Bringing Scripture to Life

Those familiar with the Pacific Northwest - where my family and I are currently living - know that in the summer it doesn't get dark until after 9 pm, which means on the 4th of July the firework shows usually don't begin until after 10 pm, when it is fully dark outside.  This year, my family spent the evening of the 4th of July inside, as my little one who is only 20 1/2 months old, is simply too young to stay up late enough to watch the fireworks. As my family and I were hanging out at home that night, something really cool happened to me as we were listening to the fireworks go off. My wife and I were laying down on our bed with our son, who out of sheer exhaustion from the day, fell asleep in her arms. As we were lying there, I began pondering the significance of the 4th of July, and the freedom we enjoy because of the sacrifice of our forefathers. I wondered how many people might miss the point of what this day is really all about. After all, for many of us, this is a fu...

Richard Baxter (1615-91) was a leading English Puritan pastor, theologian, and author, whose deep convictions for holiness in the pulpit fueled a fire deep within his being. The purpose of his book,  The Reformed Pastor   is to reform the lukewarm pastors of his day, and in their self-reformation, begin pouring themselves out for the Body of Christ, so that every member will be edified and encouraged to grow in their faith. While written with the 17th Century clergy in mind, this explosive work is very timely instruction for pastors in every generation. I have read this book twice now, and each time, I have been most encouraged by The Reformed Pastor. I am blessed and encouraged to continue to seek God, to strive for holiness, and to pour myself out for the body of Christ, so that they might be edified, encouraged, and draw closer to Jesus. Paul's words to the church in Colossae truly summarize the heart of Richard Baxter in  The Reformed Pasto...

My wife Lyndsey and I have been so blessed to see how God has given our little boy a heart for worship. As many of you know, we were told in October of 2001 that it was impossible for us to ever have our own children, and then in October of 2011, almost 10 years to the date, God showed us once again that "Nothing is impossible for God!" One of the cool things about our story, is that the night before we found out we were pregnant, the Lord gave both my wife and me prophetic dreams that we were pregnant. Then when the doctor confirmed the next morning what God had shown both of us in a dream the night before, we were overwhelmed with joy and in awe of God.  Our first response to this news was to cry, and then to worship the Lord. I picked up my guitar and we both worshipped the Lord to the Chris Tomlin version of "Our God." Throughout my wife's pregnancy, she faithfully prayed for Jeremiah to be a worshipper of God, and she use to play Chris Tomlin and Jeremy...

The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness  is a book that reveals the marks of a heart that is touched by God and transformed by the Gospel. In a booklet barely 40 pages long, the author exposes the nature of pride, ego, self-esteem, and judgment of others and of ourselves.  By dissecting 1 Corinthians 3:21-4:7, Timothy Keller puts the spotlight upon these internal diseases of the heart, and does a superb job in pointing out the historical view points of self-esteem, both high and low, and the transformation of these conditions of the heart that the gospel offers to all of us.  Over the span of three easy to read chapters, the author covers 1) The Natural Condition of the Human Ego, 2) The Transformed View of Self, and 3) How to Get that Transformed View of Self. I believe the book will be life-changing for many who read it, embrace it, and apply it to their lives. I highly recommend it.

I was so blessed to be invited to say the opening prayer and give some words of encouragement at the first annual Million March Against Child Abuse this morning at Esther Short Park in Vancouver, Washington. A double blessing for me was seeing one of my favorite little peeps at the event as well. This is the first annual event where Americans across the nation in over 100 cities and 45 states gathered together to raise awareness of child abuse and crimes against children. The goal of MACA is to put an end to the enormous amount of lenient sentencing passed down from the court systems, and to be advocates for children and help end this enormous epidemic that is going on in every community across the nation.  This is another great cause for you and your church to get behind, so that you can bring the social gospel into your community and allow the transformational love of Jesus to begin transforming our communities and the lives of people.

This past Sunday millions of people across the world celebrated Jesus as being the Resurrected Lord who defeated death, conquered the human heart, and  began an unstoppable movement that has dramatically and positively impacted the course of human history over the last 2000 years. When we read through the Gospels, we soon realize that Jesus was no mere man (Mark 4:41), but someone who always went the extra mile to minister to others, and serve anyone who in faith, called upon His name for help. Jesus not only revealed God's heart toward us (Matthew 6:32; Luke 12:32), but He also demonstrated the love of God for us (Romans 5:8), so that through faith in Him we could become children of God ourselves (Galatians 3:26). Jesus not only came so that we may have eternal life (John 3:16), but He also came to teach us how to live for God in this life (Matthew 5:3-7:27), and experience an extraordinary life while doing so (John 10:10). Who in the world can give us a better ...

The MAN of SIN The Bible uses this term  “the man of sin”  ( anthrôpos tês anomias ), one time in all of Scripture to describe the ferocious beast that Satan will send into the world in order to unleash enormous evil on humanity at the end of human history.  Why should we be concerned about this man of sin? The reason we should be concerned is because he will deceive many, causing a great falling away before the end. In other words, this man will have enormous influence over the world. Paul writes to the Thessalonians saying, "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day (the Second Coming) will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed , the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) Here we read that Paul warns the Th...