I used to think that prayer was telling God what your problems were and then expecting an answer from him sometime later. You know, kind of like filing an insurance claim. I’m astounded at how much my views have changed since then. Would you like to pray more powerful prayers? When you pray, would you […]
worship
- devo
- ...
Why You Don’t Pray: 4 Truths You’ve Forgotten/Missed
Would you like to have a better prayer life? Do you need motivation to carve out time against your maxed-out, packed-out schedule? Here’s four scriptural reasons to keep first things first in your relationship with God. 1. It’s the most important question When the disciples of Jesus saw his miracles, they had only one question. […]
Process through Your Heartache WITH God: 4 Steps
What do you do when life knocks the breath out of you? How do you handle heartache and discouragement? I’ve dealt with low-level chronic pain for more than a decade. Rather than ignoring the pain, do what I learned. Process through the pain with God. 1. Tantrum – This first step may surprise you. Whether […]
What My Church Never Told Me
Walking to the edge of our theology, the farthest reach of what we understand of God, is like getting waist deep in the ocean that goes on as far as the eye can see. I was raised in a church culture that did not value mystery. In it, the most important thing about life was […]
The 1 Thing that’s Missing in your Christian Life
The flea market is often where you find the most spiritual people. For many years, my cousin’s father sold collectors’ knives at the local market. I remember going with Kyle to visit his dad’s stand one time. We leisurely wandered around looking at all of the lights, wall decorations, used furniture, antique stoves, classic video […]
Hosted Amongst the Tribesmen: a Descriptive, if not Humorous, Anecdotal Recollection (Part Four)
– I wish you could be standing here with me right now. I’m far outside any signal that my cell phone could pick up, where a dirt opening before me stretches with a few trees, and then behind me lies a community of manyattas. This particular community is called Tubcha 3, where we don’t know […]
A Thought on Distance
What a delightful framework in which God has set us! He invented space because the choice of true love can only be made when you’re away from your love and tempted toward apathy. He created time because trust can only exist when he says yes to a prayer but we do not immediately experience it. […]
A Thought on Worship
“Sing joyfully to the Lord… Sing to him a new song” (Psalm 33:1, 3). We are scripturally obligated to write songs. That’s the beauty of our corporate worship experience. We have a Scripture that never changes combined with an expression that is always fresh.
Healing is not Your Job (Healing School 12)
God is sovereign. It’s one of the most comforting and most fearful aspects of our faith. It’s comforting for us to realize God’s will is going to get done, whether we succeed or fail. On the other hand, it’s discomforting to think that we can do everything we want or think we have to do, […]
Me & Joseph (Healing School 6)
One day, maybe even tomorrow, I will be healed and intermittent chronic pain will be simply a memory. Similarly, after a while, Joseph was able to serve as second command of Egypt. It’s a happy ending to the story. But I guarantee it was not an easy one to live. How he chose faith every […]
You are Three + the Democracy of Healing (Healing School 4)
(Click here to read the introduction to the series Healing School.) For you to approach the subject of healing, you need to know what you are healing. What … are you? You see, you were not exactly an original. When God made you, he was redesigning after a pattern. The pattern was none other than […]
How to Write Songs: Notes on Collaboration from Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman
• Write around others. If you’ve ever walked into a Starbucks, you’ve probably seen at least one or two people with a Macbook open, earbuds in, sipping a soy latte, and studying or writing on something. I used to scoff at such individuals. “You really mean to tell me you get up, drive to a […]