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)
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).
A Few Books on Rest
As I’m preparing a sermon on rest from Matthew 11:28-30, one helpful tool in knowing how to rest and then for entering into rest are good books. Below are a few helpful books on the need for rest, how to rest, and then a couple that provide rest for the soul through their focus on on resting in our good shepherd’s care.
For an article, here’s one I posted with Gospel-Centered Discipleship called, “Why Resting is More Important that Relaxing.“
Continue reading A Few Books on Rest
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.
Continue reading What is Baptism?
When We Run Out of Christmas Cheer
Many of us love the Christmas season, at least we do most years. Yes, it’s commercialized and stressful, but there are many things to enjoy: delicious desserts, classic movies and songs, gatherings with family and friends, gift exchanges, festive décor, old traditions and new memories, and fun local activities. I love Christmas time, so despite some cautions below, I’m more like Buddy the Elf than the Grinch.
But through disappointment during the holidays, I’ve also had to remind myself that “Christmas cheer” is great as a side-dish but it can’t be the main course that fills us up.
Continue reading When We Run Out of Christmas CheerConsidering 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.
November Thirty-Day Gratitude Reading Plan & Challenge
“It’s one thing to be grateful. It’s another to give thanks. Gratitude is what you feel. Thanksgiving is what you do.” Tim Keller
“I like to think of thankfulness as God’s ‘spiritual air freshener.’ It replaces the stale odor of resentment with clean, fresh-smelling air for the soul to breathe.” Gary Thomas
Gratitude is a bit like healthy eating. We all want it, and sometimes can do it for a few days, but our bad habits usually shoot us in the foot. Both take more than good intentions. They require replacing old habits with new ones. Good intentions need good habits if we want good results.
Continue reading November Thirty-Day Gratitude Reading Plan & Challenge
Top Quotes from Answering God by Eugene Peterson
“Prayers are tools, but with this clarification: Prayers are not tools for doing or getting, but for being and becoming.”
Over the last few years the Psalms have become a consistent and cherished part of my life. All the ups and downs of life, the spectrum of emotions, the heights of praise and the valleys of fear and despair, they’re all in the Psalms. Most of the Bible recounts history or offers teaching, but in the Psalms, we also get a window into how some of God’s people have processed, praised, and prayed through life as God’s people.
Continue reading Top Quotes from Answering God by Eugene Peterson
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.
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