THE BLOG
Topic
- Anxiety 2
- Beauty 1
- Bible 7
- Blessings 1
- Body of Christ 1
- Burden 1
- CEO 1
- Christian Living 197
- Christlikeness 6
- Christmas 14
- Commandments 1
- Community 2
- Conflict 1
- Cults 1
- Culture 1
- DDM 1
- Death 2
- Discipleship 5
- Emotions 6
- Eternity 2
- Evangelism 7
- Faith 2
- Forgive 4
- Freedom 1
- Fusion 1
- Gambling 1
- Gather 2
- God 2
- Gospel 3
- Gratitude 2
- Hebrews 11 1
- Holiness 1
- Holy Spirit 1
- Homosexuality 1
- Humility 1
- Israel 2
- Jesus 9
- Joy 2
- King of Glory 1
- Lying 1
- Missions 3
- Outreach 1
- Pastor Jeff 1
- Perspective 2
- Prayer 8
- Psalm 119 3
- Reading 1
- Salvation 13
- Sanctification 1
- Satan 1
Don’t Misrepresent
I am not trying to be political (though I faithfully vote, pray about election choices, try to be a good citizen), but I am guessing that by now, most, if not all of you have heard the name James Talarico in the news. He is a member of the Texas House of Representatives and is running in a highly publicized race to be a U.S. Senator from Texas as the Democratic nominee.
Resist the Devil
One of the things we quickly learn about living the Christian life is that it is a battle—against the temptations of the flesh (1 Peter 2:11), the allurements of the world system (1 John 2:15–17), and the seductions of Satan and his demonic forces (Ephesians 6:11–12). This battle is fierce, subtle, powerful, and relentless. As usual, the Lord gives us all the tools we need to fight with so we can win. Let me focus on how God has directed us to battle our fiercest enemy, the devil.
Liberated Living
One of the many blessings we have as followers of Christ is freedom. As Christians and Americans, we get to celebrate two kinds of freedom: one as a political nation (“with liberty and justice for all”; freedom of religion, of speech, of the press, to peaceably assemble, to petition the government for redress of grievances, from unreasonable search and seizure, etc.), but the greater freedom is as a holy nation (God’s people in the church—1 Peter 2:9).
I Don’t Do
Over the years in ministry, I've heard a number of people say things like "I really don't want to serve in the nursery" or one gal I remember said "I don't do children's ministry." Yes, we have all been gifted uniquely and differently and can find ourselves in a different season of life, but it is God's clear design for His church to function at its best when everyone finds a place to serve the needs of the body.
The Fellowship of the Unashamed
In 1981, my dad wrote a charge called The Fellowship of the Unashamed. He wrote it to inspire believers to recognize who they are in Christ and how they can live out a wholehearted "no holds barred" faith. Little did he know what would happen with this charge as it went "viral" in an 80s and 90s way (first through church newsletters, then later email and the internet) and somehow it became attributed to a South African man who penned the charge in his grass hut just before he was martyred. I remember sitting in Jacksonville at a conference with about six thousand pastors and hearing a speaker dramatically close his message by reading this charge attributing it to a martyr. I smiled and knew that this made the charge sound so much more dramatic and inspiring along the way.
Are You Able to Do the 10 Things?
I have received the Baptist Press email for years. It is the official news service of the Southern Baptist Convention and the largest religious news agency in the U.S. It provides daily news, features, and opinions regarding Southern Baptist missions, ministry, and evangelical concerns globally. One of its features is a daily cartoon by Pastor Joe McKeever, who pastored churches for 60 years, was a missions leader, and is a cartoonist.
Don’t Go To Church
Recently, I read this straight-forward no-nonsense piece (not sure who wrote it), but it caught my attention because I love the church and gathering together with God's people to worship the One who is worthy of our best.
Let the following words remind you or stun you or motivate you.
Life and Judgement
On Sunday, our passage led us to consider Jesus’ words about “Life and Judgment.” Not only does Jesus speak more about judgment and hell than anyone else in Scripture, but nearly every time He speaks about heaven, judgment is part of the conversation.
Oh What a Love
Next to God's Word, I think one of the best books I have read on the growth and health of our faith is Trusting God by Jerry Bridges. Jerry shows us from God’s Word that no matter what we experience in this life, we can wholeheartedly trust the sovereign, wise, and unfailing love of God. This past month, our Men's D-Groups and Women's Flourish groups read two chapters about this love in Bridges’ book. Let me quote a powerful truth Jerry shared about God’s love from God’s Word: