Notes from the Narrow Road: Observations from a pilgrim traveling along The Way

Simon Peter writes to us in 1 Peter 5:8-9, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings." As a pastor, I am sensitive to the trials and sufferings of those in our church. As of late I have been troubled by the sharp rise of hardships among our people. As a church, and in the lives of many individual members as well, we have chosen to go down a path we believe will allow us to continue to be shaped by the love of Christ and then be the servants Christ created us to be as we lead all people to be shaped by the love of Christ. There is a renewed interest in worship, engagement with the body of Christ, Bible study and discipleship, serving, missions, and evangelism. In response to all this I believe the enemy has been actively at work in the lives of many. The resul...

I'm beginning to feel more like myself again after battling swine flu for two weeks. Apparently I had a nondescript infection in my intestinal tract that would have gone unnoticed had my body not been worn out by fighting the flu. I won't bore you with the details of my illness and how it progressed, but I narrowly avoided hospitalization because Kim helped me to stay hydrated. The two issues combined have really done a number on me, but I am now six days with no fever and no other serious symptoms. I am slowly getting an appetite back, but it is taking a long time to get my strength back. It has been very nice to be back around my family again instead of quarantined in the bedroom, and I will preach both services today and probably work a half day on Monday and try to slowly re-enter life without overdoing it and having a relapse. I want to thank everyone for the phone calls, cards, emails, and prayers. My family is truly blessed to have so many people who love and care ...