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Halloween is one of the few times each year when pretending to be someone else is part of the fun. We put on costumes, change our appearance, and sometimes try hard enough that people barely recognize us. Nobody is being dishonest because everyone understands what is happening. The costume is temporary, and sooner or later we take it off and go back to being ourselves. The masks we wear in everyday life are sometimes harder to recognize. We learn how to present ourselves diff

There are times when two people can look at the exact same situation and walk away with completely different conclusions. One person sees an obstacle and immediately starts listing all the reasons it cannot be overcome. Another sees the same obstacle, understands the same risks, and still believes there is a faithful way forward. That difference is not always personality. Sometimes it is faith. Numbers 13 and 14 give us one of the clearest examples of this in Scripture. Moses

There is always something that needs attention around a house. Something needs to be repaired, cleaned, replaced, organized, paid for, or improved. Even when the house itself is in good shape, there are still meals to prepare, dishes to clean, laundry to fold, schedules to manage, work to finish, bills to pay, and non-stop plans for what comes next. None of those things are wrong. In fact, many of them are good responsibilities God has entrusted to us. The danger is that we c

There is a response we hear fairly often after a sermon, Bible class, or good spiritual conversation: “That was a really good lesson.” I have said it plenty of times myself. We hear something that is biblical, meaningful, and perhaps even challenging. We agree with it. We may underline a verse, write something in the margin of our Bible or take a note in our phone, or talk about the message on the drive home. Then Monday comes, and very little changes. I do not think the prob

Complaining comes naturally to us. We complain about traffic, weather, work, prices, people, schedules, food, politics, inconveniences, and the hundred little things that do not go the way we hoped. Sometimes the complaint is serious. Other times it is something as simple as the restaurant taking too long or someone leaving a mess we now have to clean up. Most of the time, we probably do not think much about it. We are simply frustrated, so we say what we are frustrated about

One of the easiest things to do when we feel out of step with the culture around us is to spend most of our energy talking about the culture. We notice what has changed. We point out where society is moving away from Christian convictions. We become concerned about what our children are being taught, what our neighbors believe, and what kinds of values are increasingly treated as normal. Some of those concerns are legitimate, and Christians should not be naive about the world

Most of life is not made up of mission trips, major life changes, or the moments we circle on the calendar months in advance, like vacations or special outings. Most of our lives happen on fairly normal Tuesdays: getting ready for work, packing lunches, answering emails, sitting in traffic, making dinner, cleaning the kitchen, putting children to bed, talking with our spouse, checking on a friend, and doing it all again tomorrow. Those days rarely feel especially significant.

I recently came across an illustration in Francis and Lisa Chan’s You and Me Forever that has been hard to forget. They described people who become so physically overweight that eventually they lose much of their ability to move on their own. They continue consuming, but their bodies are no longer putting that nourishment to work. Eventually, they may even become dependent on other people simply to continue feeding them. The Chans then make an intentionally uncomfortable comp

There are certain words that carry more weight depending on who says them. A compliment from a stranger can be encouraging. Recognition from a coworker can mean something. But there is something different about hearing affirmation from someone whose opinion matters deeply to us, from someone we respect, love, and want to honor. I think that is part of why two words from Jesus have been sitting heavily on my mind lately: “Well done.” In Matthew 25, Jesus tells of a master who

There are weeks when work seems to expand until it fills every available space. The inbox is never really empty. There is always another project, another responsibility, another person who needs something, another task we could finish if we just stayed at it a little longer. Even when we stop working physically, our minds often keep going. We replay conversations, solve tomorrow’s problems, and measure the day by how much we accomplished. Then, on the other side, we can start

There are seasons when the Christian life can become very busy. There are Bible studies to prepare for, people to encourage, prayers to remember, needs at church, opportunities to serve, habits we are trying to strengthen, sins we are trying to overcome, and responsibilities we genuinely want to carry well. We can be trying very hard to follow Jesus and still find ourselves exhausted by the effort of being a “good Christian.” I have felt that struggle myself at times. I can b

Most of us do not wake up in the morning and consciously decide that God is going to come second. It usually happens more quietly than that - at least that is my experience. We wake up thinking about the meeting we need to prepare for, the problem we need to solve, the bill we need to pay, the appointment we need to remember, or the conversation we have been replaying in our head. Before long, our attention is scattered across a dozen legitimate concerns, and whatever feels m

We like things we can measure. We track progress, build routines, set goals, and look for visible evidence that our effort is working. At work, we watch the numbers. In our health, we may watch the scale or our waistlines, track our strength, or notice the way our clothes fit. In our spiritual lives, we can create a similar scoreboard: Did I pray enough? Was I patient today? Did I control my temper? Am I becoming more loving, joyful, peaceful, and disciplined? There is nothin

We live in a world built around self-improvement. We set goals, track habits, make plans, and look for better systems. We try to become healthier, more productive, more disciplined, and more emotionally steady. Much of that can be genuinely helpful. Growth requires intention, and Scripture certainly does not encourage passivity. But I have noticed how easily I can bring that same mindset into my relationship with God. I begin treating the Christian life like one more improvem

A couple of weeks ago in Honduras, one moment stayed with me more than any other. Our team was helping build a house while, nearby, another part of the group was studying the Bible with the woman whose home we were building. By the grace of God, after hearing the gospel, she decided that she wanted to put on Christ in baptism. That alone would have been enough to make the day unforgettable. But then something happened that I have not been able to get off my mind. As the group

There is something about a mission trip that can make the Christian life feel abnormally clear. For a little while, so much of what normally competes for our attention gets pushed to the side. The schedule is built around service. The conversations keep circling back to people, needs, and open doors. Prayer feels more natural. Encouragement feels more intentional. We are surrounded by brothers and sisters moving in the same direction, trying to do good in the name of Christ.

Over the past few weeks in this VBS-themed series, we’ve looked at what it means to be called by the gospel, what our faith communicates under pressure, and what it looks like for devotion to outlast excitement. This final post brings us to a fitting ending: how God uses His Word to lead searching hearts to Jesus. This is how we conquer. Most of us know what it feels like to search. We may not always say it out loud, but we search for answers, for clarity, for direction, for

Last week in this VBS-themed series, we looked at what it means to be called by the gospel and then what our faith communicates when life gets hard. This week’s theme moves us into another necessary part of discipleship: what does it look like to stay with Jesus after the excitement fades? Because there is a certain kind of energy that comes with the beginning of something. A new habit. A new challenge. A new commitment. At first, it feels fresh. Full of possibility. We pictu

Last week, as our VBS series began, we looked at what it means to be called by the gospel. This week’s theme turns in a different direction: what does our faith communicate when life gets hard? That question matters because pressure has a way of revealing what is really inside us. Most of us know that from experience. When life is easy, it is simpler to sound patient, calm, and trusting. But when we are stressed, embarrassed, treated unfairly, or pushed into a corner, somethi

This past week, our congregation had it's annual VBS, and I’ve been thinking about how God uses simple and fun themes to instill deep truths into our hearts. This year’s VBS walks through four movements in the book of Acts all with a fun explorer theme (think Indiana Jones). Night one is about being called. Night two is about communicating Jesus through both life and words. Night three is about staying committed when faith gets hard. And night four reminds us that God’s Word