My son, Jacob, has written a new blog post entitled, “Watching Our Words,” where he explores the affect of words on our relationships and, as a part of a larger series he’s working on, “Becoming a Young Gentleman in the 21st Century”. I had the privilege of being interviewed by him for this segment (his…
Category: Christian Living
Bothered by Frustration
Do you ever find yourself getting frustrated with people? Let me re-phrase because the question is ridiculous. I know you do get frustrated from time-to-time. The question is how often and why? I’ve certainly been there (way too many times)! In some ways, I can be extremely patient–but then in other ways, well… I realized a…
Demonic Distraction
I’m not likely to elicit the services of a prostitute. I’m not likely to get a bottle of scotch and polish it off in a sitting. I’m not likely to hunt down someone I dislike and take them out with one, ridiculously accurate shot between the eyes. There are probably a thousand different things I…
The Truth of the Moment: Recovering from a Spiritual Slump
If you’ve ever been in a play or any kind of production where you were required to recite memorized lines, you know the most terrifying thing to happen is to forget your lines. You freeze, palms begin to sweat, you get the deer-in-headlights look, heat begins to overwhelm your body, causing instantaneous beads of sweat…
God’s Gift of People
I was studying in 2 Timothy 4 this morning where in verse 9, Paul tells Timothy to “do your best to come to me soon.” Clearly, as Paul goes on in that passage, some things have not gone well. He has been abandoned by everyone, even having one guy, Alexander the Coppersmith, doing him “great…
The Equipping Work of God
Our folks at The Gathering have heard me say quite often, “What God calls you to, He equips you for.” I thoroughly believe that. Ephesians 2: 10 affirms that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” So, He’s definitely called us. …
TGC Article: 8 Lies Christians Believe About Success
Man, this is such a great article on the lies Christians believe about being successful in life. If you are serious about being a faithful disciple of Jesus, I would highly recommend you read and re-read this from The Gospel Coalition blog. Here is an excerpt of a few of the lies we easily fall…
A Liberated Mess
Last week, I took a couple of days for a personal retreat. I had a lot of things unresolved in my own mind and heart and they were starting to take a toll on me (physically, spiritually and emotionally). Karen suggested I take some time to get away, alone with God, and try and work…
Conversational Scripture Reading
Have you ever tried praying Scripture back to God? I’m talking about actually speaking the text back to Him using conversational pronouns (I may have just made that term up, but you get the point), for example, changing “He” and “the Lord” to “You”. It makes for an amazing prayer and worship time. Give it a…
Powerful Words
Have you ever heard someone say that? “Wow, those were powerful words!” Most are. Seriously, words rarely have no affect. Even mindless ones. Actually, it’s often the mindless ones that have the most power.–that create the most damage. Each time we speak to someone, we’re doing something. Maybe we’re giving a compliment. Noticing something special…
Thirsty
One of the problems I have had throughout my life is that I often don’t realize I’m thirsty until I’m bordering on dehydration. I seem to get parched quickly and, before I know it, a headache sets in. By that time, it’s too late to avoid the pain, though it is essential that I begin…
When Doctrine Comes Alive
Last night, we had one of our Institute classes at The Gathering. If you’re not familiar, Institute is currently an in-depth systematic theology class we take some of our members through. It can be rather intense and challenging to complete. I have to say, though, I am so proud of those who have taken on…
No Room For Compromise
I had the opportunity to hang out yesterday with a couple of young adults whom I have great affection for and was able to hear from them what some of the general attitudes are regarding right and wrong and was is considered acceptable among their age-group. I wasn’t the least bit shocked, but still deeply…
Making Disciples
The mandate for the Church is to “go into all the world and make disciples.” (Matthew 28:18-20). If we’re a part of a “church” and not doing that, and doing it effectively, we are hard-pressed to say we are a church. I think that we are to do this is hardly debated. HOW we do…
Sunday Morning Rewind: Taming the Wild Beast in Your Mouth.
“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” James 1:26 Bridle your tongue. Have you ever tried to bridle (or we could say, bite your tongue) when someone really pushes your buttons? When they say that one thing that really puts you…
Holy Rebellion: Making the Determination to Stand
I refuse to be defeated. That statement sounds a bit absurd, if you think about it. I mean, if I’m standing in a boxing ring in front of a 230lb well-tuned fighting machine, I’m not sure that my attitude matters very much. I don’t think he cares what I refuse to do. He’s going to…
Video: Relentless, Part 8: Integrity, On the Verge of Extinction
Who do you trust? I mean really trust? If you’re like most people (me, included), you can probably count on one hand the number of people you know, beyond a doubt, that their word is their bond; that if they commit to something, you can take it to the bank. Can you name them? Would…
Video: The Calling of Parenthood
Sunday, I dealt with very touchy issues related to parenting at The Gathering. These included the challenges of parenting and the pain that comes from the inability to have children, along with the dangers of engaging in extraordinary means of impregnation, such as IVF. My goal was to deal with these issues from a biblical,…
Come and See
As someone who has studied apologetics extensively, I know and have used all of the logical arguments for the existence of God, the deity of Christ and the reality of miracles. I have talked with people about the rationality for believing in the reliability of Scripture and the resurrection of Jesus. As a natural skeptic,…
Navigating Your Way Through a Wilderness of Purpose
Have you ever been stuck in a bad job? I think that might be one of the worst things we have to deal with in life because sometimes we really do feel stuck, like a caged lion or a wolf caught in a trap. You might be in one right now. If you are, I’m…