God’s glory provides an indestructible purpose. It is a powerful resource to help us move forward under the burden of sorrow. Yet even in writing these words, I feel like I’m doing an injustice to how it feels in practice. …
What was your first encounter with awe? There are certain experiences in life that leave you awestruck forever. I remember a particular season, years ago, in those wonderfully awkward middle school years, of just beginning to grapple with my faith. …
The story of the Good News of Jesus Christ was first written down by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and then handed down to each subsequent generation. But why not just one, coherent account, instead of the four we’ve been …
After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, one pastor told his decimated church, “We’ve always said that Jesus is all we need. Well, now Jesus is all we have.” When the COVID-19 pandemic bullied its way into churches, all we had …
Some of my favorite memories from growing up are the family trips we took every fall to the beautiful Texas Hill Country with a few other close friends. After a scorching- hot Texas summer, the wonderful cool breeze and crisp …
Feelings are a primary blessing and a primary problem for human life. We cannot live without them and we can hardly live with them. Hence they are also central for spiritual formation in the Christian tradition. In the restoration of …
When I was just starting out, we didn’t have fancy websites and email and stuff like that. We had a post office box to which people would mail the craziest things. Apocalyptic prophecies involving aliens. Diatribes against popular preachers. Secret …
When Jesus says we must lose our lives if we are to find them, he is teaching, on the negative side, that we must not make ourselves and our “survival” the ultimate point of reference in our world—must not, in …
One area in my life where I am hearing new truth reflects my sense of personal responsibility in all walks of life. Being overly responsible has been an issue for me for years. I thought I had resolved the problem …
Read moreThe Discipline of Irresponsibility Taught Me Something.
Many years ago, I learned about the false self and the true self. I learned that everyone struggles with the tension between these two selves. The false self is the person we wish we were, the person we think we …