Every day, we fill our minds with lots of thoughts, ideas, daydreams, concerns, worries, and considerations. What we think about it isn’t neutral. Our thoughts direct our desires, hopes, fears, passions, emotions, and actions. The old adage “you are what you eat” reminds us what we put in our bodies affects our bodies. But it’s also true “you are what you think” because what we put in our minds affects our mind, heart, and behavior.
Continue reading Have You Considered? (10 Things to Think About)Category: Uncategorized
Three Identity Markers in Colossians 1:1-2
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” (Colossians 1:1–2)
Imagine you meet someone tomorrow and they ask you to describe yourself. What would you say? Who are you? Try summarizing who you are in ten words or fewer (really, try it).
What is Baptism?
I love to see Christians testify to Christ’s work in their lives through the waters of baptism. Baptism is one of the most exciting events in the life of a church and an individual. We cheer and celebrate what a person declares about God’s precious grace and powerful work toward the person getting baptized.
Baptism pictures and proclaims the saving work of Christ that takes place when someone repents of their sin and trusts in Christ. God pours out His mercy and grace on sinners at conversion, forgiving them of their sins, making them new, uniting them with God’s people, and giving them the Holy Spirit. These things all happen at salvation, but they are beautifully announced, displayed, and celebrated among God’s people when a person goes public about their new life in Christ at baptism.
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Considering Christ this Christmas
Below are a few of the Christmas posts I’ve written. I hope they can help you set your mind on Jesus during this Advent season.
Resources for Parents on Creation
Next Sunday, our Children’s Ministry kicks off week 1 of The Gospel Project. The first session is on “God Created the World” and Genesis 1. While all of Scripture is inspired and profitable (2 Tim. 3:16), not every section is equally significant to the Story. Genesis 1-2 summarizes Creation. It reveals God as the Maker of all things, and how all things point to Him. It provides conceptual seeds for truths and themes that bloom throughout the Bible.
Seal: Small Word, Big Meaning
One joy of studying the Word rather than giving it a cursory reading is all the truth that starts to pop. Read through anything quickly and little will stand out. Read things slowly and thoughtfully, and you’ll experience reading in a whole new way. One thing slowing down forces us to do is to ask questions about the Bible. What does a word mean? Why did the writer use that sentence order or repeat that phrase several times? Where else from Scripture might they be drawing from? If we pause to chew on one word, one promise, one truth, or one phrase, we’re much more likely to be gripped by it and do something with it.
Wendell Berry quotes on Grief
I finished reading again Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry tonight. I’ve probably read it at least once a year the last four years, and each time, new things stand out. It’s one of Berry‘s Port William novels, and essentially the story of one woman’s life and the grief and gratitude present throughout. Having lost my dad last June, the theme of grief and how we experience it came through in a different way. Here are a few quotes from Hannah Coulter and Jayber Crow, my two favorite fiction books (both by Wendell Berry), on grief and loss.
Advent as Warfare
Day 1 of Joy the World: Daily Reading for Advent from Charles Spurgeon speaks of the “first act of grace” after Man’s first act of rebellion. God speaks both words of judgment (assuring the serpent his doom is sure) and words of mercy (letting Adam and Eve know they’ll not be put to death immediately and that not all is hope is lot). God’s persistent mercy and gracious promises swiftly show up. Though Adam and Eve rebelled and lead humanity into darkness, a second Adam and son of Eve will one day come to bring about our restoration and freedom.
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Resources on Mark’s Gospel
As our church begins going through Mark’s Gospel, I wanted to recommend a few resources to either read alongside of Mark or to help provide overview and background. Here’s a short list of some books, articles, and videos to go along with a study of the book.
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Your Children Are Arrows
Children are a gift from God. We love and treasure them. Children are also sheep needing shepherded. Parents must know, feed, protect, lead, and care for their kids.
But did you know the Bible also describes children as arrows? “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth” (Psalm 127:4). This metaphor gets at the missional aspect of raising a child. God wants us to love and enjoy them but also to train them so they can be missionaries wherever they go. God doesn’t want us to hoard them or shelter them but to release them. Parents think about their kids in terms of what they mean to us or what we want from them and for them, but we often neglect what God intends to do in them and through them.
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