The Caffeinated Christian

There's a Ben Rector song that celebrates the blessing of having old friends. He says, "You can grow up, make new ones, but truth is, there's nothing like old friends." A few months ago, I got a call from an old friend. We worked together on staff at Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL. He was traveling through our area and wanted to meet up. What was supposed to be a one hour lunch turned into an all-afternoon conversation. It was good to catch up and to reflect on some of the experiences we had together.  I left our conversation encouraged. We can't return to the past, but old friends help us to remember. Those reminders are important to our present and can influence our future. The Last Apostle John was the last living apostle. The rest had been martyred for their faith.  When Jesus was with the apostles, John was the youngest of the twelve. He was one of the three that made up Jesus' inner circle. At the last supper, it was John who leaned on Jes

I believe it is the responsibility of every American citizen to vote. I hope that you voted in our most recent elections. But the truth is that while your vote may have made a difference in the last election, it won't make a difference in the end. Allow me to explain. Revelation 8 opens with an ominous 30 minutes of silence. God is about to tear apart the world that He created. Seven angels appear before the throne of God. To each, God gives a trumpet. These angels play a role in the judgment about to unfold, but the Bible calls our attention to an eight angel. God doesn't give angel 8 a trumpet. Unlike the others, this angel doesn't come empty-handed. He holds a censer, an ash pot used for burning incense. This scene is reminiscent of the Old Testament tabernacle as the priests would use a censer to transfer burning coals from the altar of sacrifice to an altar of prayer that stood before God. And now we watch something that once took place at the tabernacle now transpire