As a parent, if there’s one lesson that I’ve learned repeatedly over the years, it’s this: as much as I know that God has many things that He wants me to teach my children, He has an equal number of things that He wants me to learn from them.
Last night was one of those nights. All week I’ve been thinking/blogging about the idea of hearing God’s voice and discerning His will – how to make decisions and how to know what’s right, etc. And then last night, during our family Bible time before bed, we read this passage:
“Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:48-50)
After reading that passage, we discussed it together as a family and my kids came to the following conclusion: we need to obey God to be in His family.
Read MoreYesterday I posed one of the most important questions in life: how can I know the “right” thing to do in whatever situation I’m in? Ultimately your life is nothing more than the sum of all your decisions. Make good decisions and you’ll probably find yourself in a good place. Make bad decisions and you’ll find the exact opposite. The question for us is: HOW DO I MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS?
I mentioned yesterday that sometimes it seems (emphasis on the word “seems”) that Jesus was inconsistent in His decisions. Sometimes He would heal people and sometimes He wouldn’t. Sometimes He’d raise the dead person, other times He wouldn’t. Sometimes He’d speak softly and compassionately; other times He spoke sternly and harshly.
How did He know when to heal and when not to heal? How did He know when to say yes and when to say no? How did He know the “right” thing to do?
Read MoreWeddings, weddings, weddings. This summer has been full of weddings. Whether it’s actual weddings that I’ve attended or future weddings that I am helping couples prepare for, the subject of weddings has been the topic of conversation for much of this summer.
Of course everyone loves to rejoice and celebrate weddings with family and friends, but I think we’d all agree on this: it’s a lot more fun to attend a wedding than to prepare for one. Preparing is hard work – as I’m sure that all of the brides (and mothers of the brides) could attest to. There’s so much to keep track of and coordinate and stay on top of. In the end, it’s all worth it – but there’s no doubt that it isn't easy.
What about your wedding? Are you ready for it? Are you working to get ready? Did you realize that it’s coming up soon?
Read MoreGiant mushrooms! Yep, that’s right. That’s what you see. That’s a real photo that I took yesterday of three giant mushrooms that are currently growing in my front yard and scaring my neighbors’ kids from coming near my property.
The strange thing is that:
a) I’ve been in this house for more than 3 years now and I’ve never before had a problem with mushrooms
b) Those mushrooms weren’t there at all last week.
c) I saw a little baby mushroom start to come up 2 days ago, but I have no idea how they got so big so fast!
Just so you get some perspective on exactly how large those mushrooms are, I took a picture of one of the mushrooms next to a standard 16 oz bottle of water and another picture next to my size 11 running shoes. WOW!
There’s a lesson to be learned here. The lesson is about the inherent danger of sin and the way sin grows in our lives. If you’re not careful, you may wake up one day and find yourself with a giant problem on your hands that came out of nowhere.
But I have never had a problem with that kind of big sin before.
Read More"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” Ephesians 5:3
Not even a hint? Isn’t that a bit much? God doesn’t really expect us to reach that level does He? That’s asking a bit much isn’t it? Does God really expect that for us living in the world today?
YES OF COURSE! The beauty of God’s Word is that it is transcendent. It transcends time, culture and all other factors. Something commanded 2000 years ago to a small collection of believers living in the Middle East is just as applicable and relevant to us today. The standard of God is the same yesterday, today and forever. And that standard is this…NOT EVEN A HINT!
Why would a loving and caring God give such as difficult command to follow?
Read More“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:1-3
We’ve all been therefore haven’t we? Thinking that we’re so right about something only to be smacked in the face with the reality that a) we’re far from being right and b) we’re actually more wrong than we’ve ever been before! It’s not the “being wrong” that surprises us, but it’s the shock that I could be “so wrong” all the while thinking and acting as if I am “so right.”
That’s where the disciples found themselves today. They are walking down the road discussing a question that seems to have come up quite often with them, “which one of us will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” [It looks like they inherited the competitive gene as well :) ].
Read More“But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5
We are called to do the work of an evangelist. Actually, let me say that more bluntly: YOU ARE CALLED TO DO THE WORK OF AN EVANGELIST.
All week I’ve been talking about evangelism and what it is and what it isn’t. I’ve already made it clear that evangelism doesn’t mean standing on a corner and yelling at people to repent before they go to hell (see video above for many ways to NOT do the work of evangelist).
