Timothy Keller, founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC, has stage four Pancreatic cancer. That’s not news—he’s been talking about it for some time. He has also been candid that he’s aware his time left here is limited. I greatly appreciate his honest hope in the midst of suffering and the reality of physical…
Tag: Jesus
Cancel Culture
One of my biggest priorities growing up was to be liked. I needed to be liked. I didn’t like myself and thought if others did, it would cancel my own opinion. That rarely worked. I think that’s why there is so much emphasis in Scripture against focusing on the approval of men: humans are fickle…
Hope in the Hurt
Saddened to read of the fear this recent act of hate in Atlanta has created in the Asian-American community and the added struggle the pandemic has caused over the last year. Cellist Soo Bae reminds us that in all circumstances, God is on the Throne and is worthy of all blessing and honor and glory.
Gravel Roads Get You There, Too
My Dad was born and raised in the little, country town of Mendenhall, Mississippi. When I was growing up, we spent nearly every Saturday down there visiting my grandparents, along with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins who were scattered along highway 13. Most of my memories include either walking or riding down all the…
Whiplash From Life’s Hairpin Turns
As I write this, my Dad lay in ICU at Baptist Hospital in Jackson with a very slim chance of recovery, medically speaking. On Wednesday he was set to go home today (Friday) but took a terrible turn sometime during that night. In an instant, everything changed. That’s the way life is, isn’t it? Instantaneous…
Meditation for Today: Grace
I have found that the idea of grace is a wonderful concept to think about but a whole ‘nother thing to live! In my own life, I find that I don’t like to give myself grace. Let me rephrase that: I want to give myself grace—I just usually don’t. I am often my own…
Come Let Us Adore Him – Advent Devo
If you are interested in a good Advent devotional for you or your family, I would recommend this one by Paul David Tripp. Click on the large image below to check it out at Amazon.
The Mind-blowing Nature of Grace
One of the most challenging aspects of the Gospel is the amazing grace of God that declares Believers as perfect in Christ. It is hard to grasp because we know we’re still sinners. How can we be both sinners and sinless at the same time and, if true, how can we live in that reality?…
Aliens in a Strange Land
In Galatians 1:3-4, Paul writes that Jesus “gave himself to rescue us from this present evil age.” It seems like every day we’re confronted in new and more blatant terms just how evil this present age is. On the one hand, it can be heart-breaking to see a culture in constant decline and that reality…
A Morning Meditation
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1 This is an amazing passage, especially in light of the fact that Paul has just concluded chapter 7 by talking of the war that wages within us; of the struggle, as Christ-followers, to do what we want to do, all…
Getting it Right
One of the things I had to learn once I started seminary was how to effectively and rightly interpret Scripture. I guess I hadn’t though much about it up to that point. I figured you just read the Bible and did what it said. From time-to-time, I would have people ask me, “Do you interpret…
Portrait of a Savior, Part 11 video
Portrait of a Savior, Part 11 from The Gathering on Vimeo. According to John, Jesus has the authority to both give life to whomever He pleases and to judge the living and the dead. What does it mean to truly live the life given by Christ? Is it possible to have eternal life and yet…
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,…
Monday Morning Rewind: A Passion for ‘The House’
The following is from my message yesterday at The Gathering. You can watch video on Demand here. What is your attitude towards “the House”? I’m talking about the Church. Not the building…the people; the Body for which Christ died? Over the years, the church has been largely defined by individuals or groups who have led…
Have You Met My Friend? His Name is Todd.
Todd is a dear friend of mine with some of the most amazing talent I’ve ever personally experienced. A singer-songwriter with a gift for identifying the most important things in life and putting them to music, Todd can have you laughing one second and crying the next.
A Reasonable Response
In the opening of Isaiah, God says something that, to me, is astounding. He calls the readers to do something that sounds, well, unreasonable. He says, “Come now, let us reason together.” Crazy, right? No, think about it: The sovereign Lord of all that is, who created by the power of His Word, who controls…
Where Is Your Faith?
Last night, during Worship Out Loud at The Gathering, I spoke on Luke 8:22-25. Here are the thoughts on that passage that led to that talk. Jesus gave His disciples a command: “Get into the boat and let’s go to the other side of the lake.” They obeyed. First step of a good disciple…when you’re…
The Depths of the Cross
Living in a world where misguided terrorists regularly commit suicide, killing not only themselves but countless others along with them in order to become “martyrs” for Allah, Chambers puts the death of Christ in perspective, standing in stark contrast not only to those mass murderers who die in vain, but even those who willingly give their lives for others and the cause of Christ
Trivial Pursuits
…there is something that has been put within us that wants to care for others. In this, we find satisfaction and a purpose beyond ourselves. Yet, there is something that doesn’t quite seem completely satisfying if we stop and think that anything we do for an individual is temporary at best. All I’m doing is giving a little comfort for a short term. That can make all of our work still feel somewhat futile. What if there is more?
The Door – 1 John 2:22-25
In John 14:6, John reported Jesus as having said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.” With those words, there was no room left for any other way to salvation. Now, we can either believe it or not…that option is left to us, but…
Is following Oprah one of the millions of ways to God?
I figure it must be since, according to her, there are now “millions of ways to get to heaven”. OK, we’ve known that Oprah has been out in left field, spiritually, but according to a recent report, she has (I believe for the first time) effectively denied Jesus verbally: According to Christian Newswire, Oprah Winfrey…
