The Bronze level reading for today is Colossians 3, and man, is it practical! Here’s what stood out to me as I read:

• The first 3 verses address a very big problem/need for most Christians – the battle is won or lost in our thoughts!
• If we consistently practice verse 5, the Christian life is easy!
• Col. 3:13 takes care of all our relationship problems!
• Verse 15 gives us the overriding principle for making decisions, when the Word is not clear – peace is the umpire!
• The final verses of the chapter address our biggest needs, whether we are a wife (v. 18), a husband (v. 19), a child (v. 20), a parent (v. 21), or an employee (vv. 22-24)

Whew – good stuff!  How ’bout any insights you received from your reading today?  Please share them below to encourage others-

Today’s reading is Philippians 3 – here are a few random thoughts:

• Verse 1 is good advice from someone who should know, considering all that he went through.  I’d say it’s still a ’safeguard’ for our faith today!
• Paul’s ‘pedigree’ in vv. 4-6 is impressive; but more impressive still is his statement in verse 7!
• Verse 9 says it so clearly (again) – it’s not our righteousness that counts, but HIS!
• Love verse 12!
• May we all be so determined as vv. 13-14, not only today, but always!

What insights did you receive from your reading today?  Please share with us below as we ‘work the Word in our lives’-

The Bronze reading on this 31st day of our ’sprint’ through the New Testament is one of the most ‘beautiful’ chapters in Scripture, Ephesians 1.  Here are just a few thoughts to whet your appetite:

• is there a more tender or wonderful passage in the Bible than Eph. 1:4-8?  Go back and read it s-l-o-w-l-y!
• as wonderful as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is, verse 14 reminds us that it’s just the down payment that guarantees the rest of our inheritance!
• love the prayer of verse 18, and as Dr. Hayford reminded us this past Sunday, it’s one thing to see, but another thing to perceive! ‘Lord, enlighten our eyes!’
• Ephesians 1:19-20 gives us the incredible news that the power of the Holy Spirit that works in us is the very same power that brought Jesus out of the grave! Selah.
• If God has put all things under Jesus’ feet, and the Church is His body, doesn’t that mean all things are under us, too? (see Eph. 1:22-23)

What a great chapter!  What insights did you receive as you read today?  Share them below and let’s encourage each other as we ‘work the Word into our lives’-

Our first grandchild finally arrived a little before midnight last night, after about 18 hours of labor for Sol.  He’s definitely a McQuay, as he was already disobedient, since we had given him clear instructions not to come on the Sunday that Jack Hayford was our guest at CLC!

But we’re excited to see him, and Chris & I will make the drive over to South Bend this morning to welcome him to the family.  In the meantime, here’s a few pics of the little guy:

Guess you can now call me ‘Poppy’!

Our Bronze reading for today is Galatians 6.  Here’s my random thoughts:

• verses 1-3 make it plain….and make sense, too!
• Galatians 6:6 comes to my mind each time I receive from someone’s ministry (like Jack Hayford yesterday!) I want to be a blessing by sharing with those who have impacted my life with God’s Word!!!
• Verse 8 is an important reminder:  I have a sinful nature AND a spiritual nature – whichever one prevails depends on which one I feed!
• Verse 9 speaks to the most common discouragements we all face struggle with from time to tome – don’t get too tired!  As the old-timer’s used to say, ‘keep on keeping on”!

How ’bout your devotional reading – anything you’d like to share with us, as we continue working the Word into our lives?

Whew…..I’m falling asleep on the couch trying to type this, so I’ll be brief:

• Suffice it to say that today was a historic day for CLC!  I’m still pinchin’ myself to think that Dr. jack Hayford was our guest!
• All 4 of his messages were outstanding, so you really should order the CD’s or download the podcasts once they’re up (usually by Tuesday, right here)
• Loved his insights in Scripture each service – but I think the 8 a.m. message was my personal favorite!
• Pastor Jack is as real as he is well-known!
• Pastor Dan Johnson reports that our Shorewood service enjoyed great worship and a good response to the message, with 2 salvation decisions, including Pastor Dan’s own neighbor!
• My wife ministered at our Lisle campus today, and both she & Pastor Eric said it was a very good day!
• Pastor Doug Neal reports a good attendance in South Bend (despite some challenges that forced them to evacuate the building at one point, due to a minor gas leak)
• Better yet, our first simultaneous streaming there went off without a hitch (after heroic efforts this week by our Media Director, Eduardo Marroquin) and our South Bend family was able to enjoy Dr. Hayford along with us!
• Tonight’s ordination service was extra-special, with a ‘fresh anointing’ on each of the pastors who were ordained: Jim & Cheri Garrett, Herley & Nelly Montes, and Eric & Kristen Stone)
• Don’t have totals from our Hispanic service OR our online congregation – so if you were part of either of those services, please leave a comment below to let us know how it went!

