We must keep an eye on our hearts at all times. We are either going forward, or we are going backwards. We are either progressing in holiness, or we are digressing towards sin. We are either headed towards God, or we are running from God. There is no way to stand still in our pursuit of God and holiness, and a measurement for this is the status of our hearts.
I love sports. I have played some form of athletics, recreationally, since I was around at least 7 years old. It began with basketball in the backyard with a make-shift goal that my dad built himself. He built the backboard out of plywood and then nailed it to a tree. Creative! I did play one Read more about For the Love for Sports and the Glory of God[…]
The guys and gals who write the books on church growth and “ministry success” need not congratulate themselves too much, as good as their work can be. Certainly, there is much to learn from anyone and we should all be open and willing to learn from even the most unlikely sources. With that being said, Read more about Who Should Write the Church-Growth Books? Understanding the Role of Seasons in God’s Work & in the ministry of Billy Graham[…]
What I want to communicate here is one idea, namely, “Read Your Bible Most When You’re Hurting the Most.” Have you always wanted to understand the Bible better? Is there a longing in your soul to really take in, deeply, the insights of Scripture? Additionally, is there a desire to have solid hope in the Read more about Read your Bible most when you are hurting the most[…]
Pastor John Ortberg once asked author Dallas Willard what he needed to do to be “spiritually healthy,” and Willard replied, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life” (source). But what does it mean to “be in a hurry”? What does “being hurried” actually mean? I’m trying to evaluate whether “hurriedness” is a state of Read more about “Ruthlessly Eliminate Hurry”=Spiritual Health[…]
When we sin it is akin to taking many years of my time, and many millions of my own money (hypothetically!) to build a building that I have planned on constructing for decades. Once the building is fully completed after much effort and much toil and many resources expended, let us imagine that I then Read more about The Cunning Nature and Destructive Results of Sin[…]
“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:5-6). “Porn doesn’t have a Read more about Hugh Hefner’s Sad Legacy: The Dangerous Ripple Effect of Porn[…]
There is a commonly repeated saying that usually goes this way: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results!” We can see this principle as true and valid in various areas of our lives. If we are not brushing our teeth every night, then we can expect to continue Read more about Is Your Church “Insane” Enough?[…]