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
1 Corinthians 10:31 (10-31-16)
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.— 1 Corinthians 10:31 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... As humans, we are often quick to quibble over things we feel are important to us when others don't share our enthusiasm — especially food, holidays, and special events. This problem is often more a sign of insecurity than it is a mark of sincerity. We are to do what we do based on our commitment to honor the Lord, not because others do it ..Continue reading→
Faith in the God of Creation!
Sing praises on the harp to our God, who covers the heavens with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth. Psalm 147:7-8, NKJVAlthough God was actively involved throughout the Creation process, in the beginning the “earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep” (Gen. 1:2,NIV). If you and I had been present at that time to view the earth, we might have had the impression that because we could not see any evidence of God’s activity, He was not doing anything. Yet at that..Continue reading→
1 Peter 5:8-9
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”Continue reading→
Proverbs 10:30 (10-30-16)
The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.— Proverbs 10:30 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... This promise is even truer for those of us who live on this side of Calvary and the empty tomb! As Paul said it, "our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious ..Continue reading→
Fixing What’s Wrong
By Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible, and invisible. Colossians 1:16, NKJV It can be mind boggling to contemplate the vastness of the universe, from the greatest star to the smallest particle. It is so vast that astronomers are now saying that it stretches beyond what we are capable of penetrating, even with sophisticated telescopes like the Hubble. And every bit of it was created by the Living Word of God, Who, even as He hung the stars in space, coun..Continue reading→
Daily Wisdom
Proverbs 11:20 (11-20-16)
They that are... upright in their way are his [the Lord's) delight.— Proverbs 11:20 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... I am confident that the Lord will say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" Why? Not because I'm perfect, but Jesus has forgiven and cleansed me and the Holy Spirit is working to perfect my behavior to match my standing before God. I don't know about you, but I am thankful to know that we can bring the LORD delight. Just like our children can bring..Continue reading→
So Dry and Thirsty
"If you knew . . . who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." John 4:10, NIVWhile the woman of Samaria and I have many differences, we have one thing in common. I, too, find myself from time to time running on empty. In the busyness of ministry, the weariness of activity, the excitement of opportunity, I sometimes wake up and realize, “I am so dry and thirsty.” Invariably, when I examine myself, the reason for the dryness of spiri..Continue reading→
Psalm 95:1-2
“Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.”Continue reading→
Deuteronomy 11:19 (11-19-16)
And ye shall teach them [God's commandments] to your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.— Deuteronomy 11:19 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... Moses gives us three crucial messages about God's commandments. First, as parents, it is our responsibility to teach them to our children — not the responsibility of the government, or of the schools, nor even our churches. Seco..Continue reading→
Prayers
Daily Prayer for October 22
And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul? Deuteronomy 10:12, NIV Lord our God, our Father in heaven, be with us as we are gathered here. Through your Spirit let our hearts grow in understanding of how we can serve you rightly and live as you want us to live. Help us hold fast to all that is good. Free us more and more from everything that h..Continue reading→
Love Surpasses Knowledge
Passage: Ephesians 3:20-21 Prayer: Dear Father, transcendent in knowledge and wisdom,Grant that I may know the love of Christ, a love which surpasses knowledge, that I may be filled with the fullness which is yours.Now to you, my God, who by the power at work within your people are able to do far more abundantly than all I can ask or even imagine - to you be glory in the congregation of your holy people and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.In the name of Jesus Christ I hon..Continue reading→
Daily Prayer for October 21
Then another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and he was given a great quantity of incense to offer with the prayers of all God's people upon the golden altar in front of the throne. And from the angel's hand the smoke of the incense went up before God with the prayers of his people. Revelation 8:3–4, NEB Lord God, we come before you and ask you to turn our hearts and minds to you alone, to you who have power over the whole world and who can do everything in ..Continue reading→
Rooted and Grounded
Passage: Ephesians 3:14-19 Prayer: Dear Father, transcendent in power and fullness,I bow my knees before you, Father, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.According to the riches of your glory strengthen me with your might in my innermost being, that Christ may dwell in my heart through the trust I have in him.Root me and ground me in love so that I may have the power to comprehend - along with all your holy people - what is the breadth and length and height and depth of your good..Continue reading→
Questions & Answers
Milwaukee Brewer Chase Anderson Finds Lessons to Live by in Grandmother’s Bible
Death of a parent is a life-changing experience. However, through our grief, we often have a closer encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ. Chase Anderson, a starting pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, had one such spiritual experience. Chase grew up in Wichita Falls, Texas. His father went to the United Methodist Church growing up; and when he was young, Chase often went with his grandmother there. Later, as he got older, he would also attend the Colonial Baptist Church. When Chase was in middl..Continue reading→
What Does A Freewill Offering Mean?
