Author: Jon Gauger

He was born in a broken neighborhood in East Los Angeles. When his parents divorced, his heart and home were broken. Statistically speaking, Frank would likely never amount to anything but trouble. Yet God had his hand on Frank. After graduating from a Christian university, Frank sensed a call to evangelism and scheduled a series of meetings in the summer of 1961. Yolanda remembers. She was 15, babysitting at the home of a liberal mainline pastor’s family. “I honestly don’t think he was saved,” Yolanda recalls. But Yolanda was spiritually hungry and wanted to study the Bible. When she mentioned…

Six-year-old Emma possesses a charming urge to give gifts. As a nature lover, her gifts are often like the one she presented me last week: a leaf. But leaves don’t last, and that’s a hard lesson for little ones to learn. I suspect it’s a reality most of us adults struggle with, as well. Whether we’re blessed with little—or a lot—we want the good stuff to last forever. But… Leaves don’t last forever. Flowers don’t last forever. Looks don’t last forever. Dream jobs don’t last forever. Health doesn’t last forever. Houses don’t last forever.  Spouses don’t last forever—not in the…

It was barely six o’clock in the morning, but the sun was so high—and the humidity with it—sunglasses seemed to beg for their own wiper blades. Humid or not, Jack launched into his Scripture memory work. In his hand, he held a laminated card featuring the text of Psalm 27. He was working on verse eight: When you said, "Seek my face," my heart said to you, "I shall seek your face, Lord. Again and again, Jack worked that phrase over as he hoofed his way toward the office: “I shall seek your face, Lord. I shall seek your face,…

Do you snack between meals? Probably. Americans spend 135 billion annually on snacks—almost $500 per person. And get this—44% of us spend more on snack food than Netflix. Snacks account for more than a quarter of U.S. food and beverage spending. As a toddler, our daughter Lynnette was the poster child for snackers. It got to the point where my wife set out a Cheerios-inspired yellow bowl with snacks to tame Lynnette's appetite. She snacked her way through the day. And so do many of us. But are we that hungry for God's presence? How many of us PRAY our…

When it comes to antisemitism, the last 30 days have been ugly. Justin Kron of the Kesher Project put together the following assessment of the last 30 days: Kanye West—an artist with a following of nearly 30 million people, more than double the global Jewish population—released a song and music video titled “Heil Hitler.”  Mosab Abu Toha, who denied that hostages were abducted on October 7th, won a Pulitzer Prize. A student at Temple University recorded himself ordering bar service with a sign that reads "F*** the Jews," which went viral on social media. After being publicly chastised by Dave…

Do you like to fish? About 60 million Americans do—women and men. And we shell out a collective total of 115 billion dollars annually on fishing lures, fishing boats, and fishing trips. I've been on four unforgettable half-day fishing charters. But could I be frank with you? I know very little about fishing—almost nothing! However, I've observed that invariably, the captain knows the right place, the right time, the right bait, and the right technique! The captain scans for fish, baits the hooks, sets the downriggers—he does it all. With a typical half-day morning charter, you get up at 4:00…

What does heaven sound like? This week, I think I heard an excerpt. The Bible offers a surprising amount of detail about what heaven will look like: Streets of gold. Gates of pearl. Walls of precious stones. The River of Life. But what about the acoustic side of things—the sound? Revelation talks about saints singing Hallelujah. And Christians through the centuries have been convinced there'll be harp music. Revelation mentions seven trumpets played by seven angels, along with loud peals of thunder that help us imagine the voice of God. But last weekend, on a beach in Jacksonville, Florida, I…

The attacker stealthily inched his way forward. Finally, in range, he bashed Max on the back of the head—a blow sufficient to give him a concussion. When Max's friend Michael attempted to help him up, attackers broke Michael's wrist, requiring surgery. It all happened on November 6, 2024, on a public plaza at one of Chicago’s most respected campuses, DePaul University. Though police know there were two attackers, only one has been arrested, while the other is still at large. The attacker they did arrest wasn’t even a student. So, what was it that fueled this assault? What was there…

The dark side of repetition is numbness. When we hear things often enough, we cease to hear them. What should be foreground becomes background. Given time, even the profound becomes mundane. Perhaps that’s why I was taken aback by the simple declaration eight-year-old Ava wrote recently. Scrawled on a scrap of paper were these words: “I Love Jesus—and He Loves Me.” We pepper our prayers and praise music with the first half of Ava's message, "I love Jesus." But how often do we ponder—really contemplate—the second half of her message, "And He loves me.” I suspect that many of us…

Recently, I picked up a copy of The Hypochondriac’s Guide to Horrible Diseases You Probably Already Have. It is equal parts informative and hilarious. From the back cover: Do you suffer from insomnia? Not good…soon your whole body might attack your brain. Are you bothered by a persistent fever and swelling? Beware…maggots are likely crawling beneath your skin. Have you noticed skin tenderness and discoloration? Yikes…a small horn is probably going to sprout from your head.   Funny—for sure. But there’s nothing humorous about the sickness afflicting many Christ followers today. Let me explain. We've just experienced the Easter season….