
Ten Years Later, A Look Back
I grieve for that 21-year-old Joel. He was busy trying to convince everyone to obey Jesus, but he was wrapped up in fear. Honestly, that first post drips with fear. Read More …
The Journal of a Journey
I grieve for that 21-year-old Joel. He was busy trying to convince everyone to obey Jesus, but he was wrapped up in fear. Honestly, that first post drips with fear. Read More …
Unconditional love. It sounds so good. And yet many people reject the idea that God loves us unconditionally. To be honest, I don’t blame them, because I have seen many people misuse this concept. We need to understand that God’s unconditional love is not His unconditional approval. Read More …
Nowhere in the New Testament does God tell us that we should seek to preserve our virginity until marriage. Instead, He tells us to walk in sanctification and honor, and to abstain from sexual sins. What’s the difference? Everything. Read More …
For as long as I can remember, I have heard about vows and commitments. Throughout my life, different speakers and teachers encouraged me to make various commitments. Bill Gothard probably pushed me to make more commitments than anyone else. He Read More …
Last weekend, I experienced one of the most incredible weekends of my life. I am not kidding. I went to the Youth Alive conference near Lancaster, PA. I had almost not registered for it, but God gave me some pushing Read More …
“Ack!” you say. “A guilt-trip post about how I don’t love Jesus enough because I’m not hungry enough for Him!”
No, that’s not what this is about. In fact, that’s not what Jesus was talking about at all. Read More …
It was a meal together after a funeral. I was sitting at a table with a couple of my great-uncles, and the conversation turned to dealing with sexual abusers. As we talked, it became clear that their first priority was Read More …
Do you live in fear of God? Are you are afraid of Him—afraid to die, afraid of His judgment, afraid that you’ll make a small mis-step and be brutally disciplined?
Let me assure you: God specifically says that He does not want you to live in fear of Him. There is no need for you to live in fear and turmoil, uncertain if you can trust Him! Read More …
The US’s national motto is “In God We Trust”. Yet, do we American Christians actually trust in God? Read More …
Growing up in ATI, I was taught to be very careful about “wolves”. Not that the word “wolves” came up that often, but the teaching was still there: Beware of anyone who doesn’t have our standards. Beware of the world. Read More …