Faithbridge Ministries

Faithbridge Ministries Faithbridge Ministries is a faith-based outreach to the pastors and their families in Poland and Central Europe.

02/04/2026

AFTER THOUGHTS - Excuse Me!

“Excuse me!” That’s a statement we hear all too often these days.

Jesus talked about excuses in a parable found in Luke 14. He told how “a certain man prepared a great banquet and invited many guests. At the scheduled time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’” Their response? “But they all alike began to make excuses.”

Those invitees in Jesus’ parable remind me of the story I heard once about a pastor who moved down south to pastor a congregation of southerners. He had been born, raised, and trained for the ministry in the hustle of the northern states. Now he is down south and soon discovers that southern folks are very different from the folks he served up north.

One very obvious difference between his northern neighbors and the people down south was the friendliness of southern people. Everybody was so nice and accommodating. He decided that outreach and evangelism should be easy and effective so he started knocking on doors and inviting everyone to his church for worship. Almost everyone he invited said they would attend.

That Saturday he prepared his best sermon for the Sunday service. He was convinced he would have the largest congregation of worshippers ever. Imagine his disappointment when none of those who promised to come showed up. He didn’t understand and he asked some of his members why those who told him they would be in church that Sunday didn’t bother to come. One of his long-time members explained the difference between his former neighbors up north and people in the south.

“You may ask a northerner to church and he will rudely tell you he is not going to attend. Southerners are not that way,” he explained. “They will not be rude, so they tell you they are coming and then they do not come! And, when you confront them for not keeping their promise, they will give you an excuse because they are too nice to refuse.” Maybe the folks in Jesus’ parable thought they were being nice by offering excuses.

How does God look at excuses? The answer is found in Romans 1:20 which declares that God and all His attributes “are clearly seen” and therefore mankind is “without excuse.” “Excuse me” may be an acceptable lubricant in human relationships, but it will not be effective before the Lord on judgement day. After all, God’s callings and invitations “are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29) That means excuses are unacceptable.

02/01/2026

AFTER THOUGHTS - The Way Fathers Are

Years ago I was sitting in a Burger King in a train station in Munich, Germany. I had been backpacking across Europe, and now I was sitting, drinking a cola, and unwinding after a couple days of rail travel. At the table next to me were some American teenagers and one of the girls struck up a conversation with me. She was wearing grubby jeans, a sweat shirt, and well-worn sneakers.

Like me, she had a back pack and had obviously also been traveling. I asked her how long she had been in Europe. “I came over for spring break,” (it was then early June). “My dad bought my airline ticket and a rail pass, but I stayed too long so my rail pass has expired and now the airline won’t honor my ticket. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I know my dad is angry with me, and I’m afraid to call him. He’s going to kill me.”

I told her that I was sure her dad loved her and was worried about her. My answer was based on experience, as I told her, because I had two daughters of my own. I knew that if they were in difficulty, I sure would want to hear from them. “That’s just the way fathers are,” I assured her.

Of all the privileges I have been afforded in this life, the best of all is the honor of being a father. My three children are the best treasures of my life and the source of my greatest joys. I told that stranded teen in Munich that if one of my daughters were stranded far from home, I would certainly want to be the first one she would call. That IS the way fathers are!

In the gospels Jesus introduced His disciples and His hearers to God as His Father and our Father. He even taught His disciples (and us) to pray, “Our Father who is in heaven . . .” In Ephesians 4:6 we are told that there is “one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” The lesson is clear; we are more than God’s creation; we are His children. He loves us and is committed, as our Heavenly Father, to provide and care for us.

One of the greatest things Jesus taught His disciples is the providential nature of our Father in heaven. Listen to what He said in Luke 12:32, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” There is a touching tenderness in those words of Jesus. Why? Because He, more than anyone else, knew the heart of the Father.

George Beverly Shea sang an old hymn which express this fatherly love perfectly. “When you’re right, when you're wrong, In your joy and your pain, When you lose and when you gain: tenderly He watches over you.”

