This is Part 2 of a 2-part series. Click here to read Part 1. I wrote last week about how the modern age is busy, hectic, and overly focused on productivity. We saw in the story of Martha and Mary that we are called to live for One Necessary Thing.   Our one necessary thing is to give Jesus our full attention; to live a life devoted to knowing and following Christ as Lord.   So, how are we going to swim against the current of busyness and distraction and live as Jesus has called us? Consider some practical advice in these five areas:   Be purposeful and prioritiz ..read more

This is Part 1 of a 2-part series. Stay tuned for Part 2. In 1370 the first public clock was set up in Germany, and ever since then modern society has run on a schedule. When productivity and efficiency are the name of the game, the more you can cram in, the better. Things really got bad when Edison invented the light bulb in 1879 – now instead of going to bed with the moon and getting up with the sun, humans could set a standardized year-round schedule. Before we had light bulbs in every room, the average person slept for 11 hours a night- now, most Americans are lucky if they get 7 hours! El ..read more

by James Ruark “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes— I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!“ | Job 19:25-27 This remarkable passage in Job stands out as a significant confession of faith. During most of the book, he questions the justice of God for allowing him to suffer so much. He mourns the loss of his children. He is in so much pain that he wants to die. However, in the middle of his misery he makes this profound, prophetic st ..read more

“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” | Matthew 28:16-20 After Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to his disciples in Jerusalem and instructed them ..read more

“In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.  For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body…However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” | Eph. 5: 28-30, 33 This passage, as well as 1 Peter 3:1-7, gives us some helpful insights into building healthy, godly marriages. I summarize it like this: Husbands must love their wives, and wives must respect their husbands. This isn’t al ..read more

“But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.” | Genesis 45:7 The Bible loves to tell parallel stories and highlight God’s faithfulness in the big and the small. The words above are spoken by Joseph to his eleven brothers, who have entered Egypt desperately seeking food, fearful for their lives, and haunted by a secret sin committed years ago. Joseph brings an incredible message: God had a plan.  Perhaps you find yourself in some surprising circumstances today. Are you in desperate need of something? Haunted by a sin yo ..read more

This is Part 2 of a 2-part series. Click here to read Part 1. “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’ But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” | James 4:13 ..read more

This is Part 1 of a 2-part series. Stay tuned for Part 2 next week. “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’ But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” | Jame ..read more

Yes. It is. Since the value of church membership may need more than three words, the rest of this blog will speak to its importance. No doubt church membership has become less important to many people over time. I don’t see this as a positive trend. Our society as a whole is less trustful of institutions (sometimes with good reason) and less eager to make commitments. This presents two hurdles to valuing church membership, something that a generation or two ago was uncontroversial.  First, it will help us to understand what the church is, before we speak of membership to it. There are two ..read more

Most people celebrate Easter in some fashion, but for Christians, Easter is not just a time to celebrate spring, new life, and look for eggs.  Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus – it is the center of our faith.  In fact, without the resurrection, Christianity would be worthless.   “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins….If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from ..read more