is told of a man who was walking home along a river's shore in the dark. He stumbled upon a bag of stones which he picked up. As a pastime he threw the stones one by one into the river, enjoying the 'ker-plunk' of each stone breaking the water's surface. When he arrived home he had only two st ...

On the second day of our vacation trip to California, my wife and I had just entered the hotel room when we noticed the flashing red light on the telephone indicating that an incoming voicemail message was waiting for us. When we entered the code numbers required for its retrieval, we heard a recording of our oldest son, Jonathan, more than three thousand miles away on the east coast, asking us to call home as soon as possible. He calmly said it was important and he wanted to speak with us personal ...

Over three years ago I launched a Monday morning meditation to remind 'on-the-job agents' of the Kingdom that they can actually ENJOY and MAXIMIZE their strategic assignments in the workplace. Last Monday was the first in three years that I missed writing a T.G.I.M. meditation. I must admit that I was happily away from any laptop or modem, skiing the snowy slopes of New England, enjoying an extended weekend skiing with my son and good friends from our faith community.

Whereas th ...