What does it mean to give a freewill offering in the Bible? Is that something we can do in our day too? Freewill Freewill is the freedom to choose one thing over another or to do something or nothing. Even making no choice becomes a choice…all because of freewill. Jesus said “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16) so the “whoever” indicates that whoever chooses to believe in Jesus will be saved, al..Continue reading→
The Gospels Are Reliable Even With Many Redactions
I’m often asked to make the case for the reliability of the Gospels in spite of the presence of scribal variants throughout the text. Remember that criminal courts do not require eyewitnesses to be inerrant to be considered reliable. In order to illustrate the trustworthiness of the text, I typically offer the following hypothetical. First, allow the skeptic to identify all the textual variants in the Gospels based on a comparison of all available manuscripts. Next, to make the point more dramat..Continue reading→
Great KJV Bible Verses About Earth
God created the Earth and put man on it to take care of it. When He was finished with His creation He said that it was very good (Genesis 1:31). The Bible has lots to say about the land and the earth and how beautiful the creation is. Take a look at some of my favorite KJV Bible verses about earth. God Created the Earth and Everything On it Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 2:1-25 – Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of the..Continue reading→
Hot Topics
Advent In The Deathworks
We could call this a culture war, except that it is a war between culture and anti-culture, a de-creation or de-culturalization. Legutko describes these people, despite their prestige and power, as “a homo novus, uneducated, vulgar, primitive, having nothing but contempt for tradition … for history, culture, and anything subtle, genteel, elegant, beautiful, or spiritual.” Ryszard Legutko observes in The Demon in Democracy that the cultured despisers of religion will not rest until they have lev..Continue reading→
Trueman, Kaiser, Vos and Christ-Centered Preaching
“Yes, Geerhardus Vos, whose biblical theological method is the bedrock for much Reformed Christocentric preaching these days, preached non-Christocentric sermons. At least three, at any rate. I have not read all his sermons, but it only takes a few counter-examples to prove that Vos was not the father of modern Christ-centered preaching.” My three-part series on Christ-centered or “Gospel preaching” (sermons that always have an explicit message of Christ as “integral,” the “climax”, and the las..Continue reading→
If You Don’t ‘Get’ Religion, You Can’t ‘Get’ America or the World
“In much coverage of American Christianity, this mindset is obvious: You believe that God ordained marriage as the union of a man and a woman? Well, that’s just bigotry in search of a belief system, religion wielded as a club against the marginalized.” Honesty is a wonderful thing. Last week, during an interview with Terry Gross, New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet made a welcome confession: I want to make sure that we are much more creative about beats out in the country so that we un..Continue reading→
Perseverance of the Saints: Receiving in Order to Continue
“This is why it is perhaps helpful to speak of the preservation of the Christian by God before speaking of the Christian’s perseverance. Yet, even as we do this we need to be clear about what the Christian is persevering in doing. Put another way, what does God’s preservation of his covenant people, the bride of Christ, the Church, result in them continuing to do throughout this lifetime?” “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” God is life. There is no life apart from God. Fo..Continue reading→
Life & Society
Hilarious Video of Kids Telling Christmas Story in ‘Bethle-ha-ha-ham’ Goes Viral — Again
A hilarious viral video on how a group of children re-enacted the birth of Jesus that was first released last year has resurfaced on social media and has been drawing raves, Today reported.Continue reading→
