In my last blog we began a discussion about Revelation and the fact that it was not written primarily as a road map for the end of the world, but as an “apocalypse” that showed us the spiritual realities behind the suffering that the first Christians (and we) can expect to experience in a world ruled by beastly powers. Now that we have an idea of Revelation’s purpose in mind, we can...  Read More

Who, or what, has the allegiance of your heart?No, seriously, ask yourself this question.  This is an uber important question to be asking. Someone or something has you.  It's likely more than one thing. You/re chasing something... moment by moment...  hour by hour... day by day... Without reflection, these allegiances, and their subsequent pursuits, consume us.   Yes, they devour us, robbing us o...  Read More

I’m not really big on checklists in our spiritual journey. They seem so, well, ..... sterile. I mean, this relationship with the Lord should not be about checking things off the list. Our walk with the Lord is to be vibrant , growing, involving prayer, feeding on his Word, and loving others.Checklists, however, are vital for some professions. Every time I board a plane I am so thankful for pilots ...  Read More

             When you’re shooting baskets after youth group, you really never know what conversations are going to arise. This past week as a student and I were playing together, we got talking about gas prices, and this week’s big pipeline news story came up. The student asked me “have you heard the conspiracy theory about that!?” I hadn’t, but it only took a stab or two to guess what it was all ...  Read More

Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” This verse has been floating around the back of my mind lately. I suspect that this is because over the past couple weeks, I have had the joyful opportunity of sitting with friends, both new and old, and hearing joyful news from them. I have heard stories of new jobs, new ministry opportunities, and new events in the ...  Read More

“In a piece of music, the notation for ‘rest’ is a pause in the music. The rest is as important as the note. The space that is not filled with music is a space that helps frame the music. It keeps its meter and holds the melody in place. The musical rest is a positive filling of that space, not a void.” “The composer of the music carefully placed those rests as parts of the whole. To remove them changes everything about the music: its meter, its interpretation, even the melody.” Stephen Shortridge writes in Deepest Thanks, Deeper Apologies  Read More