Last spring I had the privilege of speaking at a conference for NFL players put on by Pro Athletes Outreach (PAO), a group which exists to unite a community of pro athletes and couples to grow as disciples of Jesus and positively impact their spheres of influence. They have a fantastic outreach to professional football and baseball athletes and their wives. I’ve seen firsthand the amazing difference they’re making. In the off-season I exchanged emails and texts with dozens of NFL players and cha..Continue reading→
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Thoughts
Motherhood Is a Marathon
I wanted to do great things for God. In the spring of my senior year of college, on the brink of embarking upon my own journey into adulthood, my future was undecided and that was simultaneously terrifying and thrilling. As a philosophy major, my path was narrower than I had realized, but I was sure it would take me on some grand and glorious adventure. I knew the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. “Glorify” sounds like such a grand term. It evokes images of battlefie..Continue reading→
1 Peter 5:7–8: How Not to Battle Anxiety
Anxieties attack our faith and torment our peace. The question with anxiety is not whether it will come, but rather, how can I fight it when it does? Watch NowContinue reading→
Is Love of Money Really the Root of All Evils?
Is the love of money the “root of all evils” or only the “root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10)? “All evils” is the formal English equivalent of the original Greek (pantōn tōn kakōn). It is remarkable that all older versions of the Bible translate 1 Timothy 6:10 in the more literal way: “The love of money is the root of all evils” (or all evil). This includes the Wycliffe Bible, Luther Bibel, Geneva Bible, King James Version, Douay-Rheims, Darby Bible, and Revised Standard Version. Bu..Continue reading→
Daily Verses
Daniel 7:18 (07-18-16)
But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.— Daniel 7:18 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... Forever! The Kingdom will belong to God's saints, his children, the people of the Most High (see Daniel 7:27), us! And it will be ours, forever... and ever... and ever. Praise God for his promises, his grace, and his faithfulness. My Prayer... Almighty God Most High, I look forward to the day that your Ki..Continue reading→
Psalm 119:7
“I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.”Continue reading→
Revelation 7:17 (07-17-16)
For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.— Revelation 7:17 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... What a beautiful picture! The One who died for us will nourish and refresh us. The One upon whom all eternity hinges will take time to personally comfort us. No wonder Paul could say that he did not consider his present sufferings worth comparing to the glory that ..Continue reading→
Romans 1:16
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”Continue reading→
Luke 7:16 (07-16-16)
And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.— Luke 7:16 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... Jesus came to do the work of God. Jesus came as the Son of God. Jesus came to reveal God. Jesus came and people praised God. Jesus came so people could see God. Do you know Jesus? If you do, do you know him as well as you should? My Prayer... O Gracious Father and Eternal God, thank..Continue reading→
Daily Wisdom
1 Peter 3:8
“[Suffering for Doing Good] Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”Continue reading→
Matthew 9:12 (09-12-16)
But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.— Matthew 9:12 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... Why did Jesus associate with sinners? Because we need him to associate with us! What's the most crucial part of that truth: Jesus' desire to save or our recognition of our sinfulness? Of course the most crucial part is Jesus' desire to save because without him, recognizing our sinfulness would only lead to desp..Continue reading→
Philippians 4:4
“[Final Exhortations] Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”Continue reading→
2 Corinthians 9:11 (09-11-16)
Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.— 2 Corinthians 9:11 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... Why does God bless us with riches? So we can share those riches generously with those in need and so we can bring thanksgiving to God. My Prayer... Father, thank you for providing me with so many blessings. May my use of your riches bring you glory and bring others a true and genuine blessing that will touch their hear..Continue reading→
Prayers
Daily Prayer for July 18
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. John 4:23–24, NIV Lord our God, we thank you for being among us as our Father, for letting us be your children on earth. We thank you that as your children we can find life in spirit and in truth. Grant that each of us may find how our lives on earth can be lifted up by your Spirit. Your Spirit can bring us what we do not possess, so that our daily work, all our striving and struggling for the outward things of life, may be pervaded by what is higher and greater. Your Spirit can keep us from falling into base and petty ways, from getting lost in earthly experiences which do not last, no matter how much they demand our attention. We thank you for all you have done for your children. Continue to help us, that we may serve you every day in gladness ..Continue reading→