Find It Hard to Trust God? Here Are Some Tips
Even though God tells His children to trust and obey Him, they often fail to do so. Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church said the secret to following God is actually pretty simple - trust God one day at a time.Continue reading→
Texas Cuts Planned Parenthood From Medicaid Program Despite Lawsuit
AUSTIN — Officials in Texas have formally cut the abortion and contraceptive giant Planned Parenthood from the state’s Mediciad program in the midst of a year-old lawsuit challenging plans to defund the organization. According to the Texas Tribune, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) issued a final notice on Tuesday that Planned Parenthood would be defunded in 30 days. The organization had heretofore received $3.1 million in Medicaid reimbursement annually. Planned Parenthood..Continue reading→
Actress Lena Dunham Declares: ‘I Haven’t Had an Abortion, But I Wish I Had’
Lena Dunham of the sexually explicit HBO television series “Girls” said on a recent podcast that she wishes she had an abortion, a remark that even abortion supporters found to be outrageous. “One day, when I was visiting a Planned Parenthood in Texas a few years ago, a young girl walked up to me and asked me if I’d like to be a part of her project in which women share their stories of abortions,” she recalled on her program “Women of the Hour” last week. “I sort of jumped. ‘I haven’t had an ab..Continue reading→
Movies
COMMON BRINGS GLORY TO THE GRAMMYS (AND THE OSCARS): An Interview
What 2015 Grammy moment moved you? Kanye West’s cut in on Beck’s acceptance speech for “Album of the Year” garnered most of the headlines. How sad to a stunt overshadow Annie Lennox’s rousing rendition of “I Put a Spell On You” with Hozier. Pharrell reimagined his sunny single, “Happy,” into an intriguing protest echoing the “Hands up/Don’t shoot” posture that accompanied events in Ferguson, Missouri. Prince slipped in the best one-liner of the night, “Albums still matter. Just like books and bl..Continue reading→
Diablo Cody Tweets About Rescuing Jinger Duggar
Her new movie, Paradise, is all about religion. In the movie, which was originally titled Lamb of God, a young religious woman (Julianne Hough) is in a terrible accident, which causes her to question G-d and run off to Las Vegas to see what sin feels like. Well, it looks like screenwriter/director Diablo Cody had some pretty specific pop-culture inspirations for the movie: The Duggars. Particularly Jinger. Diablo recently tweeted that if Jinger ever wants to run away from her family, she can com..Continue reading→
Music
As We Ascend Releases First Single Wash Away to iTunes
As We Ascend's first single "Wash Away" is now available on iTunes, six days before the completion of their PledgeMusic campaign to fund the full length album Farewell to Midnight. In addition to being available on iTunes, "Wash Away" is also going for adds at radio. The PledgeMusic campaign is currently at 95% of its goal. You can listen to "Wash Away" below. As We Ascend, formed by former members of We As Human, launched their PledgeMusic campaign with the unique invitation to fans to "..Continue reading→
Bizzle Petitions for Financial Support of New Project
The recent release of Bizzle's new project Crowns & Crosses has sparked a conversation about the realities of being an artist with his God Over Money fans. In a recent newsletter, Bizzle details the shocking differences between a fan purchasing a physical or digital copy of any GOM release versus streaming through the likes of Spotify or Apple Music. He begins with the staggering reality that it takes 1,500 streams to equal that of one album sale. For example, if 100,000 fans stream the en..Continue reading→
John Mark McMillan Launches Pre-order for ‘Mercury & Lightning’
