Evangelical The Nudge of the Holy Spirit Have you ever felt that Spirit-led nudge that pulls you to talk or pray with a stranger or friend about their spiritual life? This kind of nudge is more than an intuition. This is the voice of God inviting you to join Him in His redemptive work. This nudge is God speaking to you through […] Written by EvangelismCoach January 3, 2021January 3, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Evangelical Man’s Chief Care, Highest Virtue, and Only Happiness Man need only look back to the origin of existence and he will acknowledge that he owes everything to God. Man’s chief care, his highest virtue, and his only happiness, now and through all eternity, is to present himself as an empty vessel in which God can dwell and manifest His power and goodness. The […] Written by Paul Tautges January 2, 2021January 2, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Evangelical Favorite Quotes from My All-Time Favorite Book about Humility The copy of Andrew Murray’s classic book, Humility, which sits on my desk as I type this blog post, was purchased and read in 1985, when I was only one-year old in Christ. Immediately its impact was felt. Since that time, I can’t recall how many times I’ve picked it up to reread or to […] Written by Paul Tautges December 30, 2020December 30, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Evangelical What Is God Doing through the Death of My Spouse? “I can’t claim to be inside God’s head, to know His reasons for everything that goes on. Yes, Scripture says I’m to have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). But that doesn’t mean He answers all my questions.” So writes Sue Nicewander Delaney in her new mini-book. Even the big ones. When my husband Jim […] Written by Paul Tautges December 29, 2020December 29, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Evangelical Death Is Not My Friend, But Jesus Is Coronavirus has brought us back to the basics in shocking ways as we, our loved ones, and the world face the reality of our mortality. In the wake of this pandemic, our merciful God has recently healed several of my personal friends and family of serious medical problems. While I’ve been truly grateful for that, […] Written by Paul Tautges December 28, 2020December 28, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Evangelical What Child Is This? One of my favorite Christmas carols is What Child Is This? Written around 1865 by the Englishman William Chatterton Dix (1837-1898), this carol says so much about our wonderful Savior. What child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping? Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherd’s watch are keeping? This, […] Written by Paul Tautges December 24, 2020December 24, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Evangelical NUGGETS When Christmas Isn’t Merry and Bright – Christmas is not joyous for everyone. For some, the Christmas season brings grief or stress or numbness, which no amount of eggnog or carol singing can overcome. Family tensions, tragic memories, personal sin or even the shortening of daylight hours can make Christmas one of the most difficult […] Written by Paul Tautges December 24, 2020December 24, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Evangelical Come, Desire of Nations: Christian Nationalism Between the Two Advents Brad Littlejohn offers the following rejoinder to Thomas Kidd’s post here at the Evangelical History blog, “Christian Nationalism vs. Patriotism.” One of the oldest and greatest of Advent hymns concludes with the haunting lines, Come desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of all mankind Bid thou our sad divisions cease And be thyself […] Written by Evangelical History December 22, 2020December 22, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Evangelical A Groundbreaking Resource: The Family Disability Toolkit It’s been more than three years in the making and, therefore, I am thrilled to introduce to you a brand new resource. Nothing like it has ever been published before! It’s the Family Disability Toolkit from Shepherd Press and Joni & Friends International Disability Ministry. In December 2017, about sixty biblical counseling leaders met in […] Written by Paul Tautges December 17, 2020December 17, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Evangelical Old and New Testament Foundations for Coping with Criticism Last month, one of the books I read is Pastors and Their Critics: A Guide to Coping with Criticism in Ministry by Joel Beeke and Nick Thompson. This book ministered to me personally, encouraging me to remember the biblical pattern of criticism, reminding me of times when I responded properly, and convicted me about times […] Written by Paul Tautges December 15, 2020December 15, 2020 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Diving into Jonah—Overcoming Reluctant Ears, Hearts & Eyes Reluctant. That’s how I see the prophet Jonah in his eponymous book. God calls him, and he just doesn’t want the ministry he’s called to. I get that reluctance. I wonder if that’s why I resonate with Jonah. What comes to mind for you when you think about reluctance? A Reluctant Prophet Jonah had an […] Written by intervarsity January 21, 2021January 21, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Three Reasons God Commands Us to Pray for Government Leaders It’s Inauguration Day in the United States, so I thought I’d remind us all of the biblical duty we have to always be in prayer for government leaders. Let us remember that our sovereign God raises and lowers kings (Dan. 2:21). He alone is worthy of our worship, full allegiance, and trust. When we as […] Written by Paul Tautges January 20, 2021January 20, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Diving into Jonah—Overcoming Reluctant Ears, Hearts & Eyes Reluctant. That’s how I see the prophet Jonah in his eponymous book. God calls him, and he just doesn’t want the ministry he’s called to. I get that reluctance. I wonder if that’s why I resonate with Jonah. What comes to mind for you when you think about reluctance? A Reluctant Prophet Jonah had an […] Written by intervarsity January 21, 2021January 21, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Three Reasons God Commands Us to Pray for Government Leaders It’s Inauguration Day in the United States, so I thought I’d remind us all of the biblical duty we have to always be in prayer for government leaders. Let us remember that our sovereign God raises and lowers kings (Dan. 2:21). He alone is worthy of our worship, full allegiance, and trust. When we as […] Written by Paul Tautges January 20, 2021January 20, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Where Do We Go from Here? “Where do we go from here, chaos or community?” Rev. Dr. MLK Jr. asked this in his last book before he was killed for his work to end segregation and call for peace during the Vietnam war. The breach of the US Capitol and attempt to overturn our election requires us to ask the same […] Written by Red Letter Christians January 18, 2021January 18, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
RESOURCES: Parenting Prodigal Children BOOKS/MINI-BOOKS Come Back, Barbara: A Father’s Pursuit of a Prodigal Daughter (John Miller, Barbara Juliani) From Heartbroken to Hopeful: Gospel Hope for Parents with Prodigals (Shirley Elliot) Letting Go: Rugged Love for Wayward Souls (Dave Harvey, Paul Gilbert) Prodigal Children: Hope and Help for Parents (Robert Jones) The Painful Path of the Prodigal (Craig Svensson) […] Written by Paul Tautges January 23, 2021January 23, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
You are Not Less Worthy Luke 4:14-30 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 1/17/21 Which part of the body are you? Are you the eyes, seeing everything that goes on, observing, and through that seeing, helping us to be guided forward as a church, as a people, into the future? Are you the ears, hearing the concerns and hearing […] Written by Barbara Barkley January 22, 2021January 22, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
A watery way to release accumulated tension Creek Study, a watercolor by Will Noble Tension, especially tension that has built up over a long time, doesn’t necessarily disappear when the external cause of the fear that tightened us up is removed. It can become habitual. So this week in class my guided meditation was focused on releasing the accumulated and recently exacerbated […] Written by Stephanie Noble January 22, 2021January 22, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Meditating with pets I have a daily Zoom meditation group as part of Wildmind’s Meditation Initiative, and there are often a few pets in evidence. In fact one day someone commented that it must be “Take Your Dog to Meditation Day.” In some ways pets are natural meditators. I’ve had a few cats in my life, and currently […] Written by Bodhipaksa January 21, 2021January 21, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
