When Ned shared with his Christian community that he had struggled with a specific sexual sin since young adulthood, they rallied around to support him in every way they could, including pointing him to Regeneration. As we sat together and talked, it was obvious he longed to please God, and he was highly motivated to do what he needed to in order to find freedom. I liked his zeal. But not what...
Giving Your Body to Jesus
When a man and woman get married, they have to show up. They don’t just send an email, they physically stand before a priest or pastor. They don’t just think their vows, they say them out loud for others to hear. They don’t give something pretend, they place a ring of gold on each others’ fingers. And, if you’ll allow me to go there, they don’t text each other naked photos or fantasize about each...
Podcast: What Forgiveness Is and Isn’t
Josh and Dan continue their conversation around Forgiveness. They dive into what Forgiveness is and what it isn’t. Click for Full Podcast Transcription Josh 0:07Alright, Dan, so we’re gonna jump back into what forgiveness is and what it isn’t. We said last time that a lot of people have hang ups about coming to a place of forgiveness, because on some level, they, they misunderstand...
First, Friday
I wish I could slow this week down. Easter Sunday will be here soon enough, but you and I need Good Friday first. The chronic suffering all around us reveals it’s true. Sunday proclaims the hope of resurrection, but when we rush past Jesus’ crucifixion, our hope becomes too small to carry the real weight of the world in which you and I live. Good Friday, entering into the crucifixion, sharing in...
Your Head Can’t Save You
In C.S. Lewis’ book That Hideous Strength, one of the arch-villains is a decapitated head. Men fear and bow before “the Head” as they would a god. Pretty grizzly stuff. We live in an age where mankind exalts our own heads. Ask people what separates us from the animals (or “other animals”), and many will say it’s our intelligence. Ask a political leader of either major party how they’re going to...
This Is My Body
He wouldn’t stop punching me in the arm. Hard. Again and again and again. I was 9 and to this day I remember the details. It was recess and I was outside the classroom on the blacktop underneath the basketball hoop. I was wearing my favorite winter coat, a hand-me-down, dark blue Dallas Cowboys letterman-style jacket with metal snaps and greyish silver sleeves. There were kids running and playing...