• On February 23, 2009 by

    Recover All

    This is an excerpt from chapter eight of my new book, What To Do on the Worst Day of Your Life. And yes, it is a new book. If you’ve read the self published paperback from twelve years ago, that really isn’t the same book as the one just published. And why is this new one so differrent? Well, I’m not the same person I was twelve years ago. It’s good to grow, don’t you think? The book should be available in stores by March 3 and is available now at Amazon.com.

    At its heart the story of David at Ziklag is a story of restoration, and at its heart, the story of the gospel is a story of restoration. Have you ever asked yourself, “What is salvation for?” Not what is salvation, but what is salvation for? Salvation is for the restoration of all things to God’s original goodness. Salvation is the story of how God recovers from His loss.

    God created a good world, but this good world was lost to sin, Satan, corruption, and death. The story the Bible tells is how God is in the process of recovering all that has been lost in the catastrophe of sin. This is the big picture of the Bible’s story. God Himself knows what it is to suffer loss, and God also knows how to recover all.

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  • On February 16, 2009 by

    Father Zakaria

    What happens when an elderly Coptic priest takes to the airwaves and the internet to confront Islam? Death threats, conversions, and a global following. Meet Zakaria Botros, WORLD Magazine’s 2008 Daniel of the Year, at Word of Life Church, Sunday night, February 22 at 7:00 pm.

    I had been assured that millions of people in the Arab world know of Father Zakaria. So while in Israel and the West Bank last month I decided to find out. As it turned out, every single Palestinian I questioned knew of Father Zakaria and his television program. His ministry is a genuine phenomenon in the Arab world and a wonderful demonstration of God’s grace.

    So how was I able to convince Father Zakaria to come to St. Joseph, Missouri? It was only through my friendship with our mutual friend Taysir abu Saada that I was able to pull it off (Thank you, Tass!).

    I hope you won’t miss this rare opportunity to hear in person a man who is being used by God in such a remarkable way to bring Muslims to faith in Jesus Christ.

    Here’s some of Father Zakaria’s amazing story…
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  • On February 2, 2009 by

    Reading The Bible Right

    Reading The Bible Right
    by Brian Zahnd

    It’s a STORY
    We’re telling news here
    Keeping alive an ancient epic
    The grand narrative of paradise lost and paradise regained
    The greatest “Once upon a time” tale every told
    The beautiful story which moves relentlessly toward—
    “They lived happily ever after”
    Never, never, NEVER forget that before its anything else it’s a story Read more

  • On January 22, 2009 by

    The Absurd Victory of the Cross

    The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction. But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. It is foolish to the Jews who seek for signs. And it is foolish to the Greeks who seek for wisdom. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

    He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in the cross.

    -The Apostle Paul
    1 Corinthians & Colossians

    Who is the greatest conqueror in history?
    Alexander the Great?
    Julius Caesar?
    Genghis Khan?
    Robert E. Lee?
    George Patton?
    Hannibal?
    Rommel?
    Napoleon?
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  • On January 21, 2009 by

    Jesus and the Victory of God


    We flew back from Israel today. During the long journey home I was reading Jesus and the Victory of God by N.T. Wright. I can’t tell you how deeply this book has thrilled my soul. It’s like a diamond mine. Every page is a gem. I am now left with no doubt that Tom Wright is the most important Christian writer and theologian of our generation. And it’s quite possible that Jesus and the Victory of God is the most important book I’ve read. It will influence me significantly.
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  • On January 17, 2009 by

    The Crosses of Jerusalem

    Peri and I are in Jerusalem. Today as we walked about the Old City crosses caught my eye. The cross is forever linked with Jerusalem. Allow me to share a few pictures of the crosses of Jerusalem.

    Shalom.
    BZ


    Three Crosses on the Via Dolorosa
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  • On January 10, 2009 by

    Saint Francis of Assisi


    Peri and I are on our way to Israel. Since Tuesday we’ve been in Rome. Yesterday we took a train to Assisi to explore the world of an Italian prophet from the 13th century. Over the past year or so I’ve become fascinated by Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226). I’ve read five biographies and listened to one lecture series on Francis. His conversion, his life, his impact upon society are profoundly inspirational. So we went to Assisi.
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  • On December 29, 2008 by

    An Aesthetic Gospel


    A re-run, drug up from the achieves because I was using it for something else today and discovered I still like it.

    aesthetic: adjective 1 : of, relating to, or dealing with the beautiful

    God is the creator of beauty and a connoisseur of all that is truly beautiful. God is an artist and His canvass is creation. Beauty is an attribute of the divine like wisdom or holiness. Beauty has intrinsic value and needs no other justification than it is beautiful. In an age given over to the cult of pragmatism this may seem an extravagant claim, but it is true: Art needs no other justification other than it is beautiful. Does a flower have to justify its existence by being practical? Here’s what Ralph Waldo Emerson says about that in his poem The Rhodora.
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  • On December 22, 2008 by

    The Tears of God

    Who has believed our report?
    To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
    He grew up before him like a tender young plant
    Like a root out of dry ground
    He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him
    Nothing in his appearance made us desire him
    He is despised and rejected
    A man of sorrows
    Acquainted with grief
    Like one from whom men hide their faces
    He was despised
    And we esteemed him not
    Surely he has borne our griefs
    And carried our sorrows
    Yet we considered him stricken
    Smitten by God and afflicted
    But he was wounded for our transgressions
    He was bruised for our iniquities
    The chastisement for our peace was upon him
    And by his stripes we are healed
    Isaiah 53

    It was four below zero this morning. A perfect day for a roaring fire in the stove. I was stacking wood and listening to Christmas music when I heard Away In a Manger. One of the verses goes like this:
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