John Mark McMillan has launched a pre-order for his upcoming album Mercury & Lightning through PledgeMusic. The album has been preceded by the release of "Wilderlove" and "No Country." The PledgeMusic pre-order gives fans the chance to purchase a wide range of merch packages, with each one providing access to exclusive behind-the-scenes information approaching the album's release. The pre-order was launched in part due to the overwhelmingly positive response to the single "Wilderlove," re..Continue reading→
Sho Baraka’s ‘The Narrative’ Debuts at No. 6 on iTunes Hip Hop Chart and No. 26 on iTunes Overall
Critically acclaimed hip hop artist Sho Baraka unleashed The Narrative last week, and it was well received by fans and critics alike as it peaked at No. 6 on iTunes Hip Hop Chart and No. 26 on iTunes Overall Albums Chart. Created with the intention to generate a discussion among each other about the social issues we face today and throughout history, Sho Baraka is doing just that as shown by the critics below "Sho Baraka gives us conscious hip hop that makes us think. It is not intended for eas..Continue reading→
MercyMe’s ‘Welcome To The New’ Receives RIAA Gold Certification
GRAMMY® Nominated MercyMe's Welcome To The New (2014) has been honored with RIAA Gold Certification, marking the sixth gold album for the band in addition to a double platinum album and a platinum video. Welcome To The New earned two GRAMMY® nods, multiple GMA Dove Award honors and an American Music Award nomination. In addition, the album boasts three No. 1 singles with "Greater," "Flawless" and "Dear Younger Me," and one Top 5 single with "Shake." MercyMe is planning to unveil a new recor..Continue reading→
Deraj Drops A New Single
Deraj blessed both the genre and Reflection Music Group (RMG) fans worldwide with a new banger for the car on "Know That's Me," featuring KYNG. Listeners can purchase not only the track, but also the instrumental backing and an acapella version of the track. The three versions of this project may be purchased here, or streamed on Spotify. Visuals for the project debuted under the direction of Joe Desantis. The video may be viewed below. RMG has been quite the productive label as of late..Continue reading→
Live in Chicago: The Looking for America Tour by Switchfoot
Track Listing 01. Holy Water 02. Meant To Live 03. Bull In A China Shop 04. Where The Light Shines Through 05. I Won't Let You Go 06. Love Alone Is Worth The Fight 07. Hello Hurricane 08. If The House Burns Down Tonight 09. Float 10. Live it Well Continue reading→
Courtney Orlando Releases New Single, Wait On You
Courtney Orlando released his latest single "Wait on You" on October 10. You can download the track for free on SoundCloud here. Orlando describes the new track as an open conversation between him and God. No future plans of a full length project have been released at this time. The artist formally known as J.R. dug his roots into the hip-hop genre over a decade ago with his debut release Metamorphosis in 2005. Fittingly, change has followed him in the area of style, depth and even branding a..Continue reading→
The Narrative by Sho Baraka
Track Listing 01. Foreward, 1619 02. Soul, 1971 03. Kanye, 2009 (feat. Jackie Hill Perry) 04. Love, 1959 05. Here, 2016 (feat. Lecrae) 06. 30 & Up, 1986 (feat. Courtney Orlando) 07. Profhet, 1968 (feat. James Portier) 08. Maybe Both, 1865 (feat. James Portier) Purchase 09. Excellent, 2017 Purchase 10. Road to Humble, 1979 Purchase 11. Myhood, U.S.A., 1937 (feat. Vanessa Hill) 12. Words, 2006 13. Fathers, 2004 Purchase 14. Piano Break, 33 A.D. Continue reading→
American
Heartbreaking Video Shows You What 58 Million Babies Killed in Abortion Looks Like
Pro-lifers are nothing if not creative. Over the decades, they have produced thousands upon thousands of “visual aids,” from the simplest black and white one-sheeter to full-blown movies—and everything in-between. The common denominator is—to adapt a cliché—to help the public get its collective head around both the humanity we share with the unborn child and the sheer magnitude of the loss of lives since January 22, 1973. Although I scribble for a living, I really do believe a picture–or in th..
