Remember the basics

I think I first read this account in Jerry Kramer’s football classic, Instant Replay, though it has been retold many times in many contexts (and several times by me as well). At the beginning of training camp for the Green Bay Packers in 1961, coach Vince Lombardi wanted to remind his players of the importance […]

Do you remember?

Recently I heard a song that took me back to my childhood and beyond — the Statler Brother’s, “Do You Remember These?” Maybe you remember the song, or some of the allusions in the song — Saturday morning serials Chapters one through fifteen Fly paper, penny loafers, and lucky strike green Flat tops, sock hops, […]

Remembering Christ

Familiarity may not always breed contempt, but it will likely breed forgetfulness. If you have been around for 20,000 sunrises, it takes an extraordinary sunrise to capture your attention. If you have seven children, the arrival of the last child and his acquisition of language and mobility probably won’t produce wonder in you. After 62 […]

50 years ago today

You are well aware that 50 years ago today, President Kennedy was assassinated and entered eternity. It is fitting to reflect on the life of a President (aside: I highly commend the book Character Above All, edited by Robert Wilson as an examination of the 10 presidents from FDR to George H. W. Bush; it’s […]

What God has done

For the past two days, I have been meditating on the first part of Ps. 40:5 — Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us… The words are penned by David and I have pondered what kinds of things he might have contemplated as he considered […]

Remember Jesus

I am afraid it is true. I have done some time in jail. I was young. Very young. And by the grace of God, the time I did was short. I did five minutes as a six-year-old first-grader. We had gone on a field trip to the county jail, and to give us a sense […]

A full basket of provision

Ministry can be relentlessly busy. There are days when you just want to stop. You don’t want to leave Christ or quit your ministry; you just want a break from the pace. The disciples certainly knew that desire. You can almost read it between the lines of their complaints in Matthew 14. The opposition to […]

Memorial Day

Today is a day to remember. It was a day to remember the cost of freedom. It was a day to remember those who fought and gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today. Fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, cousins, friends and unknown soldiers purchased with their lives our liberty. It’s good to remember. It […]

Building sanctified memories

Memories. The first day of school. The first date with your wife. The night your child was born. The funeral of your best friend. The aching regret of a mistake — a sin — that cannot be undone. Water skiing on the lake with friends. The smell of hot-dogs and popcorn that takes you in […]

Today’s Quote – Sanctified Memory (Lloyd-Jones)

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression: …you and I must never look at our past lives; we must never look at any sin in our past life in any way except that which leads us to praise God and to magnify His grace in Christ Jesus. I challenge you to do that. If you look at your […]

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day. It is a day to appropriately remember those who have given their service and their lives for the sake of the freedom of our country. On this Memorial Day Monday, I cannot help but think back to last Monday when our family viewed a number of memorials on the National Mall […]

Lessons Remembered After a Midnight Phone Call

When the phone rings at midnight, awakening you from a deep and hard sleep, it rarely rings with happy news. “Mr. Enns? This is Pastor ________. Your daughter is ok, but she’s been in an accident at camp and has been hurt…We’re getting ready to take her to the emergency room…” With those words last […]