And we’re still waiting for the arrival of our first grandson, Jaiden Alexander, who should be here before this day comes to a close! Speaking of which, I’m closing mine right now, as I can’t keep my opens open any longer-

Our Bronze level reading for today is 2 Corinthians 8, which is a classic on the subject of generosity. Here are some random thoughts from my reading:

• How does this equation sound: “many troubles” + “very poor” = “abundant joy” + “rich generosity”?  As unlikely as it seems to our mind, that’s what verse 2 declares!
• Verses 3-5 are simply amazing – note the descriptive terms: these believers gave “far more than they could afford”; “of their own free will”; they “begged us for the privilege of sharing”; and they did “even more than we hoped”!!!!! A-maz-ing!
• I love verse 5 – because of its priority: giving ourselves first to the Lord; but also because of another truth: the Macedonian believers gave themselves to Paul, too! (And he asserts that God wanted them to!) Believe me, I know that flies in the face of our post-Watergate world where many of us have an inherent distrust for those in authority.  As a pastor, I’ve wept with those who placed their trust in man, only to be abused and disappointed.  But I still contend that God wants His people to submit to delegated authority, who are also in submission to HIM.
• 2Cor 8:7 makes it clear: there is a ‘grace’ of giving, and God wants us to excel in it, just as we do in other areas of Christian service.  I want to be an excellent GIVER!
• 2 Cor 8:9 – is it possible to say it any more beautifully than this?  Poetic!
• Verses 12-13 don’t get quoted often by televangelists, but it’s true nonetheless!
• 2 Cor. 8:20-21 is SO important – every Church should be so above-board, especially in the area of finances, not only so the Lord is pleased, but so everyone else can also see our integrity in these matters!  One of the things that I love about our guest today (Dr. Jack Hayford) is how carefully he has conducted himself all these years – he is “Mr. Integrity” in my book!

WOW…so much good stuff in one short chapter!  How was your reading today?  Any insights you can share with us, as we continue ‘working the Word into our lives’?

Our reading for today at the Bronze level is 1Corinthians 14, which is invaluable for showing us how the early Church handled the issue of spiritual gifts and their use in public settings.  Here are my ‘fresh’ thoughts as I read today:

• love how verse 1 encourages/challenges us to “desire the special abilities the Spirit gives” - other translations make it even stronger, “earnestly desire”. Do we?  Do you?  When was the last time we prayed that God would use us through spiritual gifts?
• 1Cor. 14:2-5 is such a sensible & logical appeal for the good of the entire church but in NO way does it diminish or minimize the value/benefit of us having a ‘prayer language’ (“tongues”) that we use devotionally for our own spiritual benefit (which is clearly seen in vv. 4, 14, 15, 17, 18)! I pray that you don’t miss the point – throughout this chapter Paul is addressing the concept of the greater good for the benefit of the entire assembly, but he clearly believed in and practiced the private devotional use of tongues for himself, ,and valued it greatly! (v. 18)
• Verses 32-33 also are quite clear, and when practiced, will eliminate virtually all of the ‘nonsense’ that sometimes goes on in Pentecostal/charismatic churches.  God is a God of order!
• I may as well address 1Cor. 14:34-35 (since someone is likely to ask about it if I don’t). Let me say that I’m not totally sure what it means, with the most logical explanation being that men & women were separated in public assemblies in that time, sitting on opposite sides of the room.  Since women in that era were usually not given the privilege of an education, some have speculated that the women often interrupted the meetings to ask their husband what the minister meant, and that Paul was trying to eliminate that confusion and bring order by suggesting that they ask those questions in private, at home.  What I do know is that if we take the whole of Scripture instead of this one passage, is that men and women are equal in God’s sight (Galatians 3:28) and that, without question, women have a role in the ministry of the Church today!
• Verses 39-40 give us a great summary of the whole chapter-

How was your reading today?  Any insights you’d care to share with us below?

