There is a lot of suffering in the world. There is personal anguish and anxiety. There is family and relationship stress. There is oppression and violence and war. None of this surprises me because we live in a broken world. But it bothers me. It bothers me because it’s not what God intended. So, in … Continue reading For those who are suffering
eternity
Our material world
A man misunderstand the game Monopoly. He didn't realize that everything he accumulated went back in the box at the end of the game. How many of us live real life in the same way?
I’d rather be on the right side of eternity than history
“You can’t stop progress.” Has anyone ever said that to you? It’s the idea that society changes and moves “forward” in certain ways—in ways many people agree with. Therefore, they attach a positive value to that “forward” movement (called “progress”). Saying ‘you can’t stop it’ is a way of saying ‘don’t even bother trying.’ As … Continue reading I’d rather be on the right side of eternity than history
It’s a win-win (With thanks to Billy Graham)
Yesterday we learned that the great preacher Billy Graham passed away at the age of 99. So for today’s devotional, and as a testament to Graham’s own teaching, let me share a story he once told, and which captures something about the hope that was deep within him. There was a 30 year-old truck driver … Continue reading It’s a win-win (With thanks to Billy Graham)
Your John 3:16 moment
I had planned on writing about something else today. But a congregant just passed away and I felt the need to share this question with you. Are you ready for your own death? Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t think about it until it’s too late. In previous eras, people thought about death a lot … Continue reading Your John 3:16 moment
Why other people’s standards are distracting
As you know, the “Up!” devo was on a break for a week while I was on vacation. But now I’m back and ready to walk faithfully into a new year. I hope you are too. And one of the things that helps us do that is to evaluate what we’re spending our time thinking … Continue reading Why other people’s standards are distracting
One heartbeat away
No matter how you spin it, we're all one heartbeat away from meeting our Maker...
Co-Renovators
In Christian teaching over the past 70 or 80 years there has been an emphasis on heaven and life after death. In a sense, I get that. It’s huge! But I sometimes worry it has overshadowed (to an unhealthy degree) what we’re summoned to do in this life BEFORE we die. One of the thinkers … Continue reading Co-Renovators
The more seriously you take your death…
Genesis 3:19 "...for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." (ESV) Today's Thought There are certain things we just don’t like to think about. Things like taxes. Things like flooded basements. Things like that embarrassing picture of you in grade 11 going up on Facebook! And things like… Death. But do you know … Continue reading The more seriously you take your death…
Tweets, Selfies and other things that change
Imagine you were alive 10 years ago and got a glimpse of today’s news headlines. With new words like Tweet and Selfie, would some of them even make any sense? Probably not. Things change. Now image that today you could see some news headlines for 10 years from now. What new words would there be? … Continue reading Tweets, Selfies and other things that change
