Who knows where the small events in our lives will lead? There may be something small going on in your life right now, but that small thing could lead to monumental, God-ordained change. Are you willing to go there with Him to that unknown future?
Read MoreI saw a creepy white van early this morning. Later, when I sat down for some quiet time, my thoughts drifted back to the van and I became curious: "Why was my first reaction to be suspicious?"
Read MoreOur sense of justice demands fairness, which is good. Unfortunately, however, we set ourselves up as judges of what is good / fair / just, and often find ourselves in disagreement with God over the topic.
Read MoreWhat kind of church do you think Jesus would attend today? Big? Small? Liturgical? Charismatic? Would he want smoke machines or not? Would he prefer the beautiful, stained glass cathedral or the humble pig pen converted into a church?
Perhaps a better question is: would Jesus enjoy attending your church today?
Read MoreThe desire to be productive and shortcut our way to a destination has crept into our spiritual lives. We no longer have the patience for the slow, earthy reality of being human, and we don't have the desire to simply be "on the way."
Read MoreFor a follower of Jesus, the most important question is not "Did I hit the mark?" but, "Did I aim for the right mark?"
Read MoreEmotions do not adequately define what it means to love God. The adoration of God (having profound love or regard for God) is not the end of the journey. It leads somewhere.
Read MoreIs there a better, more formative, way we can address pain in our lives, especially the inner pain we all want to flee? Yes, but we have to ensure we approach pain with a healthy and biblical image of God.
Read More"Thou shalt not murder" is one of the Ten Commandments, and none of us likely have issue with obeying it. We say, "It's a command. One of the big ten. Of course I'll obey it."
When's the last time you took a Sabbath? Better put, is your commitment to honour the Sabbath as strong as your commitment to not murder? If not, how come? They are both big ten commands.
Read MoreI understand there are times we need to be disciplined to do the things that bring us wellness, and being disciplined can take effort, but I had noticed I was finding less enthusiasm regarding my wellness routines. France offered me a chance to step away for a couple of weeks, so I did a couple of drastic things.
Read MoreWhat's your opinion on silence? Do you like it? Dislike it? Yearn for it? Avoid it?
If you were to ask me this question last month, I would have quickly said, "I love it and want more of it in my life." That response would make sense. I live in an urban centre, have a teenager in the house, and am often in meetings with people. I don't have a lot of silence in my life, so of course I'd want more of it.
So yes, it makes sense. Unfortunately, if I'm being honest with myself, it's not true.
Read MoreWhat comes to mind when you hear the term spiritual warfare? For some, our thoughts go immediately to powerful encounters with demonic forces, like we see so frequently in the ministries of Jesus and Paul. For others, our thoughts go to all-night intercessory prayer meetings, or walking and claiming geographical territory for Jesus in order to tear down spiritual strongholds, etc.
However, the New Testament offers us a more complete picture.
Read MoreIf someone were to call you "emotional," would you consider it to be a compliment or an insult? For many, it would be the latter. However, if we use the term in the strict definition of the word (relating to the emotions; having or expressing strong feelings), we are all emotional.
Or, we should be, including in our theology.
Read MoreWhy do you go to church?
If you were to ask followers of Jesus this question today, many would say, "To worship God," or something similar. What's interesting about this response is they are completely missing the point of church.
It was God's intention from the beginning of time to partner and co-create with his Creation. We read in Genesis 1 that humanity was given the task of stewarding the earth, and God gave them "every seed-bearing plant and all the fruit trees" for food. God provided the food, but humanity would need to gather the food for themselves. An angel wasn't going to drop off a food-basket at Adam and Eve's doorstep every morning.
Read MoreThe time, place, and socio-economics of our birth and upbringing highly influence the way we see the world. It even influences the way we see history. Most notably, our culture-glasses influence the way we see, read, understand, and apply Scripture.
How can we solve this problem?
Read MoreDo you tend to assume the best or the worst about people and situations? If you receive a text that is open to interpretation, depending on the tone, do you lean more toward a negative interpretation? If something happens, do you predict the most catastrophic outcome of the circumstance? Do you keep worrying terrible things will happen to loved ones? Psychologists have a term for this: awfulizing.
So how do we stop doing it?
Read MoreIf you were ask followers of Jesus this question today, many would say, "In heaven." Ask the natural follow-up question of where heaven is, and you'll likely get a shrug of the shoulders or a finger pointing to the sky. This means, of course, when these same followers of Jesus begin to pray, they are directing their prayers to God who is "up there... somewhere" or "out there... somewhere."
Read MoreHave you ever come to an end of a chapter of life and hit a wall of waiting? It's a weird in-between place where you've finished reading the last page of your current chapter, but God has not flipped the page to the next one. Why does he make us wait?
Because God shapes us through waiting.
Read MoreGiven the choice between a real, tangible experience with God or an experience with gluttony, anger, pornography, drunkenness, promiscuity, or whatever sin you care to name, would I not always choose the tangible experience with God? Ah, but therein lies the rub. Not every experience with God is tangible.
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