For the last ten months I have been working at meeting with some other guys from church on a weekly basis for Bible study. It has been difficult to start a group and equally difficult to build it.  Guys are busy. They often commit early on and then quickly fade away. And brotherhood is simply not instantaneous. I think there are spiritual forces working against anyone seeking to develop a habit of weekly spiritual conversations. I feel it in myself even. I don’t really look forward to meeting with the guys until it is under way and then I think,…

Relentless blogger and author of Atomic Habits, James Clear has these questions for those who are looking to start a career or change jobs: Those are three interesting lenses through which to consider a career choice.  The qualifying word “realistically” needs to be given careful consideration; skills and personality traits will definitely narrow the scope of possibilities for each individual.  But Clear’s questions got me thinking about my own career choices. In my case, impact and enjoyment have always played much larger roles than making money. But as I grow older, I am starting to question the wisdom of my…

Even though I am not with the kids and teachers heading back to school this month, I have been on a steep learning curve of my own. Ministry among the poor of this world is like so many other things in life: there are a million ways to do it wrong and a handful of ways to do it right. I joined the Mission Resource team last January because I felt Mission Resource was doing it right.  So I have spent the last few months asking questions, watching my boss work, and reading everything I can get my hands on…

“Three kids accepted Jesus at VBS last week”.  When I hear a church announcement like this, I celebrate, of course.  But … there’s also something about that phrase – “accepting Jesus” – that makes me cringe. It feels like the wrong word. We “accept” the “things we cannot change”. In grade school, we are taught to “accept” everybody. If we compete and win, we might “accept” an award.  For an action word, it has a strangely passive vibe.  Synonyms include allow, endure, and tolerate.  So imagine my surprise this morning when I found out it was biblical. Straight from the mouth…

I have often heard that the Gospel according to John is quite different from the other three gospels. In fact, scholars refer to Matthew, Mark and Luke as the “Synoptic Gospels” – the term “synoptic” employing the Greek syn meaning “together” and opt “to see”. Matthew, Mark, and Luke share a “common view” of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.  Although in some places John’s Gospel does share common ground with the Synoptics, he often skips over their stories and relates his own, not found elsewhere.  This is obvious in the accounts of the healings Jesus performed. The Synoptic Gospels…

Comedy legend John Cleese of Monty Python fame was being interviewed recently. Like a stream of consciousness, the conversation roamed across numerous topics.  At one point Cleese said he was seeing a therapist years ago and was thoroughly impressed with the guy’s professionalism and knowledge. So Cleese asked him, “What percent of people in your profession would you say really know what they are doing?” Without hesitation, the therapist answered, “10%.”  Yikes! Think of how influential a therapist can be. And then consider the possibility that 90% have no clue what they are doing. After that surprising answer, Cleese made…

In speaking of the people’s unwillingness to place their faith in Jesus, the Apostle John says, “For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere (in Isaiah 6:10):‘He has blinded their eyesand deadened their hearts,so they can neither see with their eyes,nor understand with their hearts,nor turn – and I would heal them.’” (John 12:39-40)  Understand with their … hearts? Doesn’t he mean “minds”? I don’t want to make too much of a single passage in Scripture, but it is interesting that John and Isaiah speak here of people comprehending the Gospel with their hearts. Christian author…

Yesterday I offered Dr. Chris Bounds’ definition of love as “the alignment of the will with the desire for union, oneness, or fellowship with someone or something”.  His point being that genuine love requires both will and desire. When it comes to loving God, there are two pitfalls we must avoid: 1) A “love” that is all desire and no will.      We love the idea of God, but really have no intention of following His ways. We find it much too difficult to obey in our day to day lives.     We love Jesus, but … Don’t gossip? Don’t complain? Forgive others? Remember…