Leader || Preacher || Teacher
Prayer is the overarching keystone practice in having a faith that won’t quit. Jesus tells the story of a man who knocks on a friend’s door in the middle of the night because he is hosting a late night traveler and has no bread to offer him. The friend first tells him to go away, but eventually gives the man some bread not because they are friends but because of the man’s persistence. When your prayers are persistence your faith perseveres.
Continue reading “Unstoppable Prayer”
“He’s been dead for 45 minutes.” These were the words given to Joyce Smith when she saw her son John for the first time after he had been retrieved from the frozen waters of Lake Saint Louise. Doctors and medical staff worked diligently to try and bring life to his lifeless body. Joyce worked continually in prayer for her son. What happened next defies explanation.
Continue reading “Live a Life of Love: There is No Try”
Do you want to know Jesus better? You need the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.
Continue reading “Live a Life of Love: Know Jesus Better”
In my living room there is a piece of scripture art that a friend made for me. It reads, “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:15). It’s my life verse. It reminds me that I no longer live for myself but for Jesus who died and defeated death for all.
Continue reading “The Better Gift: Paul’s Life Verse”
I arrived late to class and noticed that the mood in the room was anxious and tense. The students and teacher were speculating about an event that was happening in New York. I was confused and wasn’t following the conversation. “What happened? What are you talking about?” It was Tuesday, September 11, 2001
Years ago, I asked a student minister to share his testimony with me. He was sitting across from me in local coffee shop. We were just getting to know each other. He told me how he read the right Bible in the right way. How he was baptized with right understanding, in the right mode. How he worshipped in the right church, with the right hierarchy, with the right acts of worship. I said, “That’s great. Could you say that again this time mentioning Jesus and his grace?” I am certain this is how many in my Christian tribe would tell their testimony today. Why? Because it was once how I told mine. Continue reading “Selfie-Centered Gospel”
Acts 9 is not a passage that was included in Luke’s writings to teach us about baptism. It is there to tell us about the profound conversion experience and calling of Saul (Paul) and it includes his baptism. Paul is met by Jesus on the road to Damascus and is forever changed. Paul meets Jesus and is told what to do by Ananias and all that happens; his persecution of followers of the Way, the bright light, the voice of Jesus, the blindness, the fasting, his new calling, and his baptism are all included in his testimony. Continue reading “Next Step || Baptism & Calling”
Romans 6:1-7 (NIV) What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
Continue reading “Be Buried to Be Free || Sin | Grace | Baptism”
A life without pain may mean that we have resigned to helplessness and hopelessness. A pain free life sounds great but it may be that we have grown numb or that we are self-medicating to stay numb. A pain free life may mean that we have also become numb to joy and love. In our efforts to avoid pain to try and spare ourselves from the worst, we may inadvertently choose to miss out on God’s best. Pain is a gift, but it is the gift that no one wants. We don’t want it because the problem with pain is that it cannot be switched off. Continue reading “The Gift of Pain”
The Apostle Paul captures the life, death, and the majesty of Christ poetically with just seven verses in Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV). Continue reading “The Selfless Savior”