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Clarity in confusing times
M. Scott Peck wrote: “one of the characteristics of evil is its desire to confuse.”* That makes sense. Jesus calls Satan the “father of lies” (John 8:44). If we’re always confused and distracted and spinning, we are unable to stand firm on God our Rock and live in a way… Listen ⇢
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Make our hearts a map of heaven
The Puritans are often given a bad rap. If someone says you are “puritanical,” they are not giving you a compliment. This is an unfortunate result of people not knowing what they’re talking about. The actual Puritans (and not the modern, dismissive caricature) were a group of Protestant Christians who… Listen ⇢
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Increasing winds outside the church
We’ve been exploring Jesus’ new command: “Love one another: As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). That statement is jam packed with meaning and possibility. Here’s something else which is easy to miss. We are to love “one another.” He was speaking to his… Listen ⇢
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Failure doesn’t disqualify you
Jesus calls us to love one another. What’s more is that he provides himself as an example to emulate. “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). Since he would lay down his life for us, that’s a pretty tall order! We are summoned to… Listen ⇢
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Helping someone in their sea of alligators
In John 13:34 Jesus gave this new commandment: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Sounds nice. But what is love? When you look at the use of this word in the New Testament here is what you find. To love someone in… Listen ⇢
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Desperate times call for…
Desperate times call for desperate measures. It’s an expression we’ve all heard. Maybe even used. Think of a hail Mary pass near the end of a football game. Or the person who is in such financial ruin that the only thing they can think of doing to help their situation… Listen ⇢
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An alien visitor at Christmas
It’s December. Christmas is approaching. Indulge me with an illustration. Imagine an alien from another planet was sent on a mission to earth to learn about Christmas. And imagine that it came to your house to watch your celebrations and to collect data. And then imagine that it had to… Listen ⇢
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The Topsy-Turvy Kingdom
In the previous devotional I highlighted Henri Nouwen’s phrase “downward mobility.”* It stands in stark contrast to modern definitions of success (including “upward mobility”) which are focused on accumulating influence and power. When I was young we would sometimes read the Mr. Men books. One of them was Mr. Topsy-Turvy.… Listen ⇢
Meet the producer, Matthew Ruttan.
Matthew is a disciple, pastor, husband, and dad of three who lives in the psalms.