Holy and Blameless
Passage: 1 Thessalonians 2:5-12 Prayer: Dear Father, Keep all your preachers from using words of flattery, any cloak of greed, or from seeking glory for themselves, even though they have certain rights of support in the gospel. Let them reach out to people with care and gentleness, like a nurse caring for infants. Help them to be willing to share not only the gospel but their very selves. May your witnesses exhibit holy, blameless, and righteous behavior, showing the care of a father, even as you do, ..Continue reading→
Daily Prayer for July 17
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn. Isaiah 61:1–2, NIV Lord our God, light of humankind in Jesus Christ, full of joy and trust we ask that we may have access to your almighty power, your power against all darkness, sin, death, and bondage. May we feel close to your almighty power. Hear our weeping, for we are and remain your children, to whom you have promised redemption and deliverance. Together we hold fast to this promise and stand before you saying, "We are your children in Jesus Christ the Savior, whom you have sent to us." Hear your children. Bless us each one, and bless us as one people, allowed to serve you in the misery of our world. Amen.Continue reading→
Avoiding Error
Passage: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-4 Prayer: Dear Father, I pray that every ministry being done in your name in our time will be done in unselfish love for you and for people. Please defeat those that serve to bring honor to themselves instead of you. May people leading these ministries avoid everything that springs from error or uncleanness. Let there be no deceit in any appeal. Let those whom you have entrusted with the gospel live and speak not to please others but to please you. In the holy name of Jesus..Continue reading→
Church & Ministries
3 Christian converts charged with taking ‘illegal’ Communion wine, face flogging in Iran
Christian women attend a church service in Tehran, Iran. For taking "illegal" Holy Communion wine, three Iranian Christian converts now face flogging as punishment. The new believers—identified as Yasser Mossayebzadeh, Saheb Fadaie and Mohammad Reza Omidi—were arrested and charged last week with "acting against national security," according to World Watch Monitor. The Christian organisation—whose mission is to share the stories of Christians around the world under pressure for their fa..Continue reading→
What can we learn from Jesus’ most baffling parable?
The Bible has a number of passages which need careful interpretation and wise exegesis. What's going on with Balaam and the talking donkey? Were there really graves opened in Jerusalem after Jesus' resurrection? That's before we even get on to the whole swathes of the book of Revelation which seem pretty far out. Usually, though, Jesus' own words have been carefully interpreted over the years so that we have a good, rounded understanding of what he was saying and d..Continue reading→
Why are young evangelicals seeking out traditional worship?
I was maybe 13 or 14 and in a Religious Studies class. At my (Church of England) state school, church attendance was compulsory to be admitted. In the class we were asked to draw a picture of our church. It was the prelude to a discussion about our different churches, the buildings, the worship style and our experience of them. While many people in the class had already stopped attending church once they'd got a place at the school, some still were regular worshippers. They mostly..Continue reading→
The Great Biblical Bake Off: 5 Bible stories that give GBBO a run for its money
The Great British Bake Off is to leave the BBC, but before that, was it in the Bible? Have you heard the news about The Great British Bake Off? Of course you have. The announcement of its move from the BBC to Channel 4 – sans Mel and Sue, with judges Paul and Mary as yet unconfirmed – has been talked, or shouted, about rather a lot (and that's actually OK). Despair. Anger. Deep mourning as we watched 'Batter Week' last night, knowing it would all end so soon. The Twitter sto..Continue reading→
Hot Topics
Enough is Enough
Our loyalty to marriage is good and noble and true. But when loyalty to a relational structure allows evil to continue it is a false loyalty, even an evil loyalty. Christian leaders and friends, we have to see that some evil men are using their wives’ Christian guilt and our teaching about the sanctity of marriage as a weapon to keep harming them. I can’t help feeling that if more women started saying, “This is over” and were backed up by a church that enabled them to escape instead of enabling ..Continue reading→
Where Should Our Women be Discipled?