Oh, yes, right or wrong, our Father is always watching over His children.

01/28/2026

AFTER THOUGHTS - Knowing Where To Look

A pastor was visiting in the home of one of his church families.
The lady of the house served him a piece of hot apple pie. He asked for a slice of cheese to go with the pie. The hostess looked for some cheese; finding none, she apologized. Hearing this, her 10-year-old son slipped down from his chair and left the room. Coming back after a couple of minutes with a small slice of cheese, he shyly placed the cheese on the pastor’s plate. The pastor praised the boy saying, “You must have sharp eyes to find this cheese when your mother couldn’t.” He answered, “I just knew where to look.”
“Where did you find it?” His answer, “It was on the mouse trap.”
Sometimes it just pays to know where to look!

In 1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah was in trouble. He had challenged the false prophets of Israel to a contest. His challenge was, let’s see who can call down fire from heaven. When the prophets of Baal failed to get a fiery response, Elijah stepped up. After dousing his sacrifice with barrels of water, he prayed a prayer of about 63 words over his sacrifice. God answered with a consuming fire from above which licked up the water and burned up the altar and the sacrifice. Immediately the hearts of the people of Israel were turned back to their God.

Elijah then executed all of the discredited prophets. He was riding high. But the flush of victory was short lived. Queen Jezebel, when told of the day’s events, was livid and sent a warning message to Elijah. “By this time tomorrow,” she said, “You will be as dead as the prophets of Baal!” Terrified by the wicked queen’s message, Elijah ran immediately into the wilderness, fearing for his life.

Weary, spent in body and spirit, Elijah then fell into a deep sleep under a desert bush. The Bible says that as he slept, Elijah was visited by an angel. After a time, the angel touched Elijah and woke him. Looking around his isolated camping spot, the Bible says, “. . . he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water.” Elijah ate and then slept a bit more. Awakened again, Elijah enjoyed another angel food cake and was refreshed.

In his well-known commentary, A. W. Pink says of Elijah, “Hitherto Elijah had been sustained by faith’s vision of the living God, but now he lost sight of the Lord and saw only a furious woman.” Yet that night, by a lonely campfire, the Lord helped Elijah to get his eyes off Jezebel and look to the Lord.

I like what Charles Swindoll says about Elijah’s midnight visit. “God didn’t rebuke His man, nor strike him dead. He encouraged him to take a rest, enjoy a catered meal or two . . . and get his eyes off himself and his situation so that they might get back on the Lord.” That night Elijah learned where to look. Like the the Psalmist, he remembered, “My help comes from the Lord.” (Psalm 121:2)

01/25/2026

AFTER THOUGHTS - School of Hard Knocks

Several years ago I was riding in a car with a father and his son. They were in serious disagreement about something, and the son was adamant that his father was wrong. Then the dad said something amusing and self-effacing. “I wish,” he said, “I had written it all down back when I was 16 and knew everything.”

The fact that father was emphasizing was this; the most valuable wisdom in life is learned by experience. Paul, in writing to the Church at Philippi proclaimed, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” He was talking about that school of experience we often call “the school of hard knocks.”

In Philippians 4, Paul was confessing what he had learned through the unpleasant. His unpleasant schooling included injustice, false accusations, arrests, beatings, shipwrecks, and being run out of town on more than one occasion.

We need to understand, the unpleasant things in this life, though painful, have purpose. They teach us life’s most lasting lessons because painful life lessons are not soon forgotten.

I have learned in my years on this orb, the unpleasant in this life is ABUNDANT. I used to wonder why I had so many unpleasant lessons. It took me a long while, but I think I have finally figured out why; it’s because I am such a slow learner.

That reminds me of a story I read years ago about a church that was having a preacher candidate as they were searching for a new pastor. He was to preach three Sundays, then they would make a decision. The first Sunday he preached a great sermon on hell, and made a dramatic invitation for repentance. They were impressed.

