Posts from 2019 (Page 4)
The Everyday Relevance of Eternal Life
“Knowing your journey ends in a feast of untainted, cloudless, eternal joy completely reframes how you experience the passing pleasures of this life. These pleasures are appetisers. It’s their job to whet our appetites, not satisfy them. That means we can savour sweet gifts while we have them in solidarity with the banquet to come. They are foretastes of glory divine.” Read more…
Getting a Life
“One of my personal strategies for sticking with Jesus is to periodically remind myself of how lame Plan B is. Jesus is offering Life. Not life as maximized choice. But Life. That is, Spirit-lead life, the life of the age to come, life in fellowship with Father, Son and Spirit, a life of proleptic participation in the new creation with the community of the forgiven and in mission in the world: the kind of life that is truly life, even…
Why I Don’t See Tithing as the Pinnacle of Christian Virtue, OR as Something Legalistic
“What I always say to people is that if you take the standard of 10 percent and say God required it of the poorest people in Old Testament Israel, and now that we’re under the grace of Jesus and have the indwelling Holy Spirit and live in this incredibly affluent culture, do you think He would expect less of us? Does God still have expectations of New Testament people? Clearly He does. In fact, Jesus’ message is, “You have heard that…
On Greying Toward Glory
“I have always been uncomfortable with my own gaze and yet curious for it nonetheless. Aren’t we all? Our own gaze, for males and females alike, tells the truth about who we are. It is, perhaps, the only time we can’t lie to ourselves or believe the lies we tell ourselves about who we are or wish we were or want to become. We can stand there and list a series of affirmations about ourselves or we can tell the…
Always Count the Cost
“And even today, each of us must consider what it costs to be a Christian. This is not the question of what it costs to save a Christian’s soul—Jesus would show us that through his crucifixion. It’s the question of what a person must be willing to give up to be saved. And to answer, I want to track with J.C. Ryle who provided a brilliant answer many years ago. It costs very little to maintain the outward appearance of…
Strength & Weakness
“Because the Bible prefers weakness over strength, we are tempted to think that the first half of these pairs is inherently more spiritual than the second half. But this would be to ignore the heroes and heroines of the Bible. Abraham was rich. David was a king. Moses was mighty in power. Solomon was wise. Esther was beautiful. Samson was strong. Paul was supremely intelligent. And even Jesus himself demonstrated great power and authority. So I don’t think you can…
If the Gospel is True, The Gospel is Urgent
“The Bible says my friendship with her is no mistake. You and I don’t accidentally fall into relationships, jobs, or neighbourhoods. God ordains the “allotted periods and the boundaries of [our] dwelling place” (Acts 17:26). In other words, God determines exactly where and when you and I live, as well as where and when everyone we know lives. Our friendships are not cosmic accidents. They are ordained by God. But why does God ordain our relationships?” Read more…
Giving Up for Lent
“As we enter the Lent season, and people ask if you are giving up something for Lent, don’t twist it into some New Year’s Resolution 2.0. It’s so much more beautiful than that. It’s not a work we complete, but a means of grace God has given to us as our birthright to see his a glimpse of his salvation when we have lost hope. It’s us saying “I don’t have to be afraid of my weakness. In fact, I…
Evangelicals, Ash Wednesday And Lent
“Granted lots of Christians abuse the Christian year. Granted some Christians explain seasons, like Lent, as if they have never heard of the Gospel. But just because some Christians mess this up does not mean there is something inherently wrong with the practice. We understand the wisdom of seasons – sometimes setting aside times to work on something helps you all year long.” Read more…
Parenting Bigger Kids
“When my youngest turned 10 and graduated from the little kid stage, I wrote 10 Lessons on Parenting Little Ones. Now, with my oldest turning 18, I thought it would be fun to compile some thoughts on parenting bigger ones. So here are a few things we’ve been learning along the way (all of which we pilfered from the parents we have admired and did our best to imitate).” Read more…