Archive / August, 2012

Do it all for the glory of God

Grasping The Gospel: The other day we were at costco trying to get some shopping finished in a hurry and had grabbed some books for the kids to look at while we scurried around. As we were checking out, Max (our son) asked if we could buy the coloring book he had been looking at. Normally we would go through each page and see if it was appropriate, but for some reason we agreed to to purchase it and away we went. Our blunder that could have caused our little one to stumble turned out to be for the Glory of God, both through our repentance and Max’s developing discernment. The very next day Max who is one week away from 6 years old, was coloring in this new prize book of his, after he had spent about 30 minutes on one page with a lot of excellent detail, he turned to Danae […]

God is Sovereign Over Your Life and Death

Opening thoughts: I love that God is Sovereign, don’t you? The thought of Him not being Sovereign, to me, is down right terrifying! Let’s think about that for a second… there has been an ongoing war in the middle East for what, ten years now? What if God is not in control over that situation? If all we can do is watch and wait as men and women battle it out, where is the comfort in that? If that is the case, we should be numb with fear. Have kingdoms not risen and fallen throughout the ages as a result of war? Have leaders not toppled due to other nations conquering and bringing them down? Is God not in control of all of that? The Scriptures are filled with assurance that God indeed is in control of all things, and is supreme over them all. The desire to take supremacy into our own hands […]

Bent Down Toward Sin

Opening Thoughts: The other day I was in the bank and saw an elderly man who was all hunched over. His back was so bad that he was literally looking at his feet, and when this gentleman arrived at the counter it was all he could do just to raise his head enough to catch a glimpse of the teller. It looked so painful and uncomfortable, yet no matter how much he wanted to stand up straight, it was an impossibility. In Luke 13:10-17 Jesus addresses a woman in the temple who was in the same boat as the man I just described to you, only this woman was about to be changed for the Glory of God. Let’s take a look. Luke 13:10-17 ESV .. Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She […]

Steward of the Gospel

A Wicked Servant Hides his Talents Can I be totally honest about the blog posts that I write? I have to admit that I write them to myself. I read my Bible, journal it out in my notebook, think through it, pray through it, study through it, then eventually blog it and all this work is for the benefit of my understanding what I’ve read and desiring to apply it to my life. If I kept my understanding to myself though it would be like the wicked servant in Matthew 25 who buried the talents given to him by his Master. So my aim is to be faithful with what I’ve been given and to be a good steward of it through this blog. You can know though that I’m right here with you listening to all that the Word is teaching through whatever passage it is that’s being shared. […]

Is the Axe Near Your Roots?

Opening Thoughts: The last few days there has been a lot on my mind, mostly to do with some pictures I’ve seen lately. One of the pictures I saw was of a man who was wearing flattened plastic water bottles on his feet as shoes because he has no money at all and he uses the only thing that he has or is able to find to give him some sort of protection for his vulnerable feet. While I sat there looking down at my feet that were wearing, not the most expensive but nevertheless comfortable and stylish ‘Vans’, I couldn’t help but get a lump in my throat. Here I am sitting in a nice coffee shop drinking a $4 whatever, working on a $900 lap top, wearing nice jeans, and shoes that cost me about $60, while this other human being created in the image of God has bottles strapped to his feet. Then […]

Amazing Typography Quotes from Francis Chan

Friends of mine over at David C Cook just put together an awesome site filled with typography quotes from Francis Chan’s books. You don’t want to miss this page, it’s a gem. It’s kind of like Pinterest style. So head over there and starting Pinning, Sharing & Liking your favourite quotes. I hope you are as encouraged by them as I am. Grace and Peace to you all. Check it out here: Francis Chan Quotes Facebook: Like Us Twitter: Follow Us Pinterest: Follow Us Blog: Subscribe

Not Saved by Association

Opening Thoughts: How many of you ever read “The Jungle Book” growing up? The story of an orphan boy who was raised by wolves in the jungle. He grew up thinking he was a wolf, playing with the other wolf cubs as if they were his siblings. The problem was that although he lived with wolves, played like a wolf and ate like a wolf, he wasn’t a wolf. No matter what he did to adapt to this way of life, he would never be able to become a wolf. Thankfully though, he finds out that he is not a wolf and is in fact human. The same is true for the church. There are scores of people who have been born into a church going home, they grow up singing all the familiar songs, playing with other Christian kids, learning their Bible stories, praying at mealtimes and bedtimes, and […]

When Salt Loses Its Taste it’s Just Grit

Opening Thoughts: This isn’t one of my typical expository blog posts, where we crack the code of Scripture 🙂 I wanted to be open and honest with you all because I believe that is very important above all things. I pray that you are encouraged by this post and that God will speak to your hearts about where some of you may be at. 2 Timothy 3:16 .. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” Last night Danae and I were struggling with the challenges of life, keeping up with our blog, finding time to continue writing our book, raising our kids, keeping up with my work demands, keeping up with the house demands, daily devotion, staying connected in our relationship, local church, connecting with […]