A Daughter’s Journey
As a parent of teens, I have had some difficult conversations with my kids. Especially my daughter when it comes to her spiritual beliefs. She is on the fence right now about what she believes, if anything, and I have learned to be comfortable with where she currently stands. You can imagine it is a difficult place to be based on my current calling, but it is where we are as a father and daughter. I love her no less. I understand where she is coming from, as I took a similar path when I was a late teen. [...]
Difficult Words of Jesus
The Gospels are some of the most encouraging and enlightening books ever written. However, they also have some of the most challenging and difficult words ever put to pen and parchment, and those are the words of Jesus. Jesus speaks in parables, and he also speaks directly to his disciples, the priestly class, Roman officials, and the people who would follow him from town to town. Many times then, and even now, his words were confusing, there were many times people walked away after Jesus spoke, but there were also many instances where people began to and continued to [...]
At Least We Have Hope
Besides reading and hearing about how many have become hopeless or feel hopeless, I have also had more and more conversations about how people feel hopeless. I hear how Society is going in the wrong direction, and our morals and values are trampled upon, and our way of life is being destroyed or hindered somehow. Unfortunately, what is surprising about these conversations and the articles of hopelessness is that Christians are saying they are hopeless and that the world is hopeless. The people who are called to be the people full of hope and love are the same ones [...]
A United Church
I have been thinking and praying a lot about unity* during the past several months as I have witnessed, along with everyone else the fractures and schisms that have become very apparent as we have all gone through a much more stressful year than anyone had anticipated. I have seen families, including my own at the dinner table, with our two emerging young adults holding two very different political viewpoints. Divided in their views. This at times can make for tense encounters (over some of the best grilled chicken you have ever had), yet we allow for disagreement [...]
Don’t Just Read Devotionals… Be Devoted!
Quiet Time. Daily Watch. Morning Devotional. Time Alone with God. Daily Office. All these terms are used to mean the same thing—a personal time with God and His Word in worship, prayer, and meditation, that lead you into a deeper commitment toward Jesus as your Lord. I first learned how to have a “quiet time” with the Lord when I was 16 years old. That’s—gulp—41 years ago. And while there isn’t “one way” along to have a quiet time with God, here are some simple guidelines: Find a place where you can be alone. This can be hard if [...]
Monitor and Adjust
We are in unprecedented times, and through this year our church has been faithful in its giving. For this we are grateful, and so are our ministry partners, as well as our community. We are able to do the work we are called to do through the spiritual discipline and act of worship, we call giving or tithing. As we wrap up this year, we ask that you continue to consider giving to the ministries of Woodridge, so that we can continue to minister well to our community. Because of your giving, we are able to develop an annual [...]
Evangelism Isn’t My Job
If there’s one thing that any missions pastor hates hearing, it’s “I don’t have the gift of evangelism.” Or even worse “I just don’t feel called to evangelism.”. In fact, I’m willing to bet a few of you even cringed a little bit just reading those statements. However, you’d be surprised if you knew how often I hear it from people who profess to be Christians. I experienced an example of this a few years ago at a meeting I was having with some other pastors from across the city. During the meeting we all introduced ourselves, and spoke [...]
Quit Trying to Change Into a Christian
As the new realities of our world begin to dawn on us, change seems more difficult than ever before. But of all people, Christians should be leading the world in change. The Apostle Paul knew this would be difficult for us. He wrote in Romans 12:2, “Be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” For Paul it was not enough to say that you knew Christ. The Christian life was to be marked by transformation, by change. But sometimes it seems that Christians are the most opposed to change. Yet all living things change or they die. God’s goal for [...]
The Prayer of a Righteous Person
I have recently just completed teaching an online study of the book of James, and as you can imagine we came across several areas of discussion that are just as valid today as they were when James wrote the letter almost two thousand years ago. Though he was writing to a mainly Jewish audience that had been dispersed through the region of Palestine and beyond, we can take what he wrote and apply it to our lives today. I could do an entire blog series on what I learned from James as I taught it, and I may, but [...]
I Command You to Love
2020 has been quite the year and we are only half-way through it. We are certainly in chaotic times right now. For believers, the turmoil that surrounds us should lead us to more fully understand that we live in a fallen world. Sin has corrupted every single thing in this world. We can see that in full display right now through diseases, murder, hatred, violence, and fighting. However, in the midst of the chaos while tensions run high, Christians are called to love. As we seek to display the love of our Heavenly Father in this broken world, it’s [...]