How we can read, receive, understand and respond to the Bible
It wasn’t until recently in life that I understood what I had been doing when it came to reading my Bible. In fact, I didn’t realize how old of a practice it was and that it had deep spiritual roots. While this may seem technical or old using Latin terms, this practice is the best way to receive, understand, and apply scripture in our lives.
What is Lectio Divina?
In order to understand where we are going with this, we must focus on a few different things. Especially as this phrase can conjure up many thoughts about what this practice can actually be about…
This is what a leader looks like in God’s Kingdom
I was never picked first growing up. Not at anything. In fact, I was normally one of the last ones picked for just about every game or activity that I was ever involved in as a kid.
For a long time, that bothered me. I wanted to be the one picked first. I wanted to be the one everyone wanted because I equated that with being the best, the greatest.
However, something I learned later in life was how much better it is to be one of the last ones. …
Sometimes impossible things do happen
Have you ever come across something that was utterly impossible to happen, and then it did?
I remember the first time I came across this in my life. I was on a mission trip in Southern California. We were there for 10 weeks and near the beginning of the time, one of the other guys on our trip had a prayer request.
His aunt had been diagnosed with lung cancer.
The aunt fervently believed that God could remove cancer from her body and so she reached out to everyone she knew to pray specifically that it would be completely removed from her body.
We received word for this…
It might not be who you would think
Greatness in God’s Kingdom has little to do with what you do for God.
A few days ago, a friend was sharing how burnt out they were at the church. Growing up, they checked all the boxes. They went to all the youth events, church services, and did many serving opportunities. Their parents were devout and very connected to the church they grew up going to.
Yet, here we are, in my friend's adult life and he doesn’t want anything to do with the church, Jesus, or Christianity.
It’s not that he doesn’t believe that God exists or even that…
This might be an unpopular opinion
You don’t need to respond to every comment.
There was a time that responding to every comment on Medium mattered. It helped you engage with others. There was useful discourse. And it would help you grow your following.
But that time has passed.
I barely ever respond to comments on Medium anymore. Not because I don’t care. Or because I think I am better than anyone. But because there are rarely comments that need a response. So often, I get one of these types of responses:
“Great piece, well written!” (But nothing else)
“I completely disagree…” (Insert laundry list of…
We sit in good company
I will never forget the time that I realized I didn’t have enough faith to see something through that God called me to do.
Shortly after graduating college, God called me into full-time ministry. Not as a pastor or a missionary in another country, but as a stateside operations person for a well-known Christian organization.
I was so excited to jump into this new adventure. And, I felt positive that God would bless everything that I would do since it was the first time I really experienced a clear call from God to do something.
Several months into it, however…
Giving up our lives and taking up his
Jesus asks much of those who follow him, but he doesn’t ask a lot of those who don’t. Just after graduating college and working in my field, I realized Jesus was asking me to do something more than running sports events.
He was calling me down a road that I was not sure I wanted to travel.
Yet, the pull was strong, and the signs were there, and Jesus was making it clear to me. He was asking a lot of me, especially now that I had started the career I had been dreaming to do for years.
I remember…
It doesn’t matter who you are when it comes to God’s Kingdom
Christians forget sometimes that Jesus didn’t discriminate when it came to miracles, signs, and wonders.
Sure, there are places in the Bible that tell us he was sent specifically for the people of Israel. But, ultimately, he never withheld healing to those who believe in him.
In our world today, we see such polarization. People are separated by religion, values, politics, economics, etc. We see this happening in our local communities, states, and nations. And, it is easy to get sucked into this reality with everything that blasts us with information.
Unfortunately, the church is right in the middle of…
It makes it hard to keep going sometimes
This last week, I launched my latest book, a devotional guide on the Gospel of John. I was so excited to get it out and into the hands of people around me. It has been a project that has been in my heart for a long time.
I did all the promotional activities you should do for any book: ads, social media, email newsletter, and ongoing posts pointing to the book.
Overall, the book received a great reception and even became a #1 Bestseller! But, there were some dark spots on the launch. …
What the loaves and fishes really tell us about God’s Kingdom
People always have a problem when a well-known Christian is wealthy. We see it over and over again. This pastor drives that car. That pastor lives in that house or neighborhood. Whether Christian or not, pastors are always being judged on their wealth.
This seems unusual to me because we don’t judge professional athletes, politicians, or CEOs on their wealth. It is almost as if everyone expects Christians to be poor.
I know when I was in college I went to Italy for a summer. While touring through the great churches of the culture and the Vatican there was something…
