TweetIn Part I, I briefly discussed how I believe that one of the most central questions to the human existence is “Am I worth something?” Almost every sin pattern I can think of has its origins in a process of answering this question apart from God. If we were confident in our worth and identity as God declares it, we [...]
TweetThe more ministry I do, the more I’m beginning to believe that most people’s deep hurts and struggles with faith center around a pretty simple question: “Am I really worth something?” And I don’t just think it’s just church people asking this. I’m a pretty strong believer in the idea that most human beings live their [...]
TweetThis is the last of my three-part (for now) series on the power of grace. I hope you’ve come even just a little bit closer to knowing deeply the richness of God’s grace. But before I write anything more, I want you to watch this video and do your best to emotionally engage. Feel it as deeply as you [...]
TweetIn my last post, I shared about how I’ve struggled to boldly speak truth to others because I fear messing it up, even if my intentions are good. This blog post is going to deal with how we can respond to difficult responses to our truth-telling when we acted in ignorance or foolishness, even if [...]
TweetThis post marks the kickoff to a three-part blog series on the power of grace. But I intend on blogging about grace for a long time to come, so don’t think that I’m going to stay at three parts forever. I hope the series would rock your world and free your soul. To start, I would like [...]
TweetFor those of you who don’t memorize all of my blog posts, let me remind you that StrengthsFinder calls me a futurist. That means I’m always thinking about what’s next. I think God knew about my futurist tendencies when he decided to begin calling me toward relationship with him. Not many people know this, but my [...]
TweetAt our Southside New Life Team gathering a couple nights, we reflected on a difficult reality of the Christmas season: misrepresenations of Jesus. At the time of year when America collectively celebrates something that at least has its origins in the birth of the Messiah, our nation’s misconceptions of Jesus become considerably more public. It results in [...]
TweetSo in my last post I spent some time introducing the tension between God’s relentless grace and the concept of rewards in heaven. I’m not sure there is a really simple resolution to this tension, but recently I’ve had considerably more peace about the issue. First, I think it might help to understand what our reward will be. I don’t [...]
TweetMany of my friends who deeply understand and experience God’s grace have felt confused or upset by the idea of treasures in heaven. I mean, if God is perfect in mercy and does not repay us according to our wrongdoing (Psalm 103:10), then why do we some day have to account to God for what we did [...]
TweetThe other day, while driving through Wheaton, I saw a strip mall-turned-church. I wondered to myself how Wheaton could truly be a “Christian hub” of sorts (as it is known) without revival spreading to nearby towns. How does a huge concentration of Christ-followers stay that immobile? There are a million and one reasons I suppose, but based [...]