“The end is near!” “Repent!”
Have you ever seen a statement of prophetic warning spray-painted on a wall or in a subway station? got to be honest, I don’t take much notice to such warnings. But what if those warnings were for me and for you?
Recommendations, Abortion, Parenting, Relationships, Wisdom
Go ahead, bring a knife to a gunfight: Tim Challies says, “They say you should never bring a knife to a gunfight. It’s a colorful little proverb that emphasizes the value of proper preparation, yet I’m not sure it’s a proverb God cares much for. I sometimes think of the biblical judge Shamgar, who entered a battle armed with only an ox-goad—a stick used to poke oxen to get them to comply with directions. Shamgar brought an ox-goad to a sword fight, yet emerged victorious and with 600 Philistines dead at his feet.
Help! I think I’m a bad parent: Adam Griffin says, “Our inadequacy in parenting is a great gift. If we weren’t inadequate, when would we run to Jesus?
Christian Living, Prayer, Wisdom
Today I have the opportunity to share another one of my daughter, Camille’s poems. She wrote this poem during her time serving at the Grand Canyon this past summer. –John
a prayer for the Loud Lord
You are loud here. winds wind through royal blue stone, drowning my breath.
so small. so fleeting. so futile. but the vapor of a whisper.
i don’t need to go anywhere to find you. You are here.
Culture, Fear, Identity, Prayer
What is the most frequent item I pick up during my prayer walks around our campus?
Mini vodka bottles.
They’re everywhere — three billion of them are sold annually in the U.S. I’ll find them tossed onto the roadside, likely flung from moving cars. But more often, I find them in quiet clusters, tucked into corners of our church parking lot. Every bottle tells a story. Every bottle raises questions.
Why is the most common brand I find unflavored vodka?
Why would someone throw a mini bottle out of a moving vehicle?
Why pull into a church parking lot…just to drink?
Recommendations, Culture, Death, Suffering, Wisdom
Are we the idols? Andrew Noble says, “It is strange to become an idol, isn’t it? It’s hard to wrap your mind around. Yet every day, people are morphing into something like mud. Instead of functioning as images of God, they worship idols and turn into lifeless dust. Life goes wrong when we don’t worship right.”
Weakness in God’s economy: Kirsten shares, “As I consider my heart, my struggle does not come in whether or not I believe that God is able to heal; I believe that God is able to do all that pleases him. Rather, my struggle comes in believing whether or not God is willing; at least in the timeframe I am hoping and praying.”
Christian Living, Gratitude
You can tell a good piece of fruit or vegetable by its color and by its feel. The avocado, though, is tricky. A novice might think that a bright green, hard avocado is the best, but counter-intuitively, the best avocados are dark, with shades of brown, giving easily to the touch. The heart of a growing Christian also gives easily to the touch.
When we seek out counsel, the state of our hearts can resist the very thing we want. A soft heart can turn mediocre counsel into pearls of wisdom. A hard heart will turn the wisest counsel into sawdust.
