Imagine yourself in a room.  The door behind you shut firmly, and you find yourself looking around at the walls, the floor, the ceiling, wondering how you ended up here.  The color of the walls, the coldness of the floor, the smell of old furniture, and the taste of neglect fill your senses with a twist of comfort and anxiety.

At the far side of the room, you see a door, obscured mostly by darkness.  The doorknob is partially lit, inviting you to see what lies beyond but cautioning you all the same.  The room is quiet, strangely quiet, so that your thoughts are almost audible.  You suspect you know what may be beyond the next door, but you’re not quite sure, and you don’t know if you want to find out.  And you’re not sure you want to give up yet as you’ve come this far.

continue reading

I watched the movie Fireproof recently for the first time.  I know I'm coming late to the party, and as I understand, the movie has its fair share of critics who say Christian art often doesn’t compare in quality to its secular counterpart.  And the movie has its fair share of proponents who say that movies like this stand to redeem art from our evil culture.

Whoever is right is less important to me right now; I’m simply glad the team that made this movie did so.  I found parts of it to be compelling, other parts to be cheesy, and other parts to be a myopic index of standard hot topics for many modern Evangelicals.

But I loved the movie—and here’s why:  the story reminded me, in tear-filled fashion, that Jesus changes lives.  He shines brightly into darkness.  He renders the impossible possible by the power of His Word and His love.  He breaks people, and in doing so, makes them whole.

continue reading

God is…

…Sovereign, because all things hold together in Him.

…Foremost, because all things exist for Him.

…Supreme, because no gods or men compare to Him.

…Above all things, because nothing exists apart from Him.

…Majestic, because He reigns over all.

…Glorious, because He is eminently worth celebrating.

…Holy, because there is no impurity in Him.

…Merciful, because He delights to forgive.

…Just, because He esteems truth.

…Personal, because He lives in His redeemed.

continue reading

I have started to read The End For Which God Created The World by Jonathan Edwards, and I realize I am in for a difficult read.  But I am also immediately reminded of a behavior we see in children every day that we should seek to emulate:  the constant question of “why?”

I don’t have any children yet (at least one that can talk), but I suspect my daughter and I will have a conversation in a few years which will end with me saying something and her saying, “Why?”  To which I’ll respond with another answer, and she’ll ask, “Why?”  And on and on we will go.

Edwards answers the ultimate “why” question in this book, and he takes a longer road to get there, for which we are all better off.  He begins with a discussion of terms, and one of the terms he uses in his argument is an “ultimate end.”

continue reading

If you are a Major League pitcher, you dream about pitching in the World Series, winning the Cy Young, or pitching a perfect game.  That’s the pinnacle of your career.  That’s your ticket to the history books; perhaps even to the Hall of Fame.

If you follow baseball at all, or if you witnessed Detroit radio host Paul Edwards’ near-heart attack on Twitter on Wednesday night, you now know the names Jim Joyce and Armando Galarraga.  Galarraga, a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, threw a perfect game this week in front of a home crowd.  The only problem was that Joyce, a 22-year veteran umpire, blew a ninth inning, 2-out call at first base, robbing Galarraga of his place in the history books.

continue reading

My friend Ed Cyzewski recently wrote a blog series on Writing As a Ministry, and he asked me if I would share a few thoughts on this well, which I’m more than happy to oblige.  As a reader, you may also be a writer, or you may be a mom, or a pastor, or in business, or a carpenter, or a student, or any number of occupations.  But I invite you to consider why you do what you do and whether you consider what you do as a ministry or not.

I would love to say that I write books and this blog purely as a ministry.  I would love to say that because I desire for this to be my heart’s deepest desire.  What I can honestly say is that I write in order to:

• Be affirmed
• Express a gift
• Force myself to think more deeply about daily life
• Prove I have something worth saying, or prove I am valuable because of what I do
• Attempt to know more of God
• Share ways in which the gospel touches our daily lives
• Satisfy my ego
• Proclaim Jesus as the greatest satisfaction to our soul’s deepest cravings
• Feel important or impactful

continue reading

I recently watched this video from a generation past about prejudice.  Teacher Jane Elliot used a simple experiment with the students in her classroom to teach them about the nature and consequence of bias, and the results of her experiment were shocking in one sense and not surprising in another.  You will watch this video and be stunned by the speed with which the prejudice of the human heart is revealed.

This is a video worth watching for a number of reasons:

1.  It makes its point in parable, and powerfully so, which delivers the message straight to the heart.
2.  It awakens hearts that are numb to bias in all its perilous forms.
3.  It begs for a resolution (racial reconciliation) which points us to a greater reality (spiritual reconciliation)

continue reading

This past weekend was my wife’s birthday.  Her favorite kind of birthday party is one in which she hosts her friends, so that’s what we did on Saturday.  We held the party at my brother’s house, and Anna cooked her amazing enchiladas, and many of our friends, mostly married couples, came over to celebrate.

Christian, married couples play games; I think that’s part of being married.  I think these games must be social lubricant for a bunch of couples that don’t go out and party anymore.  We brought Apples to Apples and Taboo, and both saw a little action.  Apples to Apples is essentially an individual game, and for Taboo, we went guys vs. girls.

Everyone had a good time, and the night ended well, with my brother emerging as the victor in A2A and the girls triumphing in Taboo.  But it was interesting to notice the hearts on display throughout the night:  Lying, cheating, accusing, over-competitiveness, self-justifying, holding grudges, incredulity, boasting.  And that was just me.  The list makes it sounds much worse than it seemed.  Most of these were masked in laughter or sarcasm and seemed harmless at the time.

continue reading

What shall I do to inherit eternal life?

This is the kind of question that is a primary question.  We have many questions in life, but only a few are primary.  This is one of those questions.

If our lives are but vapors, and if the choices we make in this life—the primary kind of choices related to the primary kinds of questions—have eternal consequences, then above all else, we need to be firmly settled in what we believe, and how we relate, to these kinds of questions.

You may be like me, and at some point in the past, you’ve said to your friend or spouse or parent that you have a question for God.  Maybe it’s a question to settle an argument, or a question about life’s purpose, or a question about why God did or did not do something in your life.  And you imagine yourself standing before God with the chance to ask your question.

continue reading

This is a week which has loomed large each year since 1955, when Congress moved the filing deadline for tax returns to its current date.  April 15 holds a prominent place on our calendars, but this day is not always the highlight of our year.  The conscientious among us filed their taxes months ago and think nothing of this week.  But for the procrastinators in our midst, this week promises late nights, scores of Google searches, and more than a few “can you believe…” questions to our husbands and wives.

But “all things were created for [Jesus]…that in everything he might be preeminent” (Colossians 1:16, 18).  This “everything” includes our money, and the IRS, and Tax Week, which means that even this week exists to make Jesus look glorious.

continue reading