Archive for 2011

Arrogance or Love?

On October 2nd, 1999, a preacher in Minneapolis, Minnesota wrote an editorial for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. In this editorial he argued that it was a loving thing for Christians to speak the...

Youth Ministry - a few weeks in

The end of this week marks the end of my 4th week as a youth minister. This is my first full-time ministry job and I'm already learning a lot of great lessons. Here...

Moving to Owensboro

Well...I have not posted in quite a while, mainly because I've been concentrated on many more important things in life. One is learning how to be a dad and getting to know my...

Fatherhood... One Week In

It's been a week since our son was born and I've learned so much. Here are a couple reflections from the past week that have stood out in my mind.1. My prayers have...

Our Son Owen

Well it's official. At 2:00 am yesterday morning (3/11/11) our little boy Owen was born. He was four weeks early but fully developed and healthy and already 7 lbs 8 oz. What a...

Are Christians Scared of Textual Criticism?

If you open your Bible to John 7:53-8:11 you'll find something interesting. The story about the woman caught in adultery is widely held to be a later addition to the Gospel account of...

Born a Pedophile??

Recently on the Stand To Reason Blog (which I would highly recommend you bookmarking) I ran across an interesting piece of news. During a recent bit of "expert" testimony presented to the Canadian...

God's Glory in Iowa Wrestling

Three days ago at the Iowa State Wrestling Championships, 35-4 Joel Northrup forfeited his first match because he was pitted against a female. No doubt Northrup had a sizable chance to win the...

When I was in college I was in a small men's discipleship group. There were three of us and we met every week and were led by our Resident Advisor in the dorms. We studied Scripture together, prayed together, memorized the Word with each other, held each other accountable for sins and spiritual disciplines, and strategized on how to reach our fellow dorm-mates for Jesus.

One evening our group leader couldn't make it to the Bible Study so he had one of the campus ministers come over and teach us instead. This was a real treat. Dan (the campus minister) was a little bit older and more experienced and we used the opportunity to ask him questions about ministry and the Christian life.

During the session we got on the topic of how important it is to spend regular one-on-one time with God (what I call a quiet time). So I asked Dan, "How long has it been since you've missed a quiet time?" I'll never forget his answer...

"I can't remember," he replied. I was confused and asked for clarification, "You mean you just can't remember the exact day or what?" And he said, "No, it's been so long I honestly can't remember the last time I went a day without having one. It has to have been a couple years at least." I was shocked. We all were.

The three of us proceeded to question him on how he could stay so disciplined as to not miss one day alone with God for such a long period of time. He told us that our question was a little misguided. He told us it wasn't so much about will-power or discipline as much as it was about realizing that he just couldn't go without it. For him it seemed like going a day without food... he just needed it so badly.

I've been a Christian for 13 years now and I still have to admit I'm not there yet. But I'm very pleased to encourage you that I can actually tell I'm getting there. When I go for a couple days without spending time with God I can feel sin crouching right at my door. I'm not as strong in resisting Satan's temptations and schemes. What I've learned is that alone I'm not strong at all. Alone I'm pathetically weak and fall easily to temptation. That's why I have to remain close to God day-by-day. When I stay close to him I'm relying on his power instead of my own. His power is what fends off the attacks of Satan.

That's what Paul is saying in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me... For when I am weak, then I am strong." God refused to take Paul's thorn in the flesh away from him so he would learn to depend on God for strength. That's what we're doing when we have daily time with God. We're not checking it off the to-do list to make God happy with us. We're placing ourselves at the feet of him who can sanctify us, make us pure, change our hearts, and give us the strength we need to fight Satan and his demons.

Tempting But Dangerous Reading Habits...

Assuming you read often (and I hope you do!) you probably have one of the following two strategies for choosing books on Christianity - either you choose only authors that you trust OR...

Want to go to Seminary but Don't Have Time or $$$?

Ever since I've been in seminary I haven't taken it for granted. I know full well how lucky I am to be going to school to study the Bible... to have a classic...

Adopted For Life - Free Audio Book Download

This month on Christian Audio's website Russell Moore's book Adopted For Life is available in audiobook format FOR FREE. There's no cost... no catch. Simply a free resource given generously by the company...

Making Judgments Without Being Judgmental

On Wednesday Joel Osteen and his wife were guests on the Piers Morgan talk show on CNN. Many of you may know Joel Osteen for a number of reasons... pastor of the largest...

Great Books You've Never Heard Of...

One of my favorite things about going to seminary is the books we get to read for class. More specifically, it's the fact that our seasoned professors have sorted through so many books...

How to Listen to A Sermon...

This past week at church our preaching minister used a technique I've always found to be helpful and effective. He talked at length of the fact that we consistently judge others and use...

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, which is one day a year dedicated to raising awareness about the ethical and moral tragedy that is abortion. It's a day to fight for and...

What If An Atheist Showed Up To Sunday School?

I've thought this way in the past. Maybe you have too. Maybe you think this way now. This post is not a rebuke but a challenge and an encouragement.I've known many people (and...

Frightening Moral Consequences

As a Christian in a culture that is morally declining more and more each day it seems, it is now more crucial than ever for us to seek to see culture events through...

Birth Control & Interpreting Scripture

This upcoming semester at seminary I'm enrolled in Sexuality & Marriage, a class where we will examine the Bible's view on things such as sex, gender, having children, marriage, etc.To gain my Master's...

Dr. Jack Cottrell - Free Seminar in Lexington

On Saturday, January 22nd one of my professors at seminary will be teaching a free seminar on Baptism. The seminar will be at Tates Creek Christian Church in Lexington, KY from 9am to...

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