History lessons teach the impact of death prevalent in culture when death is removed. A look at the Middle Ages finds people lived daily with the reality of death. A look at our current culture reveals a much different cultural view of death story. The current American lifestyle not only doesn’t discuss death, it finds ways to minimize and remove it from our daily life. An obsession with a youth-focused culture certainly is a major
There is no way to dice it or dance around it. I loved an atheist. I loved him with every fiber of my being. Had it not ended, I might have loved him more than I love God. In total transparency, my ex still has a small piece of my heart, that tiny shoebox in the corner of a heart where first loves and tacos live. Our “relationship” was a roller coaster of poor judgment,
Through my many years of singles ministry and working with pastors, one phrase is repeated often — “single for a reason”. It is the idea that singles are composed of misfits and odd ducks that are stranger than… married people. Next time you hear this phrase, here are some possible responses: We’re all messed up Reject rejecting language Leadership matters The reason you or a group of people are “… for a reason” is not
According to leading wedding industry averages, nearly one-third of engagements, unfortunately, result in a broken engagement before the wedding day. That means when the right one says “I do,” there is more work to be done besides the wedding details. Engagement is not a time to stop focusing on your relationship, but rather the time to dig deeper into the reality of a lifelong commitment before God. Don’t make a lifelong commitment on a short-term
I have this problem called self-reliance. Lately, it’s been popping up in my prayers in the form of raw inappropriate confession. “I want to do this by myself!” “Why do I have to wait for you! Why do I have to trust you for everything! Isn’t what you have enough?” Yikes. I know, right. But, before you click exit, you should know that I’m candid, not rebellious; besides, God knew it before I said it.
Why do we have difficulties? As followers of the Way, we are called to hard lives. Jesus is pretty clear. Carry your cross. The more we traverse through scripture, the more plain the cross becomes. Lives of sacrifice. Lives where we choose others over ourselves. Lives where we believe and act as if others are better than ourselves. And, turning the cheek and humbly accepting criticism and persecution that comes with that territory. No wonder
Sometimes, I like to play a little game with my students. it’s called “telephone.” The objective of the game is to transfer the same message from the front of the line to the end of the line. When we are ready to begin, I communicate the message to the first person, and then I let the message go! Sometimes, when I check with the last person, the message got through…and sometimes… the message failed mid,
John Piper’s article, “Satan Takes the Word” from DesiringGod.org resonates as it explains the parable of the sower. In the explanation detailed in the above article, Piper tells his audience how to prepare their hearts for the Word. It is tremendously valuable; I advise you to read it. It is in reflection of that article that I pose the following question: how do you prepare your heart for God’s Rhema Word? If you follow the
rusting God in challenging times, my plane landed in Central Asia in the wee hours of the morning. After training, I couldn’t get here fast enough. This is where I felt called to and had been working towards for a long time. It was finally happening. I was joining the work of taking the Good News to the nations. I piled my four VERY heavy bags on a cart, and basically skipped to the exit
Are You All In? Being “all in” is who I am and proud to be. I am not sure when it happened, but sometime after my ministry call hit me, I decided to be a man who made his Yes be Yes and his No be No. Like Matthew 5:37 tells us, I decided to follow God and be all in for whatever He planned for my life. At 19, I hadn’t been on a
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