Pastors and elders want thinking women in the church, right? And yet popular beliefs that came out of the nineteenth century’s cult of domesticity still seem to linger in the evangelical culture today. Back then, people taught that women’s brains were inferior to men’s intellectually and that women needed to reserve their energy and blood flow for reproductive purposes. These are ideas we usually joke about now, even to provoke a woman in innocent fun, because we know them to be scientifically p..Continue reading→
John Owen on Mortification of Sin
In 1656 Puritan Pastor John Owen felt concerned that professing Christians were too “at peace in the world” (vii). He also believed that much of the teaching against sin in his day produced “superstition, self-righteousness and anxiety of conscience” in the hearers (viii). So, Owen wrote a little book called The Mortification (or “Putting to Death”) of Sin in Believers based on the second half of Romans 8:13. “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to d..Continue reading→
Circumcision Was Always About The Necessity Of Regeneration
The circumcision of the heart promised in Deuteronomy 30:6 signals to us that circumcision was never really about the cutting away of the foreskin. It was always, even under the types and shadows, about our need for new life, or, figuratively a new heart. The new heart, the circumcised heart, is something that only Yahweh gives and it was promised under the types and shadows in terms of the sacrament of types and shadows, circumcision but it signaled the same realities signified by baptism: a ne..Continue reading→
Life & Society
Christian Man Spends Decades in Prison for a Crime He Didn’t Commit; Preaches Forgiveness at Church after Release
Pixabay This Christian man spent 24 years in prison—more than two decades, perhaps a quarter of his lifetime—for a crime he didn't commit. It would be easy to imagine Darryl Burton seething with anger at the injustice committed against him by the state. But, thanks to the inspiration he found in reading the Bible while in prison, Jesus has cleansed his heart of hatred. After his release from jail, Burton became a congregational care pastor at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection ..Continue reading→
God’s Storehouse: Feeding The Hungry In One Of Britain’s Poorest Cities
The UK sends 11m tonnes of food a year to landfill – we're the most wasteful country in all of Europe – and yet millions of people are also going hungry. It is an injustice that spurs us on to act – but to do what, exactly? Most of us will have donated to a food bank, given our time (or needed its help), but Juli Thompson went one step further. She set up a scheme in Yorkshire that, in its first year, has managed to redirect 74 tonnes of food from its path to the tip and into the hands of..Continue reading→
Campaigners Challenge Ban On NHS Funding For Abortions For Northern Ireland Women
An anti-abortion protester in September this year attempts to interrupt a demonstration urging the Government in the Republic of Ireland to repeal the 8th amendment to the constitution, which enforces strict limitations to a woman's right to an abortion. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where the 1967 Abortion Act does not apply.Reuters Abortion campaigners will today call on the Supreme Court in London to allow state funding for women from Northern Ireland who travel to England..Continue reading→
Christian University Wins Legal Battle Over Ban On Sex Outside Heterosexual Marriage
Trinity Western University has won the legal right to ban its students from sex outside heterosexual marriage.Facebook An evangelical Christian university in Canada has won a decision by the Appeal Court of British Columbia (BC) in favour of its 'community covenant' that bans its students from having sexual relations outside of heterosexual marriage. The Appeal Court of BC yesterday released its decision in favour of Trinity Western University, describing efforts by BC's law soc..Continue reading→
Music
God of Fireflies by Katy Kinard
"God of Fireflies" entwines the whimsical and the edgy parts of faith and love. The careful crafting of lyrics brings depth to subjects not often discussed and unique perspectives, like Jesus' life as a child "learning how to be human," and a true story (inspired from an article) depicting Mother Teresa's advice to a young mother from the U.S. Creepy, brilliant production supports a song that "seeking after God" is getting crowded out by a fast-paced world of distractions, and a unique spin on why God ever created fireflies (or "helicopter leaves" or dandelions) does the album's title track[...]Continue reading→
Where the Light Shines Through by Switchfoot
