Preachers and teachers of Scripture would do well to rediscover an appreciation of Scripture for the sake of Scripture. Being busy prevents us from appreciating Scripture simply as Scripture.
All in Discipleship
A Reminder from Flat Worms
Scripture is meant to transform, influence, and tame you. Scripture is still God’s word for a people, not a people’s interpretation of God’s word for a people.
Communities for Questioners
The questions that we’re afraid to even have because they cause us to doubt our own faithfulness to God There has to be a place for these questions, and thus a place for the people who carry them around.
Why Sing in Jail?
Praising God in the midst of the storm as it were. Realizing they were forgiven by God’s grace and choosing to express that by the way they lived.
A Discipleship Prayer
Lord Jesus, show me your heart Give me your heart I'm desperate for you Lord I want to know you, even in this life. Lord give me a glimpse and then empower me to live it.
Zip, Click
I grew up reading Scripture and praying diligently, I just never had a whole lot of direct exposure to the art of sitting still, being quiet in God’s presence.
The Real Reason and Remedy for a Divided Society
There's an answer to greed. We find it among the ancient Christian virtues. It will require some definition, but here is the remedy to our divided society. Charity.
Living within Limits
The good news is that there is something deeply spiritual about living and working within God-ordained limits--or to put it another way, living fully and acceptingly within our own set of realities.
January’s Gentle Whisper
New Year’s has become a time to plan to build for ourselves the best year we have ever had. It is important to stop at some point in our ever-moving lives and ask if what we are doing is good.
My Enemies Have Stories
I do not possess the power to forgive my enemies in the same way that God does, but I will carry a deeper respect for God’s reconciling of my enemy.
Breath Prayers
Breath prayers are simple in practice and in theory. In theory, breath prayers are one short refrain, sometimes even a single word, repeated silently or audibly, to the rhythm of your breath.
Reaching Goals and Holding Them Loosely
The New Year is convenient times in my life but I recommend looking at the rhythm of your life and look for the natural breaks or cycles that you are already following.
Everywhere a Sign
Jesus performs seven acts, or miracles, that are classified as signs. John calls them signs because their purpose is to reveal Jesus’s identity as the Word become flesh.
Who Is God Connecting You To?
God’s answer to their seeking is to connect them to one of his believers – maybe even you. So follow up on that urge to answer someone’s questions about Jesus, or to read the Bible with them.
Happiness and Sadness as Temptations to Idolatry
I have a very simple proposition: rejoicing and weeping, great joy and great sorrow, leave us in places of great temptation to idolatry.
Closing Thoughts
Depression does not define you. You are a person, not a condition. You are more than your darkest feelings, your worst mistake, or your lowest moment. There is good news. You matter. You are loved.
Blue Skies, No Rainbows (Part 2)
A conversation alone will not solve every issue; it merely preserves the relationship so we can work out everything else.
Depression and Addiction
People battling depression often turn to a wide array of coping mechanisms, many of which are addictive and ultimately destructive.
Children and Heirs of God (Galatians 4:4-7)
God adopted us because our reception as sinners into a familial relationship with God, by the work of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, well—all of this is God’s gift, God’s work, God’s initiative.
Holy Ordinary
I am convinced that our spiritual lives aren’t defined by the mountaintop experiences but, instead, by the ways in which we utilize and redeem the wholly ordinary moments of our daily lives.