Posts from 2016

We are taking this week off from work and traveling some, so I am going to let the a Psalm speak this week. “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me…

…Freely you have received; freely give (Matthew 10:8) Christmas as we know it, a brief apology. I will start honestly. I adore Christmas time and I believe the following is self-evident. Christmas items should show up on store shelves in August, homes should be decorated November 1, Christmas trees should be cut by hand, snickerdoodles are a primary food group, it is…

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. (1 Peter 2:12) Everyone must make a decision about the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. Is he my personal savior or is He not? Those outside the Faith will argue otherwise, but answering this question is…

“The egoist is actually self-loathing”. I came across this idea recently. The idea comes from a soldier’s thoughts on his service during the First World War. More broadly he is considering philosophy as self-serving methods for chasing a false fulfillment, ultimately stemming from a person’s disdain for themselves. The author continues the thought pattern by putting…

Thinkers much brighter than I have said that all sin, at least most sin, is rooted in good things. I guess a simpler understanding is that sin is good things gone bad. I think the most obvious example of this is love becoming lust. A small seemingly inconsequential and honest flame can become a forest fire very quickly. I think most of us know when we have crossed the…

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that each of you has a wonderful week and a beautiful Thanksgiving Day. I would like to use today’s devotion to be mindful of a few things we, as Followers of Christ, can be thankful for. Here goes: 1. The Bible. The simple reality that God has chosen to reveal Himself through the written word is in and of itself remarkable. It is also…

I am typing this early Wednesday morning and I have just learned the result of the presidential election. I imagine some of you will be frustrated. I also imagine that some of you will be pleased. Condolences or congrats either way. I’m relieved that it is over. But on the same note today brings forth an end, which begs the question: where do we go from here?. The…

He has also set eternity in their heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11) Broadly speaking, it is important to understand two categories of sin: sins of commission and sins of omission. I think a good way to understand sins of commission is to understand that they are the acts we commit which break our Father’s heart. Sins of omission are the opposite, actions which are in our Father’s…

I did everything right and yet things did not work out. It is a frustrating place to be. I experienced this feeling with a bang this past weekend. My training plan was from a professional and everybody thought it would work; I followed it to completion. Beyond that I did all the little things right; as far as extra strength training, food, and sleep. Yet, I still turned…

As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one”… (Romans 3:10) I hold tightly to the understanding that Christianity is the ultimate paradox. What I mean is that our faith is two seemingly opposed ideals moving and pushing forward in Grace and in Power and both are completely true. Romans 3:10 highlights this paradox. St. Paul tells us that there is none…