Sickness had dogged him since childhood; year after year, he battled despair. At times he felt so hopeless that he described himself as a living dead man, cut off from God's care. Yet he was one of three appointed, anointed national worship leaders during Israel's glory days, the reign of King David. The same man who wrote Psalm 88, the most despondent Psalm in the whole Bible, which ends with the line,"Darkness is my closest friend," also led a full choir and orchestra in singing praise to God, time after time: "He is good; his love endures forever." (2 Chronicles 5:13) Talk Continue Reading
How to Model the Priority of the Gospel to Your Children
"Oh, Mama," enthused my then four-year-old son, "You love Jesus, and I love Jesus, and ... oh, everyone loves Jesus!" Hesitantly, I offered, "Well, Jed, it's true that we love Jesus, but ... not everyone loves Jesus." Jed's eyes grew wide. Planting his hands on his hips, he demanded, "Who doesn't love Jesus?" I decided it best to give my pre-schooler a concrete example."You know Mikey?" I ventured, referring to young boy in the neighborhood. "I don't think he knows very much about Jesus ... wait, Jed, come back! Let's talk about this!" With evangelistic fervor, my four-year-old Continue Reading
How the Opposite of Pride is Good for You
Doesn't the word "humility" just kind of make you wince? Ouch, this is going to be about grovelling and self-deprecation... Except it's not. Not when we properly understand this virtue. Humility is not about putting yourself down and flagellating yourself for your faults and failures. In fact, beating yourself up is actually a way to exhibit pride disguised as humility. No, humility is not putting yourself down; rather, it's arriving at a correct assessment of yourself. This has always been a challenge for human beings, and never has it been more difficult than in today's noisy Continue Reading
Why Dinner Together Should Be a Thing at Your House
It was a tough decision. Out of our church of less than a hundred, who would get invited to the memorial? After losing a baby to miscarriage, we wanted the comforting presence of our friends, but eighty-five was too many. How to draw the line? I ended up inviting about thirty people, unsure of exactly why I chose the ones I did. Later, it hit me. Every one of the friends we invited were people with whom we had shared a meal. Eating together, called "breaking bread" in the Bible, is a spiritual act. This habit was something the early Church was devoted to, along with the Continue Reading