The Big Switch - Martin Wiles

The Big Switch

He soared to the top of recording charts, but one incident changed his life’s course.

Tony Fontane was a popular American recording artist during the 1940’s and 1950’s. Born in Michigan, he was the son of a railroad worker who had converted to Christianity and moved the family to North Dakota where he operated a mission and lived in poverty. As a result, Tony hated religion. Singing was his passion, and he eventually flourished. He even celebrated notoriety on several television shows.

But life changed on September 3, 1957. Read more...

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Christmas in a Strange Place - Martin Wiles

Christmas in a Strange Place

We were in a strange place and had no plans to spend our first Christmas there.

Eight years had passed since I graduated high school. College was not on my agenda then, so I entered the workforce and had been there ever since. But now I felt God’s call into full-time ministry. Obeying it would require that I further my education. I would have to attend college. 

What I despised the thought of earlier, I now anticipated with great pleasure. Read more...

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Christmas's Perfect Gift - Martin Wiles

Christmas’s Perfect Gift

I’m not sure exactly when she started giving her perfect Christmas gifts to me, but it became a tradition I anticipate each year. 

Somewhere during her middle school years, my daughter began making homemade Christmas gifts for me. At her age, she had no resources except the money we gave her for allowance. She could hardly buy all her family gifts with those insignificant funds, so she resorted to the next best thing—which in reality was the better thing. Homemade gifts. Read more...

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Christmas Far Away - Martin Wiles

Christmas Far Away

With the exception of a few months following my birth, I had always lived in South Carolina near my grandparents. But the early 1970’s ushered in a few Christmases that were far away.

Celebrating Christmas with parents that love you is enjoyable, but parents don’t normally spoil their children like grandparents do. And mine did—at least my father’s. 

My father received the disturbing news that he would soon be shipped to Taiwan. Read more...

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A Different Kind of Generosity - Dr. Brian Fletcher

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.  You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 2 Corinthians 9:10-12 ESV

In my twenty years in full-time ministry, I’ve been the recipient of some generous gifts from some amazing people. Our family has received a new oven, three cars, a new transmission, clothes, vacations, and even a surprise shopping spree. 

But I’ve also had some people pour into me spiritually over the years. In this sense, they were spiritually generous. These people were deep in their walk with Christ, and they were listening and learning about God’s grace and His unsurpassing love. They met with me early in the morning or late into the night. They skipped over the chit-chat and got right to what God was teaching them in their lives, pouring out their soul to me in the hopes I would catch a glimpse of this amazing God who showered us with His love through Jesus.

God wants us not only to be materially generous to the ministries He is leading us to give to, but also to be spiritually generous. Take five minutes to dwell on your life in Christ, thinking deeply about how much He has given you spiritually . . . how He has been gracious to you in specific ways.

Remember those who have poured their life into you. Those who have been spiritually generous to you, those who have impacted your life, those who have strengthened your marriage or parenting skills, and those who have helped you understand the gospel in deeper ways.

When we’ve reminded ourselves of those blessings, God wants us to bless others . . . to be generous spiritually to them. 

Take what God teaches you every day and share it with someone. Allow the grace Christ pours into you to overflow to those around you.

Dr. Brian Fletcher is a husband, dad, pastor, speaker, founder of Ministry Leadership Academy, and podcaster at The Gospel Changes Everything. He serves as Associate Pastor at Spring Run Presbyterian Church. 

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A Different Kind of Christmas - Martin Wiles

A Different Kind of Christmas

From our family to yours: We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a big thanks for your continued support!!

She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. Luke 2:7 NLT

Christmases at my maternal grandparent’s home were different, but just as memorable.

My mother’s parents would have been considered upper middle class by modern standards. When my grandfather died, he had a sizable sum saved. At least it was sizable according to my standards of judging sizable. Checkbook balances never fell below a certain amount. One I considered wealthy. My grandfather also owned several hundred acres of farmland and wooded areas. Read more...

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The Christmas Gift - Martin Wiles

The Christmas Gift

His eyes welled with tears as he opened the envelope. The gift was the most unselfish act he’d ever witnessed. 

Harry* was about to experience the most agonizing Christmas of his life. A few months before he had taken out a consolidation loan. The loan seemed like the right approach to his family’s financial situation. With a lower interest rate than he was currently paying to his separate creditors, this loan would let him pay them off quicker than if he kept going the direction he was traveling. So with his wife’s blessing, he signed the paperwork and began paying the monthly payment. Read more...

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