The Curse Word Isn’t the Most Shocking Part of Philippians 3

In Philippians 3, the Apostle Paul declares that everything he once held tightly to in his life to be “skubalon” compared to knowing Christ. If you look up how the famous Greek word is used in the culture, you discover it was dung or animal excrement. Paul was making a very explicit point— everything is […]

Lessons From an Epic Treasure Hunt That Ended in 2020

This book, Chasing the Thrill, tells the story of an amazing treasure hunt that ended last year, in 2020. Ten years earlier an art dealer named Forrest Fenn hid a treasure in the Rocky Mountains and placed a map and a poem in a book he wrote and self-published. The poem and map contained clues […]

Jesus Arrived to Defeat Your (Real) Enemies

Many have said that nothing unites like a common enemy. In business, startups will unite as insurgents to take down the incumbent. In politics, leaders bring people together against the other side. Defeating a common enemy can be a powerful unifier and motivator. In a divisive year there seems to be a greater desire to […]

8 Reasons I Stopped Stressing About “Losing my Salvation” 

The question “Can I lose my salvation” is one of the biggest questions I wrestled with when I first became a Christian. I loved Jesus but still struggled with so many things and because I struggled with so many things, I wondered if my struggles would take me outside of God’s grace. I remember coming […]

He Is Still Alive

Yesterday was awesome. People gathered in churches to celebrate that Jesus is alive, that sin and death no longer claim us. He has saved us, freed us, and one day He will raise us to everlasting life. Many churches saw an increase in attendance yesterday, and though there were a lot of guests, most major […]

3 Miseries of Legalism

Legalism is attempting to earn God’s approval with our works. It is man’s attempt to qualify himself to stand before God on his own merits. We are recovering legalists, for there was a time, before Christ rescued us, when we attempted to find our joy in ourselves, our salvation by ourselves. Now we trust His […]

Ready for Heaven?

Over the years serving on staff at a church I have heard church people make comments that cause me to think they’ll not like heaven very much, assuming they’re going. In reference to another ethnicity or culture, I have heard people say things like, “I am uncomfortable around those type of people.” I have wondered, […]

Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart

The Lord rescued me the summer before I turned 18. As I was new in my faith, I struggled with the security of the salvation the Lord had graciously provided for me. Some of my friends believed you could “lose your salvation.” And because I still sinned a bunch, I struggled with the fear of […]