This week Daniel Radcliffe and Demi Moore--with personal demons to spare--have again shown how celebrity confessions redefine redemption for a public community. I always believed forgiveness was an act of God wherein a man’s spirit is made right again through divine mercy. Yet the new faith for a secular world has made public opinion the modern high priest: we allow you to do bad things--and then forgive you for it--as long as a self-effacing confession comes with it.

It’s Public Relations 101: If You Judge Yourself, We Won’t.  High profile confessors fare much better than high profile defenders. If you cop to your sins quickly in this country, you’re beloved. Radcliffe, who recounts struggling with alcohol as a young actor in the spotlight, humbly admits his faults this week and suddenly the public swoons over his maturity. Moore, who openly confesses a life of self-destruction and narcissism, is surrounded by supporters who wish her a safe passage. 

continue reading

Recently, Mark and I had a conference call with a pastor of a large church to pick his brain on some potential writing projects. As he spoke wisdom poured out of his mouth and one of his comments struck me, “God just doesn’t seem real to a lot of people any more.” 

He believed a big reason why is due to our avoidance of suffering.

Okay – I don’t like to suffer and I’m guilty of doing my best to rid it in my life and my family’s life. I want everything to be fun, easy-going and feel-good. However, by doing this, am I missing out on an opportunity to experience God in a new and deeper way?

Perhaps I’m not alone in dodging suffering. Our culture has made it convenient for us. If something hurts, we can numb it with a pill. Our mobile and transient lifestyle allows us to escape stressful relationships. We can change churches, schools, jobs, even marriages instead of dealing with the issue.

continue reading

Every now and then I’m asked by a publisher to do a book review. Not long ago, Zondervan offered to send me the book Every Body Matters by Gary Thomas for free if I’d be to write a blog post about it. Well, uh…yeah! I love to read and stuff that is free. Plus the topic of the book intrigued me.

The title is a play on words – it’s not talking about everybody but every body matters. Thomas connects our spiritual being with our physical body. When you take care of your body with healthy eating and physical exercise, you’re empowering your spirit with zeal to do good work for God.

Thomas is quick to point out that he’s not promoting one to build his or her body to be admired by others, but instead to strengthen it in order to serve God.

continue reading

Note: This post is completely indulgent and it could be totally stupid (my teenage kids tell me it’s probably fifty-fifty). Furthermore, unless you’re in your forties, lived in Texas as a teenager, love Jesus, and have been trolling the internet since its inception, you might not understand a word of it. Feel free to leave now, especially if you’ve enjoyed anything else I’ve written. 

 

 

     Like some of you, I’m a strange hybrid of old and young. My formative years spent in the pre-tech 1980s have now collided with my maturing years spent in the tech-saturated new millennium. I was a Bible Belt native not too long ago: big hair, big churches, big shoulder pads, and big regrets in the 90s. With perspective, I can now see what was terribly wrong with us, and yet I haven’t lost my faith in Jesus nor his Church.

continue reading

It was the worst day in my life. Our daughter Anastasia was two-years-old. We were living in Germany in a townhome, three-stories high with winding, marble stairs. Anastasia, like most two-year-olds, was my shadow and followed me continually up and down the stairs.

I worked busily that morning, getting ready for an overnight guest. The drain to the shower was clogged so I used a spoon to pour with some Draino crystals directly into the pipes. A small amount of the crystals mixed with some water and stuck to the spoon.

At the hospital she was put in the pediatric intensive care ward. We were blessed that the majority of the burns were in her mouth but her saliva had carried some of the chemicals down her esophagus and the doctors needed to see the extent of the damage.

continue reading

Last week, we passed the 1-year anniversary of the horrific day in Tucson, Arizona. On January 8, 2011, a lone shooter shot U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and eighteen other people. Six died, including 9-year-old Christiana-Taylor Green.

Recently I read the book As Good As She Imagined by Roaxanna Green and Jerry B. Jenkins. It’s a wonderful book that portrays the life of this 9-year-old, Christina-Taylor. My heart mourned for the victims and their families but especially for the Green family. No one wants to lose his or her child.

Green and Jenkins share stories from Christina-Taylor’s short life and I couldn’t help but fall in love with her and her family. It’s reminded me of the importance of community, love of family and how enduring challenges develops the perseverance needed to survive later trials.

continue reading

Previously I wrote on how the nation of Israel received its name, what the name means, and its theological implications.  Jacob was named Israel by the angel who wrestled him, who many believe is the preincarnate Christ.  The name Israel means, he struggles with God.  I then provided a macro view of how the nation of Israel split apart into two different kingdoms, their exile to Babylon, and their return.  The Israelite’s who survived the Babylonian invasion and were exiled off to Iraq, became known as the remnant. (2 Chron. 36:20; Jer. 25:11)

In 539 B.C, a year after Persia’s overthrow of the Babylonian Empire, Cyrus the ruler of Persia, decreed the Israelites who were under Babylonian captivity were free to return to their homeland.  This is all in keeping with the words of the prophet Isaiah who prophesied 200 years before Cyrus’ decree that God himself would raise up Cyrus to bring about God’s purposes of bringing the remnant back to their homeland. (Isa. 44: 28, Isa. 45:1-5)

continue reading

Do you ever feel your life is full of many “almost made it” opportunities? The interruptions of life continually prevent you from accomplishing your goal and living out your dream. You almost got the promotion, almost got married, almost won the competition, almost got into that college, almost bought the house, almost had a baby, almost beat cancer…

They can happen to us or even our loved ones, either way they put a sharp curve in the road, taking us in another direction, to a destination we have no desire to visit.

Some times these are self-invoked and happen because we (or another around us) turned the steering wheel in the wrong direction due to a bad decision – texting while driving, cheating on our taxes, shaving our legs with a dull razor.  (Uh…TMI on that last one?)

continue reading

A cool thing happened to me this morning. I went for an early morning run before work. It was still dawn (I was going to say “twilight” but I didn’t want to distract you and cause you to think the movie Twilight and then wonder if I believed in vampires - which I don’t, btw). The sun was beginning to rise over Boise’s foothills but not enough to give much light.

I like running in the dark. It keeps me from looking at how far I still have to go and instead forces me to focus the steps in front of me. I’m not distracted by the scenery around but look solely at the path in front of me.

It was peaceful and therapeutic.

Life’s been rough lately and the world’s craziness makes it even harder to find peace. God tells us in the Bible not to be anxious about anything but that is easier said than done.

continue reading

I’ve never been big on making predictions for any particular New Year. I suppose it has something to do with not wanting to be wrong, but 2012 seems different (and it’s not just because the Mayan calendar has the world ending on December 21). Because there are so many significant global trends that seem to be converging in a way that could produce more change and opportunity than any of us have seen in quite some time, I’m very interested in the future.

So, for what they’re worth, here are seven “trend forecasts” for 2012, and why I think they matter:

1. The 2012 U.S. elections will be contentious and bitterly fought (like it takes a genius to predict this one). We’ve all been disheartened at the way the political process has been working in the last few years, and the elections in 2012 may hit a new low point.

continue reading