Good Deed of the Month
Kim Norvell: JOHNSTON, Iowa — An anonymous donor has paid off lunch debts for 148 Johnston elementary school students whose accounts were in the red by $10 or more. The donation, totaling $13,250, was made Jan. 9. It benefited students in kindergarten through fifth grade in all five Johnston elementary schools, said Laura Sprague, director of communications. “This donation is quite critical for families who need some extra help,” she said. ” … When the belly is full, the kids can have a much bet..
World Vision Letter to President Trump
Dear President Trump and Vice President Pence, As evangelical Christians, we are guided by the Bible to be particularly concerned for the plight of refugees, individuals who have been forced to flee their countries because of the threat of persecution. Evangelical churches and ministries have long played a key role in welcoming, resettling, and assisting in the integration of refugees from various parts of the world. As such, we are troubled by the recent executive order temporarily halting refu..
Why Be Anglican: Prayers of the People
No question about it, but in many churches there is not a designated time for the people to pray. Some churches are just too big for that, and even too big for a pastoral prayer. Others are so focused on the sermon that there is not time left for what we Anglicans call the “prayers of the people.” In our liturgy, every Sunday, we have a time where we are led by a lay person in prayer. It’s called “intercession” or “intercessory prayers” when we pray for others, and when we do it in public it nee..
Entertainment
Watch the Trailer for ‘When The Game Stands Tall’
When the Game Stands Tall opens in theaters everywhere Friday.
Zach Bates Is Engaged!
Man, has it been a busy fall for relationships with kids from huge reality TV families! Jessa Duggar is the first Duggar daughter to enter courtship, which means she should be getting engaged fairly soon unless something major happens, and Erin Bates and Chad Paine are getting hitched in November. But Erin isn’t the only Bates kid settling down – her brother Zach Bates just proposed to his girlfriend Whitney. As is typical with the Bates clan, mom Kelly Bates announced the big news on the family..
US
Gift ideas: Reading Romans with Luther
Let’s start a series of posts on ideas for Christmas presents! Here is a good one: Reading Romans with Luther. It’s by R. J. Grunewald, a sometime commenter here at the Cranach blog. Luther’s greatest theological works are his commentaries on Scripture, such was his concern to adhere closely to the text of God’s Word. One of his greatest works is his commentary on Romans, the epistle in which St. Paul explores the Gospel of salvation through the work of Christ in its depths. Here is the Law & Go..
Problems with the EXXON CEO as Secretary of State
(3) The appearance of plutocracy. There are people on both the left and the right who say that our democracy is a sham because our country is really run by the big corporations. Trump’s packing his cabinet with billionaires, Wall Street tycoons, and corporation CEOs plays right into that.Trump hammered Hillary Clinton for giving speeches to Goldman-Sachs. But he has appointed three Goldman-Sachs executives to his administration. He owes his election to blue-collar workers the Democrats have igno..
Update on Ohio’s anti-abortion bills
The Ohio state legislature has passed two abortion bills that Gov. John Kasich has now acted on. He refused to sign the “heartbeat bill,” which would have banned abortion after the developing child’s heart begins to beat. That can be as early as six weeks, which is before many women even realize they are pregnant. Kasich said that bill would certainly have been struck down by the courts. That’s probably right, but that the child develops such a universal sign of life so early should surely tell ..
Hotels without Gideon Bibles
The Gideons do great work in distributing Bibles. For many decades, virtually every hotel room had a Gideon Bible on the nightstand or in a drawer. But today, less than half do. A survey has found that only 46% of American hotel rooms include religious material. Ten years ago, nearly three-quarters did. Of course, what the Christian Gideons did, representatives of other religions did. Hotels that have Bibles in the rooms often also have Books of Mormon. I suspect that the decline of hotel Bibles..