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→
Hot Topics
Doxological Calvinism
Doxologies punctuate the Bible because they punctuate the life of faith. This at least was Paul’s understanding of the life of Abraham: “he was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Rom. 4:20). Let me invite you to take a simple word-association test. The usual procedure for such a test is that the administrator says a word and the subject responds with the first word that comes to mind. Thus, the word horse might immediately prompt the word cart from some people, but race (as in horse race) f..Continue reading→
The Kingdom Comes Not Through Maneuvers But By Repentance
Today’s Essenes are the gnosis-exalting hip churches and the law-exalting fundy churches, each preaching legalism of a different sort and rendering different sorts of people untouchable. They advocate withdrawal from either “church people” or “the world,” as if true kingdom enlightenment exists in an ecclesiological utopia hermetically sealed off and protected by either their cultural savvy or their cultural avoidance. Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered..Continue reading→
NT Commentaries Withdrawn Over Plagiarism Allegations
The author, Peter T. O’Brien, was presented with the findings and provided the following response: “In the New Testament commentaries that I have written, although I have never deliberately misused the work of others, nevertheless I now see that my work processes at times have been faulty and have generated clear-cut, but unintentional, plagiarism. For this I apologize without reservation.” At the beginning of July 2016, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. received allegations against one of its New..Continue reading→
5 Lessons My Parents Taught Me About Sexuality
“These days, as I get older and consider marriage and my future, it’s the God-designed preciousness of sex that I think about more often. Sex, I’ve learned from my parents, is something to be esteemed without being glorified. While portrayed as a cheap commodity in culture today, God created it as a valuable gift.” “Sexuality”is an electric buzzword in our culture, igniting opinions like wildfire. With clashing commentary from secular society, Christians in recent years have increasingly recogn..Continue reading→
Life & Society
[Audio] How Pastors Can Preach about Religious Freedom
My friend Dr. McKay Caston (who happens to also be my pastor) preached a sermon recently that demonstrates how pastors can and should preach about religious freedom. It is fine example of speaking the truth in love and preparing a congregation for the rising tide of persecution in America. McKay has agreed to let me post the audio here and share his sermon notes below. You can follow his blog here. I encourage you to share them with pastors and church leaders and prayerfully encourage them to en..Continue reading→
Music
Colors by House Of Heroes
Track Listing 01. This City Is a Cage 02. Colors Run 03. Pioneer 04. Rat 05. We Make Our Stars 06. Feel 07. God 08. In the End 09. Crash 10. Matador 11. Shots Fired 12. Get Away 13. Colors Die OutContinue reading→
One Way & The Fruit of the Spirit by SwordSmith Records
This DVD+CD Combo is an action-packed gospel adventure story and includes 4 new verse songs and a kids worship song! Mr. Luinski, a nasty businessman, overhears a group of unsuspecting friends talking about one of the most incredible things God has given us, the fruit of the Spirit. He hears them say that the fruit is valuable, so Luinski follows the friends around during their fun-filled weekend unsuccessfully trying to steal the fruit. By revealing his need for salvation, his trusty assistant, Jane, explains the truth about Christ and the fruit of the Spirit. Join Luinski, Jane, and a group of friends[...]Continue reading→
Everything Was Sound by Silent Planet
Vocalist Garrett Russell who holds a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology (and revealed that he has been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder) delves wholly into mental health with this release. Each song deals with a different character diagnosed with mental illness, whether caused by environmental factors or they are adapting to the world they find themselves in.[...]Continue reading→
Hold the Light by Bread of Stone
Track Listing 01. I'm Not Afraid 02. Sing Hallelujah 03. Parachute (f/ Matt Daily of Superchick) 04. It's All For You 05. Be Still (f/ Tricia of Superchick) 06. Like A River 07. Battleground (f/ Manafest) 08. The Change (f/ Beacon Light) 09. With All Of My Heart 10. Start Over Continue reading→
In The River by Hollis Creek Revival
Track Listing 01. Believe 02. Wildfire 03. Holding On 04. Home 05. Right On Time 06. Like Brand New 07. Sing Loud 08. Violin 09. Weightless Yesterday 10. What A Day That Will Be Continue reading→
Fearless (Live from DTI 2016) by Vineyard Music UK
Worship is at the heart of Dreaming The Impossible (DTI) and that's what FEARLESS (Live From DTI 2016)is all about. DTI is the national Vineyard youth festival for the UK and Ireland bringing together a generation of young people to meet Jesus and fearlessly follow Him. It's in Jesus that we find purpose, hope, freedom and a secure identity rooted in Him. Then we dream the impossible. DTI is about inspiring and equipping young people to love their local church and change the world. We come together as family to worship Jesus, dig into His Word and expect to be changed as[...]Continue reading→
