In life, invariably, anything that you do over-and-over has the potential of devolving into mere repetition with no feeling involved. We call that “going through the motions”, right? It can happen with anything: work, exercise, paying the bills, regular date nights with your spouse, community, Sunday church gathering, discipleship group, daily Bible reading, and so forth. When that happens, the tendency can be to think, “I need something different. I need something bigger-and-better. Or, something is wrong with this thing I’m doing. I need fireworks! I need excitement! I need a change.”
Read MoreEvery January there is a flurry of blog posts (like this one and this one) and encouragement to make a plan for your personal reading of the Bible (among other things) in the new year. That’s good. But, the reality is you may already be behind or too busy to come up with a plan. In fact, most of us are, which is why I’ve waited to post this until now.
Read MoreI find it incredibly life-giving to regularly revisit the attributes of God (i.e. what God is like). Taken individually, they are stunning; taken together, they are breathtaking. Without knowing it, our fallen hearts often get derailed and we end up with a god that is very different than the God of the Scriptures.
Read MoreSome time ago I came across a list of questions used by George Fox for regular self-examination in order to identify sin in his life and apply the fresh grace of God, in Jesus. Then, I came across similar lists by John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards. I thought, "These guys are on to something here." So, over time, I have merged, added-to, subtracted-from and, in turn, created my own list of questions for gospel-fueled self-examination.
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The second you place your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, God gives you a new identity in Him. He declares who you are - not your emotions, not your friends, not your family, not your coworkers, not your neighbors, not your conscience, not your suffering, not your past, not your future, not your present, not your successes, nor your failures, and not your career. If we are to know and grow in Jesus, we must know and grow into who God has declared us to be, in Jesus.
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