Growing up my favorite bible verse was without question, Philippians 4:13. In it, Paul writes, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Thanks to Christian marketers, I had this verse on everything. I had t-shirts, necklaces, posters.
There are a lot of people hurting this week. For many, Presdent-Elect Donald Trump represents the worst of people. He's the embodiment of everything that can go wrong and his campaign rhetoric has incited fear and anxiety for the minorities that have been on the receiving end of his remarks.
Politics and religion are two topics that many of us avoid at all costs. They immediately ruin a good conversation, creating vitriol reactions and angry rants. They exhaust us in our scrolling through Facebook and interacting on Twitter.
In a little over two months, Reading Romans with Luther will make it's launch into the wild. I'm excited to see this work finally come to fruition. I believe that the theology of Martin Luther is needed in our world today, but most people wouldn't dare read his writing.
Résumés win and lose you the opportunity to make a first impression. A good résumé will win you the chance to have a first conversation. It impresses a potential employer with your accolades, opening the door to a potential job offer.
It's the top of the ninth with a runner on first and second. There are two outs and the home team is fighting to hold off the visiting team for one more inning. The pitch comes in and the batter swings and hits a line drive to the outfield. As soon as the right fielder gets the ball, he notices the runner rounding third to make an attempt at home for the go-ahead run.
We are experts in comparison. As kids, teenagers, and adults - comparison doesn't really change, we evaluate ourselves based on how we measure up to the people around us. Did we get more than them? Are we better than them? Do people like me more than them
I cannot imagine the mixed emotions the Israelite's would have felt when their feet first hit the edge of the Red Sea. After finally escaping the slavery of Pharaoh, it seemed that their incompetent rescuer did think through his plan. He led them to their demise with their last view being an army behind them and a sea in front of them.
Grace is always one-sided. We never have anything to do with it - that is, besides the sin that makes it necessary. But for some reason, we convince ourselves that are responsible for the grace we receive. We are convinced that in order to progress spiritually or to get more from God, it’s all riding on our performance.
At any moment our family room is on the verge of being transformed into a rave. "Dance party! Dance party!" is all that's needed and the room will immediately cease to be a place of lounging, toy-playing, and movie watching and become a dance floor filled with moves you'd hope to never see a grown man do.
There is something alluring about a ladder. The better you perform, the higher you climb. The higher you climb, the more you get. If you want more from your job, work harder. If you work harder, you get better and if you get better, you get more rewards.
It doesn’t end. Weeks after the tragedy at Pulse, a nightclub in Orlando, we have witnessed the tragedies of the death of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and a mass shooting that killed 5 police officers in Dallas.
God have mercy.
Christians are experts in denial. We find ways to cover our tracks, to hide the problem, and to justify ourselves with a string of excuses. We've become experts at putting on a facade of a happier, more behaved version of ourselves. We hide the problem while appearing to have it all together.
Today, I’m excited to announce the launch of a new book that I've been working on for several months in order to share with the world - for free! Introducing: The Art of Law and Gospel.
One of the most dangerous problems plaguing the Christian Church is the failure to distinguish Law and Gospel. These two words - Law and Gospel - are a gift from God. We need both words, but we need them for different reasons.
The greatest threat to the Christian Church is not the culture we live in. Despised the ever-present culture-wars, it is not the greatest potential of damage to the Church. Christianity has faced cultures far more hostile to the Christian faith and have experienced exponential growth.