Track Listing 01. Holy Water 02. Float 03. Where the Light Shines Through 04. I Won't Let You Go 05. If the House Burns Down Tonight 06. The Day That I Found God 07. I Can't Shake This Feeling 08. Bull in a China Shop 09. Live It Well 10. Looking for America 11. Healer of Souls 12. Hope is the Anthem Continue reading→
Matthew West Releases Music Video For ‘Mended’
Today The Christian Broadcasting Network exclusively premiered the brand new music video for Matthew West's latest single "Mended." "As a storyteller, I love the chance not only to tell a story through the songs I write and record, but also from a visual perspective. I'm excited about this lyric video for 'Mended' and I hope it moves the viewer as much as it moved me when I first saw it," said West about the video. The song, from Matthew's most recent album "Live Forev..Continue reading→
Wavorly Offers Rumored Reunion in Exchange for Facebook Likes
When Wavorly bass player Matt Lott posted a nostalgic picture on facebook, his band members quickly escalated it into a promised reunion if the picture got the right amount of likes-- a threshold the band is quickly approaching. Matt's original post said simply "Sometimes I really miss those Wavorly days...#wavorlyRIP." When his bandmates saw it, they shared it to the official Wavorly page, saying "So our bass player Matt says that if 1000 people like his status, he'll try to get the ..Continue reading→
All Sons & Daughters, Pastor/Author Jamie George Release ‘Poets & Saints’ Sept. 2
GRAMMY and Dove Award nominated worshipers All Sons & Daughters, acclaimed author and pastor Jamie George and a film crew ventured to Europe to trace the lives of C.S. Lewis, Saint Patrick, John Newton, Saint Thérèse, Saint Francis, William Cowper, Saint Augustine, George MacDonald and others, mining for undiscovered gems, something to connect these individuals to modern believers. The resulting epic journey into the lives and stories of these Christ-followers that God used to wake up the world,..Continue reading→
PledgeMusic Acquires NoiseTrade, Hires Derek Webb
PledgeMusic has announced that it has officially acquired NoiseTrade. As part of the deal, the company will also be appointing Derek Webb as their PledgeMusic Nashville GM. PledgeMusic is a platform that enables crowdfunding, with an approach specifically tailored to the needs of musicians. PledgeMusic has rapidly become one of the foremost choices for independent artists inviting fans to partner with them on funding projects. NoiseTrade, which Derek Webb founded in 2008, is a platform where ar..Continue reading→
Andrew Marcus Bows BEC Debut August 12
Constant, the label debut from newly signed BEC recording artist and three-time GMA Canada Covenant Award-nominated singer/songwriter and worship leader Andrew Marcus, bows August 12 in the United States and releases July 29 in Canada. The project will be available for pre-order at iTunes beginning July 22 with two instant-grat tracks. Produced by Scott Cash (Dan Bremnes) and executive produced by Ed Cash (Chris Tomlin), Constant--Marcus' sixth studio recording--features writing and vocal..Continue reading→
Seth Mosley Signs Exclusive Contract With Centricity Publishing
One of the most awarded and in-demand producers and songwriters in the Christian music industry, Seth Mosley, has signed a new exclusive contract that will continue his successful relationship with Centricity Publishing. In 2015 alone, Mosley won his first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album, received the SESAC Award for Christian Songwriter of the Year and was the top winner at the Dove Awards by winning four of his five nominations that included Producer of the Year and So..Continue reading→
Bethel Music ‘Worship Nights’ Draw Capacity Crowds Internationally
Bethel Music, the worship music and community of songwriters emerging from Bethel Church in Redding, CA, continues its "Worship Nights" tour on the West Coast beginning Aug. 12. The tour, which has hosted sold out events in major market venues coast-to-coast and internationally, features Bethel Music worship favorites and new music from Have It All, the multi-artist double-disc live recording released March 11 that has garnered wide critical acclaim and topped multiple retail charts internationa..Continue reading→
American
How to Read the Bible (RJS)
For Christians the big questions in any discussion of science and faith generally come down to Scripture. How are we to read Scripture as the word of God? In much of the church there is an assumption that this should be straightforward… just read it literally. Unfortunately, this doesn’t hold up well for many of us. It isn’t even science that is the biggest challenge to this “simple” reading, it is Scripture itself. It isn’t clear that the Bible was intended to be read in this flat, literal mann..
