Look ahead
It’s a cliché, I know, but it became a cliché because it’s true. Don’t live in the past. Is that you? Are you beating yourself up over something you did years ago? I think the apostle Paul struggled with that. In some of his letters he mentioned the terrible things he’d done to Christians years earlier, referring to himself as the “worst” of sinners and the “least of the apostles” (1 Timothy 1:15; 1 Corinthians 15:9). It bothered him. I’m…
Cut flowers
Note: I wrote this article before the governor of New York signed a bill on Tuesday that legalized abortion up until birth in some cases. He also directed the One World Trade Center and other landmarks to be lit in pink to celebrate the passage of the “Reproductive Health Act.” How exactly the law will be interpreted and applied remains to be seen, but it seems like another step in the deeply discouraging direction of becoming a nation that delights…
One day soon
I’m looking forward to the resurrection, aren’t you? There’s a sense in which we’ve already been raised, of course. When we were brought up out of the baptismal waters, God raised us from our spiritual graves. We were dead, and now we’re alive. We were lost, and now we’re found. But the resurrection isn’t over yet. Sometimes I get sore muscles, and my head hurts (“in this tent we groan,” 2 Cor 5:2). I struggle with sin way more than…
Expectations
In Luke chapter 9, we read that Jesus sent His disciples into the towns and villages to teach the gospel and to heal. Followers of Jesus should expect to be sent. We don’t become Christians to be served or catered to. So, in our youth ministry, we are hoping to help equip our children for their mission to reach out to the lost and dying world and show them Jesus. But when Jesus sent his disciples out to work, he…
Do you know him?
About 32% of the people in the world identify in some sense with Christianity, which is about 2.5 billion. I have no idea how many of those truly walk with Christ—God does, of course—but it seems that if there were 2.5 billion dedicated Christ-followers in the world, some of our problems wouldn’t exist. Right? Part of the answer is obvious—there’s a difference between what we call ourselves and what we actually are. There’s a difference between checking a box on…
Inviting
I’ve heard of people who have led thousands to Christ in their lives—through preaching to huge audiences or writing books or tracts that reach thousands. That’ll never happen for most of us. Paul established dozens of churches, and Peter preached to enormous crowds. Both of them wrote letters about Jesus that have been read by hundreds of millions. My circle of influence is considerably smaller than that. Once we’ve realized that, we’ve got two options. We can resent our situation,…
2019 Theme and Plans
2019 Theme Summary Video Reading plan for the church To “delight” in God’s word and “meditate” on it “day and night,” we’re going to encourage every member of our congregation to read through the Bible as a congregation in 2019. We will provide a reading plan to the church, and we will commit to reading through the assigned portion every day. The reading plan will be organized around a chronological reading of Scripture that covers the entire Bible. We…
ACU Bearing Fruit
The apostle Paul instructed the young preacher, Timothy that he should, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” (II Timothy 4:2 ESV) This is what the faculty, staff, students, and graduates of Asian Christian University (ACU) are doing. With all diligence, the Gospel message is being shared with those who need to hear. The results are evidence of the faithful teaching and preaching. The recent news of…
Chest-thumping?
Maybe there’s a little bit of a my-dad-can-beat-up-your-dad spirit in many of us, but most of us also recognize it’s not much fun being around someone who’s always one up. Is there a braggart or two in your world? It might actually intimidate kids on the playground, but it’s wise not to try it in God’s house. Read Paul’s boasting below, but don’t miss his point: For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory…
He’s serious
It’s pretty easy to develop a cavalier attitude toward sin. We’re saved by grace anyway, right? “Everybody’s got sin problems,” we say, and, “After all, nobody’s perfect.” And a few other platitudes like those make us feel better. But they shouldn’t. We shouldn’t ever become relaxed about sin. The Old Testament has a lot of scary passages, and we’ve got to be careful when we apply them to our time. But they’ve got something important to say to us. Here’s…
What our kids are learning
Our culture has a lot to say to our kids. If you can run a 4.4 40, throw an accurate 95mph fastball, or consistently sink 18-foot jump shots, you’ve got potential. Or . . . If you’ve got a 4.0 GPA with a 30+ ACT and acceptance letters from schools that reject more than they welcome. Or maybe . . . if you look like this and dress like that and have a body shaped like her . . .…
Read it
I stopped at Chick-fil-A awhile back, and I was surprised to see an open Bible lying on the main counter beside the newspaper rack. At first, I thought a customer must’ve left it there, then I realized that someone in a position of authority had put it there on purpose. It was weird seeing a Bible in a public establishment like that. In our increasingly secular world, it’s become unfashionable to take Bibles into public places. Do it too much…
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