Based on Bible sales, a recent study shows which bible translations are the most popular. Here are the top 10…

1. New International Version

2. New King James Version

3. King James Version

4. New Living Translation

5. English Standard Version

6. Holman Christian Standard Bible

7. New American Standard Bible

8. The Message

9. New International Readers Version

10. Today’s New International Version

There are many opinions as to which translation is the BEST overall. Let me just simply suggest that it doesn’t matter what translation you have, if you’re not willing to open it and read it, it’s not doing you any good. Spiritual growth comes from reading God’s word and obeying what He’s asked us to do.

Take some time today to read from God’s word. If you’ll let it, it will transform your life.

What’s YOUR favorite version?

I love to preach, and I want to bring my A-game every week. Nothing KILLS me more than when I don’t feel like I’ve done a very good job presenting a lesson.

When I got home, still frustrated from the morning, I sat down and checked my messages. I had a new Facebook message from a lady who’d been at church that morning. She basically told me how much that lesson had touched her and that something I had said had really helped her open some doors to some things that she was struggling with. Right then, I was reminded once again, it’s not about me and my lesson … it’s about God and what He does with it. You never know what God’s doing to someone’s heart.

When it comes to presenting God’s word, I’m guilty of putting too much emphasis on myself. Yes, I have to study, present a good message, make it applicable, BUT God’s word is the one with the power (Romans 1:16), not me. Three things I’d like to do from here on out …

• Not allow myself to get in the way of God and His word.
• Not give myself too much blame when I don’t think things went well.
• Not give myself too much credit when things do go well.

I guess everyone has a bad day. Fortunately, I find comfort in knowing that the batter that struck out four times, the quarterback that threw 3 interceptions and the basketball player that couldn’t make a shot, will all get a chance to make up for it the next time they play. So thankfully, next Sunday’s coming!

One of the main things I love about the Super Bowl is the commercials. Here’s one that’ll play tomorrow called, “Keep your hands off my momma & keep your hands off my Doritos.” I love it.

Yesterday after getting my 8 year old Cooper from school, we had this conversation on the way home…

I went back and looked at an old post this morning to see when I first met my friend John Thomas. It was February 7, 2007, because I wrote a post about him. I will never forget the occasion because he made a lasting impression on me. It was following a graveside service that I [...]

That was sure a BIG ice storm that came through here. I hope they like fish-sticks! I hope you’re staying warm today.

CANCELLED: Last night as I tucked Cooper into bed, he told me, “Dad, make sure you check the radio in the morning to see if we have school.” My comment to him was, “Don’t get your hopes up. We’re only supposed to get rain.” This morning Cooper got his wish… due to freezing rain, school’s [...]

I got up this morning at 5 a.m. to go run. Call me crazy, but I did it because it was important to me so I made it a priority. We pretty much make time to do anything we REALLY want to do. If you like to golf, you’ll make time to golf. If you [...]

One of my latest Runner’s World magazines was singing the praises of pomegranate & blueberry juice. Both juices are packed full of antioxidants, which are cancer (and other disease) fighters. I need all of that I can get. So while at the store this weekend, I thought I’d see if they had a bottle of [...]

(I was asked by a friend to re-post this, so here you go) I was reading through my journal from a year ago and found a quote that I wrote down that I really like. It’s about the church and our discomfort with people who are different than us. “The church loves blue hair on [...]

I’m sure looking forward to this year’s Tulsa Workshop. I hope you’re making plans to attend.

I’m not sure I’ve ever watched an entire infomercial. Much like someone running their fingernails across a chalkboard, it’s the infomercial spokesmen that always get on my nerves. Do they look for annoying people to host these things? Whether it was Billy Mays or the “Shamwow” guy, I’ve always prayed that I would NEVER come [...]

Facebook has become hugely popular in the past few years. Lea and I both love being able to catch up with old friends and family on Facebook. But with anything that comes along, there can also be dangers and problems if not used responsibly. Sometimes Facebook and other online communities can cause problems in marriages [...]

Connor is our 3rd oldest son. This past Saturday the 16th, he celebrated his 14th birthday. Connor is very outgoing and loves to make you laugh. Unlike his younger brother Cooper … there isn’t a shy bone in Connor’s body. Connor loves hanging out with his friends. This is one of my all-time favorite pictures [...]

HAITI: Just some perspective on what has happened in Haiti. The death toll of hurricane Katrina was around 1300. The death toll from the 9/11 attacks were around 6000, and the Haiti death toll (estimate at this time) is 50,000 people. The pictures (warning: graphic) coming out of Haiti are heartbreaking. I would love to [...]

