Jay McCarl

  • Behold.

    “Here from this stable, here, from this Nazareth, this stony beach, this Jerusalem, this market place, this garden, this Praetorium, this Cross, this mountain, I announce it to you. I announce to you what is guessed at in all the phenomena of your world. You see the corn of wheat shrivel and break open and

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  • Painting the Stars

    Painting the Stars

    “When I have a terrible need of—shall I say the word—religion—then I go out and paint the stars.” —Vincent Van Gogh In a turbulent world, a turbulent man had it right. Before he painted, Vincent was a failed preacher who remembered that the heavens still declared the glory of God. In Alex Haley’s novel Roots,

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  • Changing of the Guard

    “I don’t need a successor, only willing hands to accept the torch for a new generation. I am just one of many thousands called to be an evangelist.” —Billy Graham Man of God, man of integrity, counselor to presidents, preacher to peasants, evangelist, prophet, servant of Jesus. He will be missed. Now it’s your turn.

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  • For Those Who Mess Up (and Those Who Don’t)

    “There’s nothing you can do wrong to make God love you less; there’s nothing you can do good to make God love you more.” —Horacio Spafford Some days I really need to know this. In fact, every day. Okay—every minute of every day. You get the idea. What a relief. —j

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  • A Real Success Story

    A Real Success Story

    “I’m not afraid of failure; I’m afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.” —William Carey “To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere.” —C.S. Lewis, Perelandra “Only one life, ’till soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.” —C.T. Studd Success can be had. What lasts forever is what matters.

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  • New Year, New Chance

    And He that sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write: for these words are true and faithful.” —God, Revelation 21:5 Imagine that. This is what He does. Here’s your chance. “Here from this stable, here, from this Nazareth, this stony beach, this Jerusalem, this market place,

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  • “He made us lamps for His light, not the salesmen or customers of His fire. He fits no category, exceeds every attribution, defies all description. He is immeasurably more than the object of our study—He’s the subject of the universe itself. “He’s the superlative of everything good you choose to call Him”, Rev. Lockwood proclaimed—

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  • Imagine eternity. Imagine infinity—imagine absolute life and infinite power, with no beginning, with no end. Imagine infinite size, infinite mind, absolute knowledge, absolute holiness in being and motive—perfection beyond anything anyone ever dreamt—absolute power to create and destroy at will, with perfect absence of malice and perfect omniscient Justice. Such power—such absolute personhood—holy and just,

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  • Toast for Thanksgiving

    Toast for Thanksgiving

    I confess have a favorite movie—Babette’s Feast*. Like Jesus, Babette made a feast for a village of Christian people who hated each other. The table was set with joy, mercy and reconciliation. I hope you’ll watch it someday. Near the end, Old Lorens, a surprising character in the story, offers a great toast… “Mercy and

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  • A Walk on the Waves

    A Walk on the Waves

    “The secret of tranquility is the presence of Christ. When He is in the boat the waves calm themselves…if you and I are conscious of restlessness, interruptions of our tranquility by surging, impatient passions and hot desires within ourselves, or by the pressure of outward circumstances, or by having fallen beneath our consciences and done

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