Back to Church? (Michelle Van Loon)
By Michelle Van Loon at www.MomentsAndDays.org and www.MichelleVanLoon.com I’ve been blogging for more than a decade,and I’ve written often about spiritual abuse by church leaders – sharing both my own experience and referencing the struggles of others. I’m just one voice in a large crowd: there are numerous blogs, books, and worthwhile organizations telling the stories of spiritual and/or clergy sexual abuse survivors. The internet has been a tool for good in this struggle as it has facilitated..
Planned Parenthood VP Claims “Women Will Die” Because Trump Defunded Its International Group
President Donald Trump signed a life-saving executive order this week that prohibits international groups from receiving U.S. taxpayer funding if they promote or perform abortions overseas. Planned Parenthood already is on the attack, making misleading claims that Trump’s reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy will cause women to die. As LifeNews.com reported, the pro-life policy had been in place during the entirety of the George W. Bush administration, but President Barack Obama rescinded i..
Trump Spokesman: White House Staff Will Attend the March for Life
During the March for Life in previous years, pro-abortion President Barack Obama celebrated abortion and issued a presidential statement praising Roe vs. Wade. What a difference a change in president makes. Yesterday, a spokesman for President Donald Trump indicated White House staff will attend the March for Life, where over half-a-million pro-life people from around the country will mourn the almost 60 million unborn children who have been aborted since that fateful Supreme Court decision. ..
US
More on the banned Down syndrome video
We blogged about that video showing happy Down Syndrome children that was banned by the French government on the grounds that it might “disturb the conscience” of women who have had abortions. (You can see the video at the link.) George Will, who has a Down son, weighs in on the issue, explaining the origin of the video (which was made to reassure new parents) and making the point that this is a case of extending the concept of protection from being disturbed associated with college campuses to ..
And now, the commercialization of Advent
One reason that many Christians are rediscovering Advent is that Christmas has become so commercialized. Advent is a way to keep our concentration on what the Christmas season is supposed to be about, namely, the coming of Christ. But now Advent is also becoming commercialized! Alissa Wilkinson has written a good explanation of Advent for Vox. She explains the history of the season and what it means. She includes some interesting details that I had not realized. (For example, that Lutherans inve..
In trouble for belonging to an “anti-gay” church
Chip and Joanna Gaines are the hosts of “Fixer-Upper,” a popular home remodeling show on HGTV. They are openly devout Christians. And they are now under fire. A BuzzFeed article is accusing them of being anti-gay. This is because they belong to an evangelical congregation that does not conduct gay weddings and that holds to traditional teachings about sexual morality. That means, according to the Buzzfeed author, that the church is anti-gay. And because the Gaineses belong to this church, that m..
Back in the U.S.A.!
We are back in the good old U.S. of A. after spending a month visiting our daughter and her family in Australia. We enjoyed our time down under very much. But it’s good to be back home. I can’t believe that I was able to keep this blog going as usual despite the time difference (16.5 hours, a day ahead) and our many activities. Thanks for hanging in there with me. It was strange to watch the election from the other side of the world, but sometimes a little distance (literally) is clarifying. Aft..