I liked Perry Noble’s post yesterday on his blog and agree totally that “church should never be boring…” Here’s what he said… I know some people do not agree with me…but I FIRMLY believe that church should not be a boring place…because… The Bible is NOT boring–the teachings of God’s Word are more relevant and [...]

Today is Wednesday. I love this day because I know that every Wednesday the people at the Tegucigalpa dump in Honduras are fed because of your generosity. Today will be a good day for them because instead of eating what they find in the trash at the dump, they’ll most likely get a bowl of [...]

This past Saturday I celebrated my 44th birthday. (Oh, and thank you for the “happy birthdays” that you sent my way on Facebook and Twitter). We’ve never had big celebrations when it comes to birthdays. Our normal birthday routine consists of a couple of presents, a cake and your choice of where you want to [...]

Noah is a beautiful little boy at our church with Tay-Sachs diesease. Tay-Sachs is a fatal genetic disorder in infants that causes the destruction of the central nervous system. Currently there is no cure for this disease, and at best most doctors have said Noah may only have a few years to live. But, Noah [...]

As much as I’d love to blog today … I don’t have time. But I’d like to thank my sweet friend Ericka Moore for taking pictures of the Morgan family. If you live in the Childress area, and in the market for some new family pictures, I suggest Ericka. Here’s the rest of the pictures [...]

We had a great Christmas this year. We enjoyed Taylor being home and an unexpected snow storm. The blizzard kept us from traveling on Christmas Eve, so we spent the day watching movies, playing games and playing in the snow. It was a great Christmas. My friend Erika Moore took some family pictures for us [...]

I (we) learn a lot from the feedback and comments on this blog. Could you help me today on these 4 questions about marriage? Are marriage problems & divorce more rampant today than they were 20 years ago? What are some of the biggest factors in marriage problems today? What is something that can be [...]

Here are the most viewed posts on this site for the past year… FUNERALS: Bad places to be affectionate with your wife. It’s cancer, again. Dan the homeless man. Sex is good. “Hide it under a bush, HELL NO!” Man-laws and God-laws WWJT (What Would Jesus Tweet 0r Facebook) I looked NOTHING like Jesus. “You [...]

Childress folks: I am PUMPED about the “Passion” sermon series that starts tomorrow. I hope to see a big crowd for the first Sunday of the year. There’s not a better way to start off 2010 than worshipping God with other believers. If you are not a regular at the CofC, come join us for [...]

Yesterday I did “10 things a husband should never do,” so here’s one for the wives… NEVER criticize or belittle your husband in public. A husband’s ego is fragile and being critical of him in public or to your girlfriends is crushing. NEVER withhold sex from your husband as punishment for something he has done [...]

NEVER be unwilling to forgive. Don’t hold on to all the negative things about your relationship and never bring up past hurts. NEVER plop your fat rear-end down in a chair after work without first asking your wife if she needs some help with something. Just because your workday has ended, you can still help [...]

What made the wise men of Matthew 2 so wise? Maybe it was the fact that they were passionate about watching for Jesus and seeking him. When Jesus was born, the inn-keeper didn’t know who Jesus was, the business people of Bethlehem didn’t know he was there, and the religious didn’t have a clue that [...]

There’s a lot of opinions these days about Christmas. Is Christmas about the gifts, family, food, Santa, etc? I like what Linus Van Pelt had to say about Christmas. I’ll let him explain it to you … in less than a minute and a half. Merry Christmas from the Morgan family…

Two weeks ago my friend Marc Tindall, missionary in Honduras, was told he could have 425,000 free meals to feed hungry Honduras kids, all he had to do was pay the $4500 in shipping to get it. He told them, “Send it,” and then started praying for the $4500 that he did not have. With [...]

What a great weekend. Lea and I headed to Oklahoma City with a couple of friends where we caught the TSO (Trans Siberian Orchestra) concert, had supper at the Melting Pot (fondue is interesting) and then stayed at the Grandison Inn bed and breakfast. Then to top it all off, about noon we’ll be headed [...]

One of the highlights on my trip to Honduras was … I GOT TO DRIVE … and it was amazing. It was my first time to drive in a 3rd world country. Marc Tindall was in need of another driver and asked if I could drive a stick. I said, “Sure, I can.” Just like [...]

Unbeknownst to most theologians, there was a fourth wise man, who was turned away for bringing a fruitcake.