The Pursuit of Happiness

happiness

I’ve recently heard a lot of things said about pleasure, the pursuit of happiness, satisfaction, and things like that.  To be sure, we live in a free country where we are at liberty to pursue those things, and for the most part without the authorities intervening.  Our own Declaration of Independence declares that humans have [...]

You Will Not Fail

running-480

Have you ever felt like you might not make it?  Have you ever experienced a season of doubt?  Are you in the middle of a struggle that seems to be defining your very existence?  Do you feel like you are losing that struggle?  These seasons of life are as sure as taxes and death.  We [...]

The Reborn Identity

reborn-identity

As I began studying Hebrews chapter three this morning, the author begins that chapter by addressing us as holy brothers. “Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,” It was my intention to get further than the opening words of one verse, but [...]

Too Much Stuff

napping

Vacations, in their current form, are not helpful.  It has become kind of cliché to say that we need a recoup time from the vacations we take.  It is true.  Vacations are supposed to be peaceful and full of time for relaxing.  But this is no longer so.  Instead our vacations have become very brief [...]

Forgiveness 101

forgive-101

Forgiveness is an essential part of being a Christian. It is so essential, that Jesus said in Matthew 6:15, “if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” This verse calls the genuineness of an unforgiving person’s salvation into question. Because believers in Jesus have been forgiven so much, [...]

Coram Deo

coram-deo

Do you remember carpe diem?  If you’ve ever seen the movie, Dead Poets Society, you know that it is Latin for, “Seize the day.”  For a dead language, Latin sure has a way of sticking around.  I have never forgotten carpe diem.  Recently, there is a new Latin phrase tumbling around in my brain: coram [...]

A Quick Word About Regret

regret

As I was writing in my journal tonight, God dropped a big thought on me that I thought I would share here. Have you ever had a day or a week, or maybe even a month or longer where you were haunted by very vague feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or regrets?  No matter how much [...]

When Bad Things Happen

bad-things

A series of recent events has propelled me to write this article.  I won’t go into the details of those events right here, as that would be inappropriate, and neither will I reveal the players.  Suffice it to say that some bad decisions were made and now the consequences are playing out, even as I [...]

The Pursuit of Joy

pursue-joy

As we approach Christmas, I am finding myself more and more contemplating joy and how my soul longs to have more of it.  My devotions are taking me that direction, the songs of the season sing of unspeakable joy; God is trying to show me something.  What are we to think of joy?  We frequently [...]

The One Anothers

love-one-another

Tonight at our Life Group, our discussion went all over the charts; not bad for 2 Samuel, chapter 22.  From out of all the things we discussed, one thing rose to the surface in my mind.  It had relatively little to do with the actual text we were discussing, and much more to do with [...]