The second Sunday he preached the very same sermon again. They discussed the situation and decided that maybe he had mistakenly preached on hell that second time. They would give him one more opportunity. But, on the third Sunday he delivered the very same sermon again. Now they knew they had to question him. After service the deacons asked, “Why did you preach the same sermon all three Sundays? We understood that the second time might have been a mistake, but three times! Why?”

“Oh,” he said, “That’s easy to answer. I preached it the second time because you hadn’t done anything about the first one. And I preached it the third time because you didn’t do anything about the second one either.” Slow learners!

One of the things we often long for is, as we say it, “I sure wish things would return to normal.” Sadly it seldom does and then we find out, “normal” is not all that satisfying. Nancy Clairmont is a Christian author. One of her books is titled, “Normal Is A Setting On Your Dryer.” Ain’t it the truth! And, we seldom learn anything worthwhile from normal. So let God weave the events of your life, the good and not so good so you will learn invaluable and lasting lessons.

01/21/2026

AFTER THOUGHTS - Questionable Conversions

The most important day in the life of a believer is the day of their conversion. In Luke 15 Jesus tells us, “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” In Acts 15 we are told that Paul and Barnabas’s report of Gentiles being converted brought “great joy to all the brethren.” Genuine conversion is cause for joy and rejoicing. But, there are some conversions which are questionable.

Bubba loved to grill thick steaks on his backyard barbecue grill. Every Friday afternoon Bubba would slap a couple of thick ribeyes or a large porterhouse on his grill, and the aroma of grilling meat would drift across the neighborhood. There was only one problem; this grilling activity was happening back when Catholics were not allowed to eat meat on Fridays. At least the good Catholics weren’t, and almost all Bubba’s neighbors were good Catholics.

Finally, the neighbors could take it no more; something had to be done. One Friday they decided to confront their meat-grilling neighbor. A group of the devout neighbors got together and marched over to Bubba’s house, and they persuaded him to convert to Catholicism. One month later Bubba was at church with his neighbors, ready to convert. The priest sprinkled holy water on Bubba and said, “You were born a Protestant, you were raised a Protestant, and now you are a Catholic.” Smiling neighbors looked on, their worries were over!

Friday afternoon came around again, and the new convert once again began grilling a pair of thick, juicy steaks. The aroma drifted for blocks, and bubba’s neighbors were horrified. They stormed right over to let the offender know this was not allowed. As they got to his yard, they saw him. He was gleefully sprinkling water on his steaks, saying, “You were born a steer, you were raised a steer, and now you’re a fish.” A questionable conversion, indeed!

Authentic conversion consists of more than changing religious denominations. Real conversion requires a change of heart, mind, and actions. Psalm 19:7 puts it like this “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;” A person’s soul includes the mind, the emotions, and the will. Real conversion will convert all of a person, changing them completely. That’s how 2 Corinthians 5:17 describes genuine conversion, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Conversion is not a change from beef to fish on Fridays; it is a radical change of character, attitude, and actions. It is the kind of change that the neighbors will notice. An old-time preacher used to say, “When a man gets converted, even his dog will notice!”

01/18/2026

AFTER THOUGHTS - Self Talk

I have read most recently that talking to yourself may actually be a good thing. A comic I heard once confirmed this when he said, “Of course I talk to myself. I do it because occasionally I need to have an intelligent conversation.”

Someone must have heard a woman on the road outside Capernaum that day. There was a crowd of people traveling together, all of them following Jesus and His disciples. Then coming up behind them was this lone woman, who seemed to be in a hurry, trying to catch up with the crowd.

If you had been there that day and she passed close by, you surely would have heard her; she was talking to herself. Mark’s Gospel tells us exactly what she was telling herself, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” One translation of Matthew 9:21 puts it this way, “she kept saying to herself, ‘If I can only touch his coat, I will get well.’” Yes, she was talking to herself.

