Author name: Tom Stuart

The Guy Who Came In From The Cold – Pt 2

1 Comment / Answers to Prayer!, Growth & Development, News & Reflections, Overcoming, Relationship with God /

I’ll never forget that ride home. Mike was in an ecstatic mood. Seated in the middle of the back seat he was leaning forward over our seats with his arms extended behind each of our shoulders and talking excitedly. His pungent odor, more than being an irritant, was the sweet smelling savor of redemption. Between exclamations of praise he began to share with us in dramatic fashion the startling circumstances leading up to our “chance” meeting, moments earlier on the street. We learned that the night before, while he lay shivering covered only with cardboard against the freezing temperatures and seemingly at the end of his rope, he had cried out to God. Pleading for a miraculous breakthrough in his life he gave God a twenty-four hour ultimatum. If by days end, he vowed, his lot in life did not change, he would put an end to it. Our encounter was indeed the unmistakable answer to his prayer of desperation.

The Guy Who Came In From The Cold – Pt 2 Read More »

The Guy Who Came in From the Cold

Answers to Prayer!, Overcoming, Relationship with God, Window into my Soul /

It had been a frustrating day for me. Several attempts at sharing my faith as a grad student and employee at the University of Minnesota had fallen flat. My evangelistic zeal as a recent Christian convert was flagging and in my discouragement I removed the button I always wore identifying myself as a believer. Later that cold February afternoon, as was my custom, I drove for home through downtown Minneapolis to pick up my wife Susan from her place of employment. As I was approaching her building and looking for some on-street parking I saw a shabbily dressed man standing on the corner causing a scene and harassing people who walked by him. Just down the block I found a parking space. As I exited the car and headed for the parking meter I looked back down the sidewalk and to my alarm, saw the man walking my way. I could see he was obviously drunk or on drugs, and from his disheveled appearance and erratic behavior I determined he was someone I did not want to have anything to do with.

To avoid him I quickly turned to put money in the parking meter so I could be on my way. But no sooner had I finished plugging the meter and turned to go, he was right up next to me. He was middle aged, with a scraggly beard, unkempt hair, and wearing an old dirty ankle-length winter coat. He appeared to me to be homeless. The stench of alcohol mixed with B.O. almost overwhelmed me and I drew back. Simultaneously he moved closer with an outstretched hand and as he spoke I realized he was toothless. “Can you spare me a dime?” he gummed.

The Guy Who Came in From the Cold Read More »

The Finger Pointing Precaution

2 Comments / Communication, Relationships /

Years ago I experienced the stark reality that when I find myself pointing a finger of judgment at someone I need to beware that three fingers are pointing back at me. It forever etched in my memory a foundational precaution in forming opinions and judgments about others.

As a new believer in my mid-twenties I was working in an office environment where one of my fellow employees was a very sharp dresser. He was the cool dude of the office, knew it, and projected an air of superiority. Over the course of time his arrogance began to grate on me. One morning as I passed by his desk where he was standing, I noticed to my delight that he had missed a belt loop. Those were the days of the wide belt and tucked shirt, so it was an error glaringly visible to all. As I was inwardly gloating over his unwitting faux pas, the Holy Spirit pushed the pause button on my little celebration and interjected this thought – “Why don’t you check your own belt loop.” ….. At that, I quickly felt around my waist and to my chagrin I discovered I had missed a belt loop too! Need I say more? God certainly is not without a sense of humor when gently correcting us and teaching us life lessons.

It was a lesson that has stuck with me to this day. More often than I would like to acknowledge, when I am in the process of judging another, I hear the Holy Spirit cautioning me “Check your own belt loop.” In other words, check your own heart and behavior before you’re so quick to judge.

The Finger Pointing Precaution Read More »

Jesus’ Letter to Laodicea

Church History, Overcoming, Relationship with God /

Jesus’ Letter to Laodicea

To the angel of the church in Laodicea write… Revelation 3:14-22 NIV

Laodicea was the seventh and last of the seven churches in the book of Revelation to whom the Apostle John wrote letters. The quite extensive, excavated ruins of Laodicea are located near the village of Eskihisar, Turkey. Strategically situated on seven hills it was founded in 261 BC in the geographical area known as Phrygia by a Greek king, Antiochus II. It was named after his wife Laodice. Remnants of the city include an amphitheater, smaller theatre called an odeon, and the largest stadium in Asia Minor seating 25,000 people. Known as the “Gateway to Phrygia” it was one of Asia Minor’s most flourishing cities primarily because of its trade route location on what was known as the Royal Road which ran from the Susa, the capital of Persia, all the way to Sardis. It was a main banking center for the area, had a medical school, and was a center for the worship of the pagan deity Zeus. It had textile factories supplying the Greco-Roman world with sleeved tunics and hooded cloaks made from the fine black wool supplied by sheep in the area. The city was so wealthy, that when it was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 60 AD, it declined Roman assistance opting to rebuild at its own expense, the only city in Asia to do so.

Jesus’ Letter to Laodicea Read More »

Jesus’ Letter to Philadelphia

Church History, Overcoming, Relationship with God /

Jesus’ Letter to Philadelphia

To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write… Revelation 3:7 NIV

Philadelphia was the sixth of the seven churches in the book of Revelation to whom the Apostle John wrote letters. The only preserved remains of Philadelphia are the pillars of a 6th Century AD Byzantine church located on a city block in what is now the modern city of Alasehir, Turkey. Philadelphia was founded in 189 BC by King Attalus I of Pergamum as a military outpost to protect the junction where two major trade routes intersected. It also was strategically located near the border of Phrygia, where the Greco-Roman world of the West met the “uncivilized” barbarian world of the East. As such it was also intended to be a kind of mission base for spreading the civilized worldview of Hellenism and the Greek language.

Jesus’ Letter to Philadelphia Read More »

Scroll to Top