God is a pleasure seeker. He loves pleasure and looks for pleasure. Where does God look for pleasure? He looks at you, Christian, for his pleasure. He looks for pleasure in you. He made you to give him pleasure and he enjoys any pleasure you give to him. This may sound heretical to you. That’sContinue reading “Our Purpose Revisited”
Category Archives: discipline
When You Run Out of Gas
Few moments can feel quite so alarming as late at night and on unfamiliar roads, when you realize your car is almost out of fuel. Will there be somewhere to fill up nearby? Will the place be open? Your eyes are fixed on the fuel gauge. With heart thumping and palms sweating as the milesContinue reading “When You Run Out of Gas”
The Source of Your Unrest
Have you noticed that most of your unrest comes from yourself? We get stuck ruminating on the things we can’t change or control. Unforgiveness stops us from moving toward healing in our relationships. Pervasive negativity prevents us from enjoying the moment. Exhaustion keeps us functioning as only a shadow version of ourselves. Excuses keep usContinue reading “The Source of Your Unrest”
Is Temperance Back?
The word broken has a very different, if not opposite, meaning when speaking of a glass or a bicycle than it does when applied to a horse. A broken glass or bicycle is rendered useless, whereas a horse that is broken is made useful. When thinking about the Christian life, broken is more apropos ofContinue reading “Is Temperance Back?”
Self-Forgetfulness
One mistake that we can make in thinking about humility is seeing it as self-hatred, as though to be humble means you’re constantly attacking yourself or you’re denying your own worth. The commandment is love your neighbor as yourself, not love your neighbor instead of yourself. And so we want to call people toward recognizingContinue reading “Self-Forgetfulness”
How Quickly They Disobey
Our children can sometimes astonish us with how quickly and repeatedly they disobey. Shouldn’t they just naturally know better? We look at them and think, What’s the matter with you? Well . . . sin, of course, is the matter with all of us. Including children. Even the most adorable little tyke is a naturalbornContinue reading “How Quickly They Disobey”
Facing the Enemy
Why do we need a shield to live the Christian life? The Bible is clear: because we have an enemy, who is poised ready to attack us. He is the enemy who never stops. Ignore him or refuse to believe in him, and the result will be the same—acute danger. So says the apostle Paul,Continue reading “Facing the Enemy”
Here’s to Privilege: Ouch!
Paul wrote Romans from the house of his friend Gaius during a stay in Corinth. Neither Paul nor the Christians in Rome knew how soon they would need the comfort of Romans 8. Opinion varies, but many scholars estimate that Romans was written in AD 57-58. Within a decade, many of the Roman Christians toContinue reading “Here’s to Privilege: Ouch!”
Do We Really Surrender?
My annual journey through Scripture has once again taken me to the early books of the Old Testament and those long passages in which God lays out the laws that are meant to govern his covenant people as they come into their promised land. Among the laws are a whole host that describe the systemContinue reading “Do We Really Surrender?”
Sanctification of Disappointment
I hate disappointment. When plans get cancelled, expectations are not met, or I simply can’t have my own way, I tend toward brooding. Last year I experienced a couple of sharp disappointments—denials of things I prayed fervently for. Good things. Things I thought were for God’s kingdom. But though I prayed and pursued, in theContinue reading “Sanctification of Disappointment”
Intentional Faith 