Psychologist today would call that positive self-talk. The healing evangelist of the 1950s called it faith talk. Whatever you call it, talking to herself certainly worked. Three of the gospels tell us that immediately after she touched the “hem of His garment” she was healed.

However, we must not forget, there is negative self-talk as well, and it is destructive.

One of my favorite old-time comic strips was one called Archie. One of Archie’s close friends was the perennial misfit, Jughead. In one strip, Jughead is telling Archie that he, Jughead, is about to fail at something very important. Archie then gives Jughead some good, time-honored advice: “Tell yourself you can do it. Speak positive messages of success to yourself,” Archie advises. With a shake of his head, Jughead answers, “That won’t work, because I know what a liar I am.” That’s negative self-talk, and I’m sure Jughead must have failed at whatever his challenge was.

It has been estimated that by the time we reach the age of thirty, our brain has been subjected to three trillion mental impressions—many, if not the majority, of them have no doubt been negative. It takes more than a casual effort at positive self-talk to reprogram such a doubtful mindset.

The little lady with the issue of blood had to overcome twelve years of failure. She had tried everything, and nothing had worked. She had been to many doctors, and all she had to show for her medical treatments was . . . poverty! Mark says of her, “She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.” That’s a tall hill to climb. Twelve years of failure, yet she talked her way from disappointment and failure all the way to powerful faith.

Maybe you have tried everything else and nothing has worked; perhaps you need a good talking to. Just be sure your self-talk is full of faith!

01/14/2026

AFTER THOUGHTS - None Of Your Business

A grandmother, now in her 90s, was dying. She had been a long-time Christian and widely known to be an upright woman. Her grandson was sitting by her bedside as she drifted in and out of conscienceless.

Once again she roused out of the fog of her approaching demise to say, “Isn’t it wonderful how the Lord forgives all our sins?” “Yes, Grandmother,” the grandson answered, “But what sins have you ever needed to be forgiven for . . .” At that the grandmother roused completely with eyes that fairly snapped and she replied, “None of your business boy none of your business!”

It’s true. Everybody sins, and everybody needs forgiveness, even grandma! The Bible plainly lays out the dimensions of sin to include everyone. Romans 5:23 declares, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” This dimension of sin includes much of what we have done.

The grandmother in our story, as she neared the end of her life, celebrated the wonder and thoroughness of God’s forgiveness. Divine grace had removed all her fears as she faced eternity. Her grandson’s innocent remark that surely she couldn’t have terrible sins for which she needed forgiveness, motivated her reply of “none of your business!” She delighted in the knowledge that her sins of the past were now gone and forgotten, even by God. No doubt she had read the Prophet Micah’s celebration, “You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19)

Of course, this great principle of grace is conditional. John put it this way, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). It would appear that grandma had successfully met the condition of John’s “IF” by confessing her sinfulness.

Thank God, there is a solution for our sin, a cure, if you will. It can come through confession and repentance. And, as that grandmother knew, our past sins are nobody else’s business! After all, those sins are “in the sea of God’s forgetfulness!

All it takes to achieve this wonderful transformation from sinner to saint is, as an old song says, “Just a little talk with Jesus!” The Bible famously puts it this way, “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

I don’t know about you, but there are certainly things I have done for which I am so thankful God has forgotten! But that’s between me and the Good Lord and it’s none of your business!

01/11/2026

AFTER THOUGHTS - The Power of Influence

A newspaper report from a few years back reported of a young housewife who was preparing to bake homemade bread. She wanted to ensure that the dough would rise really good, so she added extra yeast to the mix. She then placed the dough in her microwave oven to rise. It blew the door off her microwave!

She just didn’t really believe in the power of yeast, much like many of us do not believe in the power of influence. Jesus talked about the power of influence when He taught about leaven (which is the Bible word for baker’s yeast). In Luke 13: 20, 21 He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

Jesus used the illustration of leaven in two very important and distinct ways. He warned against the “leaven of the Pharisees.” He taught this as a warning against the doctrine of false teachers. However, in Luke 13, He is using leaven in a positive way, even as Paul used it in writing in Galatians 5:9, he wrote, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” So both Jesus and Paul are really teaching about the power of influence, both bad and good.

