What would we do if Jesus walked into our living rooms tonight and said, “I’ll make you a deal: detach yourself from all of this. Stop chasing the American dream and instead live on minimum resources, and I promise you’ll never regret it. Stop believing the lie that a responsible Christian must have a 401(k),Continue reading “What Are You Waiting For?”
Category Archives: Discipleship
The Trouble with Self-Condemnation
When’s the last time your beat yourself up? Last week when you lost your temper at work? Yesterday when your teenager acted out and you felt like a rotten parent? This morning when you stepped on the scale? Self-absorption entails far more than typical pride—it means anything that shifts your awareness away from Jesus (orContinue reading “The Trouble with Self-Condemnation”
Coldplay, Autumn Leaves, and the Voice of God
The other day, while I was sitting on my cozy, screened-in back porch, the wind suddenly began scuttling through the trees (which were fat and fragrant with autumn leaves), and the sound was like rushing water. If I’d closed my eyes I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. The sound nearly took theContinue reading “Coldplay, Autumn Leaves, and the Voice of God”
What Do We Mean by the “Voice of God”?
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the voice of God. We Christians speak often of God’s voice, but some of us would be hard pressed to explain it. I’ve heard stories of people hearing an audible voice, but God has never spoken to me that way. Even so, I began hearing Him many yearsContinue reading “What Do We Mean by the “Voice of God”?”
Blissfully Thankful
Gratitude and joy go hand in hand. Today, I was overcome with thankfulness that God has allowed me to work from home—which means that I look at this all day: instead of this: In the middle of my prayer, which went something like “Wow, thank You! Wow!”—I realized that I’ve never felt joy without beingContinue reading “Blissfully Thankful”
Why I Stopped Praying for Clarity
When we pray, “Give me clarity, Lord,” we are actually saying, “Let me see clearly where I’m going before I get there.” If God answered that prayer, simple faith would become unnecessary. Last year, I read a true story about a young man who asked Mother Teresa to pray that he would have clarity—but sheContinue reading “Why I Stopped Praying for Clarity”
Neither Poverty Nor Riches
The American concept of “enough” is so warped that we equate being horribly in debt with success. We do not own our houses; they own us. Even the most affluent among us is often just a paycheck or two away from disaster. But the writer of Proverbs 30 prayed, “Give me neither poverty nor riches,Continue reading “Neither Poverty Nor Riches”
Grace and Holiness
Sometimes, those of us who herald the message of grace are accused of using it as a get-out-of-jail-free card to excuse all sorts of rotten behavior. Nothing could be further from the truth. At the risk of sounding harsh, I’ve got to say that those who equate grace with the license to sin do notContinue reading “Grace and Holiness”
Right Here, Right Now
Salvation and God’s will are both played out day by day, but too often we live as though salvation were a five-minute event that happened at some point in our past, and as though God’s will is “out there” in our future somewhere. Both are disconnected from our present; we remember one and wait forContinue reading “Right Here, Right Now”