But the issue still remains that I have to do something. I cannot sit back and do nothing and claim that evangelism isn’t for me. I am called to be evangelist and to do the work of an evangelist. Whatever talents and gifts God has given me, I have to somehow figure out how to use those in a way for the purpose of witnessing for God. And as I said yesterday, that can take many different shapes and forms, but the inescapable point is this: I AM CALLED TO DO THE WORK OF AN EVANGELIST.
But the major question is this: How should I start?
Read More"Aim at nothing and you’ll hit it every time." Zig Ziglar
"If you don't know where you are going, you probably end up someplace else." Yogi Berra
This week I’ve spoken about the importance of evangelism and the definition of evangelism – why we need to do it and what it is. But usually our problem with evangelism isn’t the theoretical side; it’s the practical side. It’s the “how-to” that we struggle with.
So today I want to make it easy for you. I don’t like to do anything unless I know the goal upfront. If the goal isn’t clear, how will I know if I am doing it right? How will I know if I am accomplishing anything? No one wants to work hard on something and later realize that they were doing it all wrong. So we need to establish a goal for evangelism before we dive in.
So what’s the goal? What would you say? Is the goal to bring people to church? Is the goal to baptize people? Is the goal to make them pray a certain prayer or to do certain good works?
What is the goal of evangelism and how will I know when I’ve accomplished it?
Read MoreWhat is evangelism? What does it mean? What does it look like? What does it sound like? What does it mean to be an evangelist?
I believe that if you ask those questions to a random group of people, you’d get as many answers as there are people in the room. Everyone has their own idea of what evangelism is and what it looks like.
But what does God think? What does He say it is supposed to look like? Does it have to be preachy? Is it supposed to be intrusive? Is that really what God wants from us?
Read MoreI DID IT! YES! I DID IT!!! That was one of the first thoughts that entered my head yesterday shortly after I crossed the finish line of my first 5k race. I ACCOMPLISHED MY GOAL! I DID IT!
Of course, I’d be lying if I said it was the first thought – to be fully honest, I think my first thought was closer to “I NEED WATER AND A PIECE OF OPEN SPACE TO COLLAPSE ON FOR A FEW MINUTES.” But it wasn’t long afterwards that the feeling of exhaustion was replaced by a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.
I think I finally understand why so many people like to run in these races. It never made sense to me before, but I think I get it now. I learned a lot in the process and I want to share some of lessons with you to hopefully make a believer out of you too.
The most important lesson I learned is this: SETTING a goal and ANNOUNCING the goal makes it easier to ACCOMPLISH that goal.
Read MoreWho won? Who lost? Who came in first? Who came in first? Most importantly…who’s the best?
You don’t have to spend a lot of time with me to know that I am competitive person. That’s just how God made me. I can turn just about anything into a competition. Even fun relaxing activities – like swimming with the family at the pool – inevitably turns into a “who can hold their breath underwater the longest” competition with my ultra-competitive daughter.
I like to compete. And when I compete – while I agree 100% with the idea that the most important thing is to have fun – I’ve always felt that WINNING the competition is the best way to have fun! Winning is the most fun isn’t it?
Read MoreCall me crazy but I am actually going to do it. I am going to do something I never thought I’d do. I’m going to do something that I’ve never even understood why others do it – to me it always seemed a bit crazy. But now I am officially one of the crazy people. Why? Because I am going to run in a race – a 5k race on the 4th of July.
Those who know about running know that a 5k isn’t that big a deal (it's a little more than 3 miles) but the point is that I’ve never done this kind of thing before and to be honest I’ve never really understood why people pay money to run. I always said that I’d pay money to sit or to lie down, but never to run. I never understood it.
And actually not only have I never run a race before, but I’ve never been someone to even run outdoors. I enjoy taking walks outdoors with my wife and/or kids, but I’ve never been one of those people who exercises outdoors. I usually do my exercising indoors so I can catch up on ESPN'S SportsCenter while I workout. But ever since I signed up for the run, I’ve been running outdoors. The weather has been great and I have fallen in love with my new workout program.
Read More“Do you ever sense that there’s far more to prayer, and to God’s vision for your life, than what you’re experiencing? If so, it’s time you learned from the legend of Honi the Circle Maker—a man bold enough to draw a circle in the sand and not budge from inside it until God answered his prayers for his people.”