People so often underestimate the power of influence. It doesn’t sound powerful like a missile or a nuclear bomb or even political power. While those are impressive and well publicized, influence is most often invisible to the casual observer, or only recognized long after the fact.

Thirty-years after the April 1947 ship explosions in the Texas City, Texas, harbor, I was pastoring a church there. A man in my church invited me down to the harbor to watch as, for the first time since that terrible tragedy, the wreckage was being removed. The explosion, which is still the greatest industrial catastrophe in our nation’s history. Hundreds were killed, and a large industrial complex was literally blown away. Ships were ripped apart and sank while several railroad tank cars were obliterated as they sat along side the ships. All the mangled wreckage had lain buried in the harbor’s waters for thirty years. Now, finally, the mangled steel was being lifted out of that watery grave to be recycled.

To lift all that heavy wreckage, large cranes were placed on massive barges in the harbor. The crane operators would attach lifting cables to the heavy, submerged steel parts of the ships and railroad cars and the cranes begin pulling with all the power of their massive diesel engines. When they started pulling, it looked as the barges would sink, but they never did. Some lines snapped, but the barges did not sink. What kept the them on top of the water? It was’t the steel in the barges, but the invisible AIR trapped inside their hulls that kept them afloat.

Positive influence is just like that air inside those steel barges. Subtle, even so often unseen, yet it is powerful enough to change lives. May the Good Lord help us to be filled up with the invisible yet powerful air of influence.

01/07/2026

AFTERTHOUGHTS - Running To Win

The Bible describes the Christian life in some interesting ways; as sheep being led by a shepherd, as a soldier going to war, as a walk, but also as a race. Whether you realize or not, you are already running. So the issue then is not IF you are running, but HOW you are running!

Can you imagine what it would be like to be at a track meet waiting for the start of the 100 meter race? Gathered together are the top runners from across the world. Fractions of a second separate these runners. But imagine that as the runners come to the blocks that something seems strange about the world record holder. You pick up your binoculars to get a better view, and what you see doesn’t make any sense. Strapped around his ankles are 25-pound weights. For whatever reason, he has decided to run with this extra load. There is no way he is going to win. HOW he is running is wrong!

In Hebrews 12:1 we are warned, Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. The words used here mean to lay aside any obstacle, any impediment that would hinder your running. Take it off!

We are also required to run the RIGHT race, the race Jesus has “set before us.”

In a recent NCAA cross-country championship held in Riverside, California, 123 of the 128 runners missed a turn. One competitor, Mike Delcavo, stayed on the 10,000-meter course and began waving for fellow runners to follow him. Delcavo was able to convince only four other runners to go with him. Asked what his competitors thought of his mid-race decision not to follow the crowd, Delcavo responded, "They thought it was funny that I was going the wrong way." Yet Delcavo was one who ran correctly. In the same way, our goal is to run correctly, and run to finish the race marked out for us by Jesus Christ.

We are to run with PURPOSE.

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” (1 Corinthians 9:24) There are at least four things you should know about this race. 1) Jesus has already successfully run this race. 2) Righteous runners, just like Jesus, always have opposition. 3) Everyone who runs gets weary. 4) Only those finish the course will win the crown.

For this New Year, run with patience, endurance, and most of all, run to Win!

01/04/2026

AFTERTHOUGHTS - Christmas Hassles

Well. Christmas with all it’s activities and ceremonies is over. It was a good Christmas, but for most of us, it wasn’t perfect. Few of us got what we wanted, and everybody wasn’t quite able to be “home for Christmas.”