Demonstrate by William Murphy
William Murphy releases his 2nd project with RCA Inspiration to an eager fanbase. His previous release "God Chaser" has sold in excess of 100,000 albums. [...]Continue reading→
Minor League by ApologetiX
In theological circles, they sometimes say you should major in the majors and minor in the minors (i.e. focus on the essential doctrines of the faith while allowing for differences of opinion in non-essential matters). This CD, however, majors in the Minors the Minor Prophets, that is. That would be the last 12 books of the Old Testament, from Hosea through Malachi. As noted theologian Junior Asparagus once said, "Little guys can do big things, too." God left a major Messianic trail through the Minor Prophets, including such places as Hosea 2:23, 11:1; Micah 5:2; Zechariah 3:8-9, 6:12-13, 9:9, 12:10, 14:4;[...]Continue reading→
PIECES by Trisha Alicia
"Pieces," with music featuring Canton Jones and Antonio Neal, is full of urban contemporary Christian songs and spoken word that boasts declarations of what God is doing, for those committed to trusting in Him. From the intro, a short piece that gives a grounding of who Trisha is and why the project was necessary, to the title track, "Pieces" the story of Trisha and another woman who, despite setbacks come to Christ and say take my pieces and make them into something beautiful this project is sure to please. The creative body of work takes the listener on an inspirational journey with[...]Continue reading→
American
Five Principles for Approaching the Bible after Genome Science
Adam and the Genome Books are officially available tomorrow. Clips from the first chapter in the second half of the book. Principle 1: A text out of context is a pretext. Every statement about Adam and Eve in the Old Testament, in Jewish literature, and in the New Testament is a statement made from a context and into a context. Furthermore, some of the statements about Adam and Eve in all of this literature are designed to speak against that context. That is, those statements are polemics and ap..
The Parable of the Good Deplorable
The Parable of the Good Deplorable, by Jason Micheli In front of a crowd of 70 (Or 140, who’s to say how big the crowd really was?) this lawyer tries to trap Jesus by turning the scriptures against him: “Who is my neighbor?” he presses. It’s the kind of bible question they could’ve debated for weeks. Read one part of Leviticus and God’s policy is Israel First; your neighbor is just your fellow Jew. Read another part of Leviticus and your neighbor includes the illegal immigrants and refugees in y..
Epiphany Prayer
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. BCP
In the News: The Fate of Refugees
Nation states have chosen and encoded in law their boundaries and what it takes to get in and out of those boundaries. I don’t get to walk into Canada without going through an officer’s inspection, and Canadians don’t get to enter the USA without inspection. Such laws seem reasonable to most of us. Even so, what about refugees? In the Ancient Near East nations by law insisted in international treaties that refugee slaves be returned to their masters. One of the more remarkable counter-cultural l..
US
Democrats lost because they raised religious liberty fears
The reason the Democrats lost, argues David Bernstein in the Washington Post, is that their words, actions, and policies made large numbers of Christians afraid that their religious liberty is in jeopardy. So even though they had major qualms about Donald Trump, they voted for him in large enough numbers to give him the victory. Bernstein’s point, I believe, is that Democrats wouldn’t have to threaten religious liberty to meet their major policy goals. The country could have gay marriage without..
Macy’s drops Planned Parenthood
Macy’s department store no longer funds or matches contributions to Planned Parenthood. Neither do AT&T, Coca-Cola, Ford, and Xerox. For a list of big corporations that still do fund the abortion provider, click the link after the jump. We’ll see if the biggest funder of Planned Parenthood has a similar change of heart: namely, the United States government. From Macy’s: We No Longer Donate to Planned Parenthood Abortion Business | LifeNews.com: Another large corporation has decided to cease dona..
“Even if they are fools, they shall not go astray”
More prophecies of the coming of Christ for our Advent contemplation: Isaiah 35, yesterday’s Old Testament reading. I give the chapter after the jump. It’s about how God “will come and save you,” and what this will mean for “the redeemed,” those “ransomed by the Lord.” This includes those who are weak, infirm, and “anxious.” I take special comfort from verse 8: “even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.” The Ransomed Shall Return35 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the dese..
CIA says Russia helped Trump
The CIA says that Russia deliberately interfered in the American election in order to help elect DonalTrump. Russian hackers broke into e-mails of both the Democratic and the Republican national committees, but turned over only the Democratic batch to Wikileaks. The correspondence between Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta and various Democratic operatives proved highly embarrassing to her campaign and likely cost her some votes. Trump and his people are denying the Russian involve..