There are occasions in life in which we would all like to know the future. We come to times of sorrow and wonder when our tears will be dried, times of pain and wonder when we will be healed, times of uncertainty and wonder when we will gain confidence. In such moments we may wish…
How should you dispose of an old Bible? Is there a right way and a wrong way? Is there a biblical way and an unbiblical way? Listen in as I try to work through this surprisingly common question. Transcript I recently got the question, how do you dispose of an old Bible? Somebody’s Bible had…
In the Bible we see both grumbing and lamenting. It seems that one is permitted by God and one is not. So what is the difference? Transcript Today I want to take on a question I got from somebody who’s watched some of these videos. Sent through a question I thought was quite interesting. It…
The Bible tells us that we are to live lives that are worthy of the gospel. Specifically, in Philippians 1 Paul tells the church, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” I recently found myself reflecting on that word worthy. How can we actually live in a way that…
There’s a call on every Christian to grow and keep growing in wisdom and maturity. In this video I discuss the difference between the two and encourage younger people (and older people!) to commit themselves to these key traits. What is wisdom & maturity, and is there a difference between the two? Yes, wisdom defined…
You hear a lot about the value and wisdom of seeking out older mentors to walk beside you on your Christian journey. Here are some thoughts and ideas about who should seek a mentor and who should be a mentor to the younger generations. Transcript Does wisdom come only with age? Wisdom comes with age,…
We live in a privileged age in which we can indulge, and in fact are expected to indulge, in all kinds of sports and hobbies. However, many of these pursuits may seem like they do not honor God. Christians often question the validity of how they spend the hours they are not working or evangelizing.…
We’ve just come through this long and deep cold snap. We’ve just gotten over this spell where it’s been -25, -30 degrees, absolutely freezing. It’s finally warmed up a little. And I’ve decided I’ve got to get out of the office. I’m here at one of my favorite spots at Waterdown, Ontario just to explore.…
Some great books hit your life like a sledgehammer. They wreck your preconceptions and disrupt what you were sure you knew. We need these books from time to time. Other books come like a cool drink of water on a hot afternoon. They reaffirm what you thought you knew, and shore up your pre-existing convictions.…
There is no source of comfort as true or as good as God’s book, the Bible. For millennia, God’s people have turned to its pages to find solace, to find hope and encouragement. Sometimes comfort is found in unexpected places, in unlikely words. I found it this morning in a simple sentence written by Jesus’s…
Christians are called to the most difficult of all tasks. Over the course of our lives we are to be sanctified, to grow in holiness, to begin to act like and look like Jesus. We are to stop being what we once were, to put aside old dreams, desires, and habits, and to start being…
I read it because it was on the New York Times list of bestsellers. That is not only a significant accomplishment for an author but an indication that her work resonates with a wide audience. So I read the book. And, oh my. Nadia Bolz-Weber is founding pastor of a Lutheran congregation in Denver called…
You don’t really know who your friends are until their relationship with you becomes a liability instead of a benefit. Many celebrities, and even Christian celebrities, have learned this lesson the hard way. In the blink of an eye, or the release of a news story, they went from fêted to ignored, from celebrated to…
Rick Warren is one of the bestselling Christian authors of our time. While he has written too few books to compete with the likes of Max Lucado for the greatest number of books sold, the few books he has written have uniformly made their way to the bestseller lists. Where most successful Christian authors have…
Jefferson Bethke is a YouTube sensation who exploded onto the scene in January 2012 when he released a spoken word poem titled “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus.” Within three days it had been viewed 6 million times and as of today it has been viewed 25 million times. He went from unknown to…
Busyness is a funny thing. We have a love/hate relationship with it, so that when we are not boasting in it we are apologizing for it, and when we are not overwhelmed by it we are wanting more of it. We hate what busyness does to us, how it keeps us from friends and families…
Don’t you just love a good bit of gossip? There is nothing quite like it, though perhaps a good comparison is to a juicy and succulent bit of food. The last mouthful of steak perhaps. You put it in your mouth. You let it sit there for a few moments. You celebrate the flavor. You…
For some time now people have been telling me, “You need to read Larry Osborne’s Accidental Pharisees.” Based on the title I was not sure whether they meant this as a compliment or insult; now that I have read it, I am still not sure. But I sure am grateful they encouraged me to read…
Sometimes I read a book and can later point to a page or a chapter and a specific idea I drew from it. When I later write a review of these books I can usually point to that idea and say, “Here is what I learned; here is what the author taught me.” I love…