Love as a Fruit of the Spirit
May 14, 2010There is nothing quite like sermon prep to really push you deep into a passage of Scripture. Like most Christians I’ve known and memorized and quoted and written Jesus words in John 13 to the disciples (and to us): A new commandment I give you, that you love one another as I have loved you. So shall all men know that you are my disciples. It’s a powerful verse with wide-ranging implications. So powerful, we’re studying the immediate context, John 13:31-38, in two messages. I have four basic points: 1) The Source of Love 2) The Supernatural Nature of Love…
Continue ReadingFriday Five Interview: Dillon Burroughs
May 14, 2010Dillon Burroughs is one of my very good friends. He is the author of way more books than you can count, including his latest [amazon ASIN=”0736921214″]What Can Be Found in Lost[/amazon]? He is on staff at the Ankerberg Theological Research Institute, working with renowned apologist John Ankerberg on many important books addressing current issues from a Christian worldview. I have always known Dillon to be a thoughtful observer of the culture and a rock-solid apologist for the Christian faith. A graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, Dillon is married to his lovely wife Deborah and they have three children. You can follow Dillon…
Continue ReadingCrosswalk Column: Growing Up is a Good Thing
May 10, 2010Below is my latest Crosswalk Column: Growing Up is a Good Thing As a father of three young kids, I’m never at a loss for laughs. Every single day, one of my kids does or says something so funny that Angela and I burst out in laughter. My son, Daniel, is a year-and-a-half old and can say like three words. So he usually points and grunts when he wants something. One night at dinner, he was doing his “pointing and grunting” thing. But I couldn’t figure out what he wanted. His drink? No. Pacifier? No. More food? No. I think…
Continue ReadingReflections on the National Day of Prayer 2010
May 5, 2010Tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer in America. Many local and national events will take place around the country to commemorate this time of public prayer. It’s heartening to know that even in 2010, with secularism on the rise that America stops to pray. I’m also grateful that our President is defending the National Day of Prayer against a court challenge and signed the proclamation proclaiming May 6th, tomorrow as The National Day of Prayer. You might have disagreements with policies President Obama has pursued, but for this he should be applauded.
Continue Reading7 Factors to Determine Your Direction
April 24, 2010I run into a lot of young people who are pretty committed to following Christ with their lives and yet they sort of live in this fog about exactly what that looks like for them. We tend to over-spiritualize God’s Will as if it is some hazy, foggy, wispy thing when it is really not that hard to discern. Here are some biblical guidelines for pursuing, finding, and obeying God’s direction for your life.
Continue Reading5-4-3 Tools for Making Good Decisions
April 20, 20105 Things To Know: 1) Know What You Believe (Matthew 6:45; Proverbs 23:7) What you believe down deep in your heart is the most important thing about you. Notice I said what you believe, not what your parents or pastor or guidance counselor believes. Every major life decision should be run thru the filter of your personal statement of faith. 2) Know Who You Are (Psalm 139: Ephesians 1:4; Jeremiah 29:11) Who are you? A random speck, a useless statistic? Or are you special, called by God, chosen, adopted, redeemed, loved, wonderfully created, uniquely designed, carefully held? Before you can…
Continue ReadingCrash Course Reviews
April 20, 2010Two new reviews of Crash Course: Christ Focus Book Club: http://ow.ly/1AxeD Teens Read Too: http://ow.ly/1Ax9W
Continue ReadingCrosswalk Column: “Mom, Dad, and God”
April 19, 2010The words I’m about to write are risky, so please read them carefully and weigh all of them in light of Scripture. But I’m writing them, because I believe they need to be said. Sometimes young people need to step up and make a decision for God, despite the advice of their parents. Ohh, I can hear groans from parents and youth pastors on that one. Let me explain.
Continue ReadingForgotten God
April 15, 2010I just finished a powerful book by Francis Chan, Forgotten God. This was my first Chan book. I had heard him speak a number of times and have been encouraged to read his work by many friends. This is one of those books that doesn’t necessarily inspire, but it motivates and convicts. The premise of Forgotten God is our unwillingness to recognize, submit to, and love the Holy Spirit inside of us. And it is quite remarkable that Christians, who have the Spirit of God inside of them, typically live and act as though they don’t. We wonder why we…
Continue ReadingExpecting Crosses
April 12, 2010Here is my weekly Crosswalk.com column: Expecting Crosses I’ve read John 12:25 quite a few times in my Christian journey and yet I never fully grasped its meaning until recently. We all know Jesus is reminding his followers that to be a disciples means to sacrifice, to take up the cross, to surrender. And I know that. I remember walking down the aisle at camp every year, pledging to live my life for the Lord. And I really meant it. I really do want to serve Christ. But I’m finding that my willingness to serve has a lot of conditions.…
Continue ReadingRollerblading and the Truth
April 9, 2010This is an excerpt from my new book, Crash Course When I got out of high school I had the bright idea of learning to Rollerblade™. Now if you know me, you know I’m about as coordinated as a giraffe on a skateboard. So I bought some Rollerblades™ and set off for the biggest hill I could find. The downhill part was cool—all 4.5 seconds of it. But when I ended up in a heap at the bottom of the hill, I realized two things. 1) Pavement really hurts, and 2) As hard as I tried, it just wasn’t in…
Continue ReadingCarrying Your Cross
April 8, 2010Great quote for Sunday by one of my favorite preachers of the past, Dr. Ray Stedman If you belong to Jesus, every day will have its cross, every day will have something you ought to do but you don’t feel like doing. That is your cross. “He who follows me must take up his cross daily and follow me,” Luke 9:23). Every day has its bit of death in order that it might bring forth life. The end result is a life so glorious, so complete, so obviously what we were made for that I can hardly find the words…
Continue ReadingThe Beautiful Power of Forgiveness
April 4, 2010This is my Crosswalk.com column for this week: My wife and I recently viewed the movie Amish Grace, based on the tragic massacre of five little girls in the Amish community of Nickel Mines in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. We were deeply moved by the powerful story of forgiveness. I must confess I know little of the Amish, but what little I have experienced; I’ve often found their version of Christianity a bit more performance-based than grace-based. And yet, this movie moved and challenged me in ways I can’t begin to describe. If you’re not familiar with the story, in 2007,…
Continue ReadingWhy Easter Matters in 2010
March 31, 2010Here is a sneak preview of some of my message for Easter at Gages Lake Bible Church. A few caveats: 1) I don’t spell-check my messages 2) I don’t edit them nearly as heavily as my articles and books 3) I write my messages for speaking, so it won’t all make sense. Okay, here goes: Why Easter Matters in 2010: 1) Easter Matters Because We Need an Answer for Evil You don’t have to look very far to know there is evil in the world. You don’t have to be religious. You don’t even have to go to church or…
Continue ReadingUpcoming Media Appearances
March 30, 2010My latest book, Crash Course, is set to launch on the first week of April and so I am going to appear in interviews in the next few weeks. You can typically go their website and listen live or hear the archives: April 8th Northland Notebook with Ted Elm April 13th – The Harvest Show on Lesea Broadcasting. This show is heard around the world on cable and satellite networks. May TBD – Women of Today with Vonette Bright Pray for me as I try to share what God has laid on my heart in the message of Crash Course.
Continue ReadingWelcome to My New Website
March 27, 2010Well, its been long overdue. But I finally updated my website. My last site was nice–for 2007. But its three years hence and life has moved on.
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