David Robinson was a basketball player—and a really great one. But Robinson’s life was bigger than basketball, and when it was over, he passed the baton to his friend Tim Duncan and got to work making dreams come true for others.
According to the Flesh or Through the Promise
Sin makes us illogical. It muddies our mind, causing us to choose things contrary to the right path. Paul highlights this lack of logic in selecting the law over Christ.
Where is Wisdom?
As every age does, we search out wisdom apart from God. But we cannot find it. Until we turn away from evil and to God we never will.
What Should We Believe?
There is a spirit behind every religious message. John tells us it’s either from God or from the Antichrist. What should we believe? That's such an important question, isn’t it? What we believe forms what we worship, and what we worship forms who we become. And John tells us not to believe every spirit.
I Want My Kids to Be Good
I want my kids to be good people. I want them to know right from wrong. I want them to stand up for the oppressed, the bullied, and the outcast. I want them to be influencers for good in the world. Doesn’t every parent want the same? But as I teach my kids the Bible every night during dinner, I can’t help but see something troubling about who they will become.
Ashamed? Of the Gospel?
We have a choice: embrace the shame of the cross, or become ashamed of the cross. In God’s Kingdom, laying down your life gives life back, and holding on to life takes it away. The choice seems obvious, but it must be made moment by moment.
All You Need Is Love
Jesus said one characteristic would set his people apart. “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). But love for one another isn’t an automatic. It’s a determination, a conviction, a pursuit, a calling. It’s the kind of thing you must set your mind upon, orient your heart toward, stiffen your spine for. Love is what everyone wants. But love, it turns out, isn’t something everyone’s good at. Love for oneself comes naturally. Love for others is learned.
The Two Chairs and Christianity's Better Way
In Hebrews 11, the author gives example after example of what faith looks like. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. But faith does not guarantee an easy life. An easy life isn't the point. The point is getting to Jesus. We often look to this chapter for the encouragement to keep pressing on, and we should do just that. But unlike what the prosperity gospel preaches, the life of faith is not always blessed in this life. It doesn't always take the shape of big bank accounts and sculpted bodies. It very often looks rather scrawny and full of scar tissue. But behind the veneer of shame is the weight of glory.
How Do You Respond to God's Word?
What we do with God’s word is a pointer to what we would do with God himself. If we treat his word as worthless, disgusting, imposing, violating, or offensive, then we will also treat God himself that way.
Two Kinds of Forgiveness
In Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus tells a parable about an unforgiving servant. Through it, he's helping us see two kinds of radical, radical forgiveness and radical unforgiveness, and what will happen if we ignore the former for the latter.