That’s an excerpt from a book written by called THE CIRCLE MAKER: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears, (Kindle edition here, audiobook here) written by Mark Batterson – author of several bestselling books such as In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.
I recently started listening this to book on audio and I LOVE IT! The book is PHENOMENAL! It totally inspired me to change the way I pray because it opened my eyes to what prayer should/could look like. Below is a brief excerpt from the book:
Read MoreOk, it’s time for a confession. While I might be looked down upon for what I am about to confess, I will do so honorably and proudly and with no shame. I LOVE WATCHING PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING.
There I admitted it. Go ahead and judge me if you want, but let me just say this. When I grew up in the 80s and 90s, wrestling was a lot different than it is today. I am talking about the glory days of wrestling – back when you had the WWF, not the WWE; back when the good guys were good guys and everybody cheered for them because you knew they were always going to find a way to pull it out; and most importantly back when the fighting was real, not fake.
[I know, I know, I know. You think it’s all fake. Well, I agree that it might be choreographed, but I won’t go as far as fake. There is no way you can watch this video and tell me it’s fake. This is the infamous Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs Macho Man Randy Savage match from 1986. It still sends tingles up my spine.]
If you’ve ever watched wrestling, you know that the goal in any wrestling match is to either a) pin your opponent to the ground for 3 seconds, or b) to make your opponent submit/surrender.
Read MoreDo you know someone who is delusional? We all do, don’t we? I’ll bet that you know at least one person who thinks they’re funny, but they’re not. Or who thinks they can sing, but they can’t. Or someone who thinks they’re doing the right thing, but they clearly aren’t.
We all know someone who can’t see the reality of the situation at hand. Well, here’s my question to you based on just simple math. If every one of us knows someone who is delusional and who can’t see reality for what it is, then what are the chances that THAT PERSON IS ME?
Read MoreToday's post was inspired by a book I read recently called Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus. If you like the post, you'll love the book!
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the whole idea of "following Jesus” and what that really means. Am I a follower or not? Sometimes I wish Jesus would just make it simple and say “Following me = __________.” Just tell me what to do God and I will do it and then I’ll know I am fine and I can go on with the rest of my day.
But following Jesus is about more than just doing a task or finishing a chore. It is about life and how we live it, every single day. It is a conscious decision to follow Him at work, at home, at the gym, in front of my computer, behind my friend’s back, even while stuck on Route 66.
So how then do I know if I’m on the right track?
Read MoreOne of my favorite things to do is to look through my journal and read some of the entries that I wrote in the past. I’ve always found that practice to be extremely uplifting and encouraging. There’s nothing like seeing where you WERE to give you better perspective on where you ARE. Below is a journal excerpt from about 4-5 months ago – around Thanksgiving Day.
Everything I wrote about back then – especially the things that didn’t make sense at the time – now are crystal clear. They weren’t back then, but in looking back, truly I can say that “God makes all things work together for good to those who love who Him, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28).
Below is the excerpt (modified to fit blog post form of course). Enjoy!
Read More“Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father… But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:21-24
Those were the words Jesus spoke to the Samaritan Woman thousands of years ago. They were also the words that were not coincidentally read this past Sunday in church – just one day after we learned about the death of the Pope and Patriarch of the Coptic church, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III.
Read MoreMarch 23, 2012. That is a date that is etched into my head and has been for almost one year. The mention of that date fills my heart with anticipation, but at the same time fills my mind with anxiety. What is March 23, 2012? That is the date of the annual St. Mark’s Passion Retreat.
For those of you who don’t know, the Passion retreat is an annual retreat that takes place at Sandy Cove Conference Center in a town called North East, Maryland. We have been doing this retreat for several years, but if you were around in the late 90’s when it started, you’d hardly recognize what it has become today.
The retreat started as a small, intimate gathering for the young adult ministry at St. Mark’s – it actually used to be small enough that we’d combine it with the college ministry and still wouldn’t get to more than 50 or 60 people. The focus was to help our young adults prepare for time of Lent and Holy Week.
But something happened a few years ago. People started coming from different parts of the country, asking to attend the retreat. We said OK. Then more people started coming – friends were telling their friends about it. We said OK. Then eventually buses started coming from cities in Canada and flights started coming from Europe. And at every step we continued to say OK OK OK.
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