Gary Shogren's Blog
Who dares to issue demands to God? Who dares command God to do a miracle? Not I, mister, I know my place: God is my King: he gives orders, I’m supposed to follow them. And God is my Father: when I need something, even a miracle, I ask him for help, sometimes over and over... Continue Reading →
I calculate we've now [in 2012] sent out 100 editions of the Shogren missionary newsletter. Plus, I’ve received a thousand or two from other missionaries. Since we won’t ever be Tweeting, it looks like our communication style has settled into an e-letter we send off every two months. All said, if I’m going to offer... Continue Reading →
Since one night in 1985, I know what the world looks like through a zombie’s eyes. In Scotland, I would go out evangelizing on Thursdays and then take the hour-long hike home in the dark. But then one night I figured that I could cut out to the main highway, grab a bus, and save 20... Continue Reading →
I can remember my first brush with an “urban legend”. In the early 1970s, I was in a group for Christian boys, and we got a monthly magazine, similar to “Boys’ Life”. One article passed along the following story, saying it was solid fact: In a southern state, two men were traveling along a rural... Continue Reading →
Click here to read Part I, which is necessary to understand this Part II. Some take issue with the 2011 update of the New International Version. For example, here’s the official statement from the Council of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: As the evangelical community turns to CBMW for trusted counsel on contemporary Bible translations that... Continue Reading →
Search for comments on the new NIV by Google, and you will find bloggers talking about its “feminist agenda”, “Satan’s lies”, “end-time deception” and that “the homosexual community is excited about the new perversion of the Bible.” (They provided no statements from gay groups, expressing their glee). At its annual convention last year, the Southern Baptist... Continue Reading →
In the first part of this blog, we saw how the shepherds heard the angels’ message, saw the Christ child and went out to proclaim what they had seen. We too should pass on the entire gospel message, not just parts of it. But there is a second application for the Christian, one that pushes... Continue Reading →
Burned into our memory is the fact that the shepherds saw the angels, went to Bethlehem and worshiped the baby Jesus. All the Nativity displays end that way, with the shepherds fixed in place. But in fact, Christmas day was the very beginning of the shepherds’ story, since they rushed right out and began to... Continue Reading →
The following is a scholarly address, which I seem to remember giving many years ago before the International Association of Scholars, Theologians, Philosophers and other Professional Thinking Persons (AFL-CIO). Thank you for your invitation to address this scholarly assembly. Webster’s defines “scholarly” as “Of, relating to, or characteristic of scholars or scholarship”; but later on... Continue Reading →
A friend from Costa Rica writes in: I seem to be everywhere running into people who are debating different aspects of spiritual warfare. I have a friend whom I respect very much; nevertheless he sees Satan even in different foods or in commercial products. It's as if there is a spirit everywhere. If anybody doubts,... Continue Reading →
Open Our Eyes, Lord! 