“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1, ESV) Right now, you may wonder where you stand. None of us exhibits continual self-sacrificial love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. All of us have moments when we mistreat the brethren by our actions – neglecting them in time of need, lashing out at...

“My father needs a heart transplant,” the text reply said. After several major heart attacks in quick succession, the need for a transplant became painfully clear. I responded with a commitment to be in prayer for the dad and the family. Organ donation is a multi-faceted process. It’s a sad experience because the donor must perish to make the organ available. It’s a happy experience because the recipient benefits from receiving the donated...

“He was totally out of bounds,” Roger commented. Lynne and I were visiting my twin brother Roger and his wife Shirley in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and we had stopped at a pizza place for dinner. The game on the screen was between the Tennessee “Vols” and the Georgia Bulldog (October 3, 2016). Since none of us were followers of either team, we just enjoyed the back and forth of the last couple of minutes. The last two minutes of that game were the...