A dear friend & missions leader, P.G. Vargis, just sent this report to me today from a friend of his – to encourage all of us who have prayed for the nation of Haiti since the devastating earthquake there over a month ago..  Here’s the report:

Today was the one month anniversary of the great Haitian earthquake. About 3 days ago the Haitian President announced that there would be 3 days of holiday from work for the purpose of fasting and prayer. This is absolutely historic. If you have ever been in Haiti as a visitor or missionary, could you ever have imagined such a pronouncement? Could you image such an announcement from the U.S. President? This morning I saw a young Haitian-American woman, the leader of a work team, crying because the Americans could not understand the incredible importance of this day and wanted to go about business as usual. Remember, it was only about 6 years ago that a former Haitian president called the
nation to come together to rededicate the nation to Satan.

This was not “a minute of silence for the deceased” or something as equally insignificant. Whatever the President might have originally intended, this became a real commitment for the Haitian people. As I sit here this evening, I can hear the preaching coming from a nearby church. Services have been going on all day…Let me tell you what I saw and felt today.

Peniel and I had planned an inspection trip up to the Artibonite Valley today. Right or wrong, I don’t really know, but since it was the only opportunity, we went ahead with the trip. As we left the guest house about 7:30 am, we were met by throngs of well dressed people headed to various churches. The sounds of Christian music and worship filled the air everywhere. The next observation was that there was NO traffic. Port-au-Prince streets are always clogged and overflowing with bumper to bumper traffic. This morning there were only a few vehicles on the roads, a few small buses (tap taps), some UN and military vehicles, and a few private cars. We had clear sailing through town. The same was true of foot traffic. Usually the streets are clogged also with people walking. Today there were only a few and many of them dressed for church. The only place that there were traffic blocks was in front of several churches where the congregations had overflowed the buildings and the yards and had moved out into the streets as well.

The next observation was that EVERYTHING was closed! We could not find even one business or gas station open. There were no intercity buses running. Whereas the sidewalks are usually overflowing with millions of street venders, we only saw a few here and there. The huge outdoor market near the wharf where thousands work each day and is spread out to cover most of the street, was EMPTY. Where were all the people? They were in churches and makeshift meeting sites. Every church (except a JW church) had services going on, almost always overflowing into the streets. Beside broken down churches, services were taking place outside. In homeless camps, there were services. Everywhere the nation was gathered to worship and pray. No, I did not see any voodoo, Islamic, or Buddhist services. This scene was repeated in every town and hamlet that we passed during the day.

Tonight, Pastor Ignace, who is sharing the room with me, asked this question: “Can people still say that Haiti is a voodoo country?” What has been happening and is continuing to happen in Haiti did not happen because of the earthquake. It has been happening because the Haitian people know how to pray. This is a tremendous outpouring of God’s power as the result of prayer. Twenty years ago I started praying for the Gospel to change the Haitian culture. I think that I am seeing God do that work.

The only sadness that I feel today is for our nation. While a nation that has long been under Satan’s domination is turning to God with total commitment, our nation, founded on Godly values has rejected God and is rapidly trying to forget that his name even exists. Let us pray for revival.

I’m not sure I would have believed the report had I not seen it with my own eyes – it’s only about 3 minutes long, so click here and enjoy!

Ahhhhh, today’s Bronze reading is a favorite of so many: the “love chapter”, 1Corinthians 13.  Here are my random thoughts:

• You already know how strongly I feel about the gifts & manifestations of the Holy Spirit and their role in the church today – but the first 2 verses make it very clear: love is more important than tongues, miracles, faith, or any other supernatural manifestation of the Spirit! In fact, verse 3 adds that love even excels over sacrifice or even martyrdom!
• 1 Cor. 13:4-7 is a great ‘reality check’ for marriage or any relationship – how does your love measure up?
• Verses 8-10 have sometimes been misinterpreted or even misapplied to teach that we no longer need the gifts of the Spirit since we have the full Bible (unlike the early Church who had only the Old Testament) – but verse 12 wipes out that argument completely – since having a Bible doesn’t mean that we have complete knowledge yet!  The gifts of the Spirit remain useful and fully operative until we are in heaven, where we won’t need tongues or prophecy, since we’ll have Jesus Himself!
• Verse 13 is a great summary of the whole chapter-

How about your reading today?  Please share your insights to encourage all of us as we try to ‘work the Word into our lives’-