Speaking to the young Timothy, Paul wrote that “physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things…” (1 Timothy 4:8). When people look at that verse they usually see Paul’s advice to take godliness and spiritual training seriously. And that’s good. But that isn’t ALL he says. He also says that … Continue reading Diet and God
daily devo
Unhealthy vs healthy “success”
Success is good, right? But what is “success”? A lot of people think of it in terms of career advancement, or money, or popularity. We can even try to be “successful” when it comes to our faith. We want to be successful at praying more or reading our Bibles or serving in a particular ministry or … Continue reading Unhealthy vs healthy “success”
He loves you too much to lie to you about hell
Last week I talked about how awesome heaven is. Today I’d like to pause on a much more difficult topic: Hell. Speaking about hell, C.S. Lewis wrote: “There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power.” I don’t like talking about hell either. It … Continue reading He loves you too much to lie to you about hell
Even when we don’t understand
Marshall Shelley tells the story of the birth of his son. When the child was in the womb, he and his wife Susan learned that he had an abnormal heart. This was obviously difficult for them. They were told their baby would probably not survive birth. The child might not even make it to full … Continue reading Even when we don’t understand
Do we REALLY want community and friendship?
There are popular buzzwords that tell us what people value. A few examples are ‘environmental sustainability,’ ‘transparency,’ ‘wellness,’ or ‘balance.’ Two more biggies are ‘community’ and ‘friendship.’ It’s easy to SAY we want these things, but not fully realize what we’re asking for. The truth is that real community and friendship are often messy. It … Continue reading Do we REALLY want community and friendship?
I wish my dad were here
I wish my dad were here. He died in November 2014 after a short but difficult battle with cancer. I trust that he is in a much better place now than this problem-fraught earth, so it’s not like I wish he were back again dealing with worldly problems instead of enjoying heavenly awesomeness. What I … Continue reading I wish my dad were here
Everything good in life multiplied times God
I’ve been talking about heaven; it will be anything but boring. It will be far better than anything we can experience on this earth. That can give us great hope through whatever we’re dealing with because the best is always yet to come. Here’s something else about heaven. Psalm 16:11 (ESV) says that in God’s … Continue reading Everything good in life multiplied times God
The best is yet to come
People have a tonne of misconceptions about heaven. One is that it’s going to be boring. This sentiment is captured in a Far Side comic where some dude sits on a cloud, bored out of his skull, saying “wish I’d brought a magazine.” But in Philippians 1:23, the apostle Paul says: “My desire is to depart … Continue reading The best is yet to come
The power of “God be with you”
The presence and power of God are always around us—sometimes we just need the reminder. Let me give an example. Many of us say “goodbye” to someone when we part. A few years ago I learned that “goodbye” is from an old word “godbwye.” It’s a short form of “God be with you.” People used … Continue reading The power of “God be with you”
the good news about your weakness
One of the mistakes we often make is to pretend we have it all together when we don’t. It happens innocently enough. A lot of us are doing our prayerful best to grow and become more like Jesus. But we can exaggerate or embellish our progress! Take me for example. I often don’t have answers to … Continue reading the good news about your weakness
