Posts from 2020
Finish the Year Weak
“Finishing the year weak will not be your downfall. You may feel hopeless, helpless, or somehow left behind. But your felt weakness is the key to your leaning more fully into the God who made you and loves you. So don’t be afraid to confront the hollow promises of Christmas sentimentality head-on. Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t have what it takes this New Year. You don’t have to have what it takes.” Read more…
How To Make A New Year’s Resolution That Sticks
“We have all heard the statistics: 50% of people make some kind of new year’s resolution, but 88% of those resolutions ultimately fail. That is more than a little discouraging. But I still believe in new year’s resolutions. I believe in them as a convenient opportunity to evaluate life and to make choices about living life better. I have done a fair bit of reading on how to make resolutions work, and it turns out that though there are many…
2020 will not be wasted
“I’m not tempted to pretend that 2020 never happened but I do feel the draw of deciding to write-off 2020, like a bad investment or broken asset. I could just admit that 2020 was pretty terrible, try not to dwell on it too much and get on with 2021. There is still six weeks to go of 2020 but it’s tempting just to try and get on with 2021 right now. I can’t change the calendar and make 2021 come…
The Servers and the Servicers in Every Church
“Every church is made up of different kinds of people. There are extroverts and introverts, for example—people who are on the outgoing and sociable side and people who are on the shy and pensive side. There are leaders and there are followers—people who love to lead ministries within the church, and people who are content to be led. There are evangelists and disciplers—people whose passion is sharing the gospel with unbelievers and people whose passion is equipping existing believers. In…
Small Decisions Matter
“Life is in the details. Listen to C. S. Lewis describe how our small, day-to-day decisions matter. Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger…
Maintaining Confidence in the Process
“We are people in a hurry. We live fast-paced lives in a fast-paced culture. We can never go quick enough to keep up, never do enough to complete every task, never accomplish enough to satisfy ourselves or others. But still we try, still we hurry on. Yet the Christian life has a way of challenging us, of cutting against our haste. It challenges us that the ordinary state of affairs when it comes to spiritual growth is slower than we’d…
Ten Ways Women Serve in a Biblical Church
“As a pastor, I deeply appreciate the women in my church. I definitely don’t tell them that often enough, but it’s important that we never take each other for granted.” Read more…
Running an Unexpected Course
“The Christian life is a race. Running it requires focus and faith. There is a starting place for all runners: putting their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And there is a specific destination: eternity with Jesus Christ. There is a start and there is an end, but what happens between the two? The author of Hebrews calls us to run the race with endurance. But each of us must run a specific course—”the race that is set…
When Nobody Else Listens, God Listens
“The answers to our deepest questions are not found in having just anyone who can hear and see our urgent need. Lovato already had plenty of people listening to her “hundred million songs.” What she, and all of us, need is the One who listens to our cries, who is concerned, and who gathers us into his community—a genuine community that learns to truly listen and care for one another. We need this One who leads us out of prison-like isolation and into his kingdom of…
How to Stop Hating Yourself
“So, let’s talk to this Lord. Let’s spend time in the presence of One who feels sympathy for us, and keep on approaching Him, boldly and with hope. Through Jesus, we can learn to be who we are — who God sees us to be. We can begin to speak back to self-hatred and to lies. We can shelter forever in the warmth of His unchanging love.” Read more…