With minor changes, this email below is what I sent to the three pastors in my church. This church is growing in numbers and has a great zeal for the Lord. But they have a serious weak spot which the devil is sure to exploit. As the church grows they will need strong small groups.… Continue reading Keeping Your Small Groups Real: How To Foster Unity and Spiritual Intimacy
Category: Wisdom
Growing Where You Are Planted
Scripture commands us to love God and love people. We are also called to comfort others with the comfort we ourselves received. This could mean talking to people about Jesus. Or it could mean paying for someone’s coffee or even their cancer treatment. But as a practical matter, how do we do these things? How… Continue reading Growing Where You Are Planted
What Is the Fear of the Lord? How Do We Know When We Have Too Little or Too Much?
As a young Christian in my twenties, I used to cringe whenever someone talked about the fear of the Lord. To me, any kind of fear was bad. And I couldn’t escape thinking of all the times I was afraid of my own dad. How The Fear of My Dad Wrongly Shaped My Fear of… Continue reading What Is the Fear of the Lord? How Do We Know When We Have Too Little or Too Much?
How God Uses Our Suffering
When I was a young man in my 20’s, I ranted and railed against God because in my view, any God who was all loving, all powerful and all knowing would never allow suffering. My unspoken belief (however naive), was that being carefree and without pain was always good. While being beset by anguish and… Continue reading How God Uses Our Suffering
What Is Faith? How Do We Leverage Our Faith?
As a young Christian I always struggled with what it means to have faith. The problem was that no one would define it for me. And equally bad, no one would give me practical applications of how to exercise this faith. I remember being told things like “you need to step out on faith” or… Continue reading What Is Faith? How Do We Leverage Our Faith?
Are You Too Holy To Desire God’s Promises in the Here and Now? What’s the Difference between Being Selfish vs Acting in Your Own Self Interest?
Have you ever wondered if it’s selfish to ask God for things while you’re alive and can still enjoy them? Or what about being eager to follow God’s commands because deep down, you want an earthly reward? Is this OK or is this somehow unspiritual? As a young Christian with six figures in debt, no… Continue reading Are You Too Holy To Desire God’s Promises in the Here and Now? What’s the Difference between Being Selfish vs Acting in Your Own Self Interest?
Works v. Leveraging Your Faith
We often confuse works with leveraging our faith. Yes, both works and faith are intertwined with one another, and it’s easy to assume these are the same things. But they’re not. Off the bat, we can never do enough works. Indeed, there’s always something more we can strive for. Always something more we could have… Continue reading Works v. Leveraging Your Faith
My Body My Choice: Yes for Me (But Not For Thee)
Now more than ever, our country is crying out that “It’s My Body: My Choice.” We hear it from the anti-vaxxers who detest Covid shots, we hear it from the pro-choice groups after the stunning reversal of Roe v. Wade, and we hear it from the free thinkers in San Francisco who want to legalize… Continue reading My Body My Choice: Yes for Me (But Not For Thee)
What Is Truth? Is It Just About Facts?
A Letter To Ron: Earlier you mentioned that you keep running into that guy in the wheelchair, and that you can’t understand why in spite of his infirmity, he still has this unexplainable joy. I know you are going through some scary and difficult times. And that it’s hard for you to believe you can… Continue reading What Is Truth? Is It Just About Facts?
True Prosperity: Are We Using God’s Gifts for Tools or for Trenches? What Does It Mean To Be “In the World but Not of It?”
As a young Christian, I grew frustrated whenever I heard something preachy or sermony. To me, a church sermon on Sunday meant nothing unless it could be applied to my busy work life on Monday. And so for many years, I was starving for practical application: Ways I could know if I was doing it… Continue reading True Prosperity: Are We Using God’s Gifts for Tools or for Trenches? What Does It Mean To Be “In the World but Not of It?”