The unavoidable shortcomings of a normal Christmas remind me of a fictional Christmastime correspondence between the stylish Martha Stewart and the comedienne, Erma Bombeck, which I read a few years back. First here is what Martha wrote.
Hi Erma,
This perfectly delightful note is being sent on paper I made myself to tell you what I have been up to. Since it snowed last night, I got up early and made a sled with old barn wood and a glue gun. I hand painted it in gold leaf, got out my loom, and made a blanket in peaches and mauves. Now it’s time to start making the place mats and napkins for my 20 breakfast guests. I’m serving the old standard Stewart 12-course breakfast, but I didn’t have time to make the tables and chairs this morning, so I used the ones I already had. I did take time to make the dishes to use for breakfast from Hungarian clay, which you can get at almost any Hungarian craft store. Well, I must run. I need to finish the buttonholes on the dress I’m wearing for breakfast. I’ll get out the sled and drive this note to the post office as soon as the glue dries on the envelope I’ll be making.-
Love, Martha Stewart

Then there was a response from Erma.
Dear Martha,�I’m writing this on the back of an old shopping list, pay no attention to the coffee and jelly stains. I’m 20 minutes late getting my daughter up for school, packing a lunch with one hand, on the phone with the dog pound, seems old Ruff needs bailing out, again. Burnt my arm on the curling iron when I was trying to make those cute curly fries. Still can’t find the scissors to cut out some snowflakes, tried using an old disposable razor…trashed the tablecloth. Tried that cranberry thing, frozen cranberries mushed up after I defrosted them in the microwave. Oh, and don’t use Fruity Pebbles as a substitute in that Rice Krispie snowball recipe, unless you happen to like a disgusting shade of green! The smoke alarm is going off, talk to ya later.-
Love, Erma

I’m sure that more of us regular folk can best identify with Erma’s Christmas. That shouldn’t surprise us; even the first Christmas wasn’t picture perfect . In the midst of all the miracles and joy, there were a lot of hassles. Complications like an unplanned pregnancy, an overcrowded Bethlehem inn, and late night visitors. Yet, the ultimate result of the first Christmas was “Joy To The World.”
Out of those hassles came the Savior who would take away our sin.

12/21/2025

THE CAST OF CHRISTMAS - The Shepherds

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. (Luke 2:10-12)

The first time I remember playing a part in my church’s Christmas program, I was cast as one of the shepherds. Dressed in someone’s bathrobe with a towel turban on my head, all I lacked was whiskers, and my pastor’s wife supplied me with those. Using some kind of glue, she pasted fake whiskers to my face. My only lasting memory from that little pageant was we almost could not remove that glued-on stubble from my childish face! Those first Christmas shepherds I’m sure had much more significant memories from the part they played.

So, what do we know about those shepherds who received that angelic announcement of the birth of our Savior?

We do know their location on that glorious night. The Message translation tells us they were “in the neighborhood,” and my Bible says they were “in the same country.” In fact, they were keeping sheep in the shepherd’s fields which are just outside of Bethlehem. The historian, Eusebius, tells us that these same fields contained the tower of the flock (Migdal Eder). The prophet Micah and the Jewish Midrash links this tower to the announcement of the coming of the Messiah.

Of course, we also know their occupation; they were shepherds. In Old Testament times, the people of Israel were known as shepherds. When Pharaoh asked Jacob’s brothers what their occupation was they answered, we are shepherds. Jesus would later declare, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11). Ironically, it is believed that the flocks our Christmas shepherds watched were indeed sacred lambs that would later be sacrificed in the temple for the sins of the people.

Perhaps the most exciting thing we know about these shepherds is their response to the announcement of the Baby’s birth; they immediately left their flocks and went to see this baby the angels had told them about. And once they had seen the child wrapped in birthing cloths and laying in a manger, as the angels had said, they spread the good news. This made these shepherds the very first evangelist to proclaim the message of the coming of our Savior.

Maybe we need to be inspired this Christmas season and follow the example of the Christmas shepherds by proclaiming the good news that Jesus, the Shepherd of our souls, was born so that he might save the world from sin.

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