I don’t know about you, but I have never enjoyed waiting for much of anything in my life. I wish I could say I am a really good “wait-er,” but the sad truth is, I’m not. Typically, I want what I want when I want it. Waiting is tough for me. It just is. And I’m guessing I’m not alone in this. In fact, I’m quite sure that for most people I know, they too would say they struggle with waiting. What about you? Of course, our culture sure doesn’t help with this. As Jade Mazarin writes, “We want everything done quickly — and new devices constantly spring up to meet those demands and encourage our impatience. We are not used to waiting, and the more our technology caters to our immediate desires, th

What do we do when the darkness will not lift? What do we do when the darkness of depression and despair has surrounded us and there seems to be no light anywhere? And the worst part of it is that it feels like God isn’t there either? That He is nowhere to be found. Through tears we cry out on our knees, “Lord, please don’t abandon me! I need You desperately right now. Please, hear my cry, please draw near to me. I know I’m not worthy, but Oh, how I need You! I’m desperate for You, Lord…You are all I’ve got! You are my only hope.” Have you ever been there? If not, at some point in life you surely will be. King David experienced this kind of pain in the darkness and he wrote about it in Psalm

As I mentioned in my last post, one of the great tensions that every Christian lives with is this: Though we currently reside in this world, this world is not our home. This is an important reality and perspective for Christians to maintain, especially in the midst of the pain and dark valleys we walk though in this life. There is much hope to be found in the biblical teaching that one day we will be with our Lord in heaven forever. And this is assured because of Christ’s death and resurrection on our behalf, in our place. Can you imagine… No more pain. No more tears. No more anxiety. No more cancer. No more hospitals. Only eternal joy in the presence of our Savior and King. Even as I write

One of the great tensions that every Christian lives with is this: Though we currently reside in this world, this world is not our home. Jesus puts it this way: As his disciples we are to live in this world, but not of this world. What does it look like to live for Christ in this world that is not our home? The Apostle Peter has much to teach us about this throughout his letter of 1 Peter in the New Testament. I am so grateful that in God’s kind providence, our pastors have been preaching through 1 Peter, verse by verse, as our family has been walking through this trying and difficult season together. What encouragement and hope we have found in this short letter. I know many others have too

I am very excited and humbled to let you know about a new book coming out in late February that I’ve been working on the past several years. The title of the book is "The Posture of a Godly Leader." As you can guess, it is a book about leadership. Now as soon as you read that, if you are like me, you’re thinking, “Seriously? Another book on leadership? I already have a shelf full of leadership books thank you very much.” I get it. I’m with you. The last thing you need is to read yet another book on leadership. Truth is, there are so many great leadership books out there, why in the world would I even take the time to write this little volume? Here’s why. I have a specific burden. The longer

One of my great heroes of the faith is the 19th Century, British Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon is one of the most well-known and beloved pastors and preachers in the history of the Church. People flocked to hear his preaching, and yet he was a humble man of God who sought to use his platform for the glory of God and the good of others. To this day, Spurgeon is the most widely read preacher (apart from the biblical ones). There is available more material written by Spurgeon in our world today than by any other Christian author, living or dead. Crazy to think about! And yet, even with all of his success, Spurgeon suffered a great deal throughout his life. Michael Reeves writes,

“As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.” There it was. Up on the wall of a local coffee shop alongside other inspiring quotes written on cool looking pieces of wood pallet art. Of course, on the surface, this sounds right. It sounds true. At least according to our culture. I can just imagine the lines of people who visit this coffee shop each day looking up as they wait for their latte or fresh brew, reading this quote and thinking to themselves, “That is it. I just need to trust myself more and then I will know how to live. Yea, that seems right. That must be the solution. I need to trust myself more!” But there is a problem. The problem with this line of thinking, as ass

Earlier today I was reading my wife’s Caring Bridge update on our son, Eli. I was struck by something she wrote. In her post, she shared the lyrics to one of her favorite hymns, “His eye is on the Sparrow.” Verse 2 of the hymn jumped out at me... “Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear, And resting on his goodness, I lose my doubts and fears; Though by the path he leadeth But one step I may see: His eye is on the sparrow, And I know he watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, And I know he watches me. When I really soak in these words for a few moments, I cannot help but be moved by the wonderful reality of the tender, providential care of God. Just as our Lord watch

There are few things that bring as much comfort to a follower of Jesus in the midst of a trial than the truths and promises found in the Word of God. When we need hope, when we need an anchor to hold onto, God’s Word provides just that. For many, Psalm 23 is one of those passages to cling to in our darkest and most difficult times. This Psalm reminds us of who God is and why we can trust Him in all circumstances. It reminds us that our God is not some distant deity unconcerned with our pain, but rather a kind and loving Shepherd who cares deeply for His children, His sheep. As King David, under the inspiration and direction of the Holy Spirit, writes, 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not w

You and I were made to be followers. It is in our DNA. This is why whether we realize it or not, we are “following” all the time. We follow people and what they do. We follow patterns of thought and behavior. We follow trends. Even those of us who claim to be “islands,” “free thinkers,” “lone rangers,” we too are followers. We can't help it. It is how we were created. The question of course is who or what are we following? At no time in our lives is who or what we are following truly put to the test than when suffering comes. It is in our seasons of real pain, real tears, real hardship that the stability and rootedness, the truthfulness, timelessness, and trustworthiness of who and what we f

What do you do when you find yourself in that place where your faith is weak and real hope of any kind seems impossible to come by. Where you wonder if God has left you, because it sure feels like it. Where you cannot help but ask questions like… Where is God? Does He even care about my pain? Why does He seem so silent? It is enough to drive a person crazy. The first thing you need to know is that in wrestling with questions like these, you are normal. These are some of the deepest, most heart wrenching questions any of us can wrestle with. I know I have. I also know what it feels like to have the biblical and theological answers "right" and yet what you observe in the world and in your hear

Sometimes the best thing we can do is to remember who God is. This is particularly true when we find ourselves in the pit of darkness and despair. When we are hurting. When things are blurry, fuzzy, or unclear in our minds and in our lives. When strange, scary, untrue thoughts begin to make far more sense to us than they ever should. In these times we need to remember who God is. To remember who He really is. Not who the world says He is. Not who your frightened and confused mind may be saying God is. Who He actually is. In case you are wondering if it is possible to actually know God in this way, it is. He has not left us to guess. He hasn’t put us on this earth to try and figure out all on