Posts from 2020 (Page 2)
A Master at Identifying Sin
“I am a master at identifying sin. I might be tempted to brag about that fact, except for this: While I’m a master at identifying the sin in other people, I’m a mere novice at identifying the sin in myself. And I don’t think I’m the only one. There seems to be something deeply embedded in sinful humanity that gives us the ability to spot the sin in others but to ignore it in ourselves. We can provide a thorough…
Should We Expect Our Jobs to Make Us Happy?
“It’s always exciting when you see an announcement on social media of someone starting a new job. For the first few weeks they’ll post regularly about how thrilled they are about this “new adventure” and how great their co-workers are, sharing pictures from the new office. Then, over the next few weeks, the posts will slow to a trickle then dry up completely. This is what I like to call the “Expense Report Pivot”—the moment when reality has set in…
Rejection
“No matter how it happens, rejection is hard to overcome. And the closer the relationship, the deeper the anguish. The pain can be so intense that sometimes our bodies even feel the ache of it. I do not know about you, but when the feelings are fresh, they can deprive me of peace. I search through the rubble of the relationship and wonder, was it something I said? Did? Or didn’t do? Why don’t they engage me anymore? What about…
God the Patient Gardener
““I would give up, were it not for this thought: my God is a patient gardener. He will finish the work he has started. He will not abandon us in the dirt.” Read more…
The Monotony of the Wilderness: Are You Just Marking Time?
“What is God’s calling for you on this ordinary day? Perhaps it’s unbegrudgingly making breakfast for your kids. Or patiently dealing with an interruption as you try to work from home. Or confessing your sin when you were impatient in the midst of that interruption. Or spending hours on the phone trying to secure unemployment benefits. Or video chatting over dinner with a single friend who is home alone. Or walking the dog. Or doing the dishes. Or struggling through…
The Local Church Was Made To Serve The Christian, Not The Christian The Local Church
“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. Sabbath is a gift God has given us for our good. We are feeble creatures who need rest, yet foolish creatures who would otherwise work ourselves to the bone. The sabbath is a reminder of our weakness, of our finiteness, of our inability. It is a reminder of all of these in a physical sense and, more ultimately, in a spiritual sense, for so much of what is true…
Enjoying Imperfection
“Only God does all things perfectly. In a world that has written God out of the story, we have written ourselves into the role of perfection-attainment. And it is killing us—our dusty little frames, our finite abilities can’t handle it. It’s not that we shouldn’t ever aim to be the best—it’s about what we do when we fall short. And what failing does to us. It’s realising that not all things need to be the ‘best’, but can simply be enjoyed…
The fear of the Lord… for today?
“We aim for something similar with the Lord. The better we know him, the more we see an intensity of love and majesty, of mercy, and infinite power. From his throne comes both gentleness and “flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder” (Rev 4:5). And you can’t decide whether to fall down and worship or rush in and touch him. You do both. That’s fear of the Lord for today.” Read more…
Sticktoitiveness and the Christian Life
“At some point in my childhood, someone encouraged me to develop a character trait that I was apparently missing. I don’t remember the exact context for the advice or even who presented the case, but the word used has always stuck with me. What I sorely needed was something called “sticktoitiveness.” Read more…
Scars, Cartwheels and God-Given Strength
“I believe in a God who has decreed the length of my life and lovingly numbered my days, who has counted the hairs on my head (even when there were none to count he knew the dormant follicles that would spring back to life!), and who became flesh in order to suffer in that flesh for me—so that I might look forward with joyful certainty to a new, eternal, incorruptible body.” Read more…