The Benefits of Planned Bible Reading
As I was preparing to write this week’s article, thinking about the New Year and common resolutions people make, I realized that my mom had already written what I wanted to say. She publishes a weekly blog about the Bible, including periodic reviews of books on Christian topics. Many Creeksiders have read through the Bible at the beginning of a new year before, and she articulates well why a formal plan is useful. With her permission, I’ve copied the first post of the series here, with more information at the end. By Sharon Short The first time I tried to read through the entire Bible in a...
Read MoreGive Thanks to the Lord, for He is Good
For some, the holidays are a warm and joyful reminder of many happy memories. For others, these special days remind us more of what we don’t have. Whether you are sitting down to a table full of turkey and fixin’s today, or eating a less traditional Thanksgiving feast with a less traditional crowd, today is a day set aside to remind us to give thanks. Let us not forget whom we are thanking and why. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all...
Read MoreUnexpected Evangelism
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV) For the past few Sundays, we’ve been learning about the Covenant Church’s evangelism initiative, BLESS. I recently received a great reminder of why relational evangelism is so vital to our Christian life, and it began, of all...
Read MoreMy Mother’s Hands
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” (Luke 13:34 NIV) A few weeks ago, I was giving my kids a bath, looked down, and saw my mother’s hands. I wish I could say that my first reaction was positive, but it went something like this: “What? Where did those come from? When did I get so old?!” But once I moved past my initial shock, I thought of all that my mother’s hands represented for me. I remembered the midnight hours I spent...
Read MoreUnity in Diversity
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:12 NIV) This past Sunday, I preached on this passage in 1 Corinthians. The audio will be posted here, but in case you missed it, here’s an overview. The first point I made was that each of us is important to the Church—the body of believers. No one is too young, too old, too poor, too sick, too broken—too anything—to be used by God. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to...
Read MoreYour Identity in Christ
Last week, Keith urged Creeksiders to read the first three chapters of Ephesians. “The best part about these chapters,” he said, “is that there’s nothing to do; it’s all about who you are.” He emphasized that we must first be the people God wants us to be before we can do what God wants us to do. Here’s the cheat sheet for your homework—all you have to do is read it. Bookmark the link, or if you’re reading this in email, mark it unread again when you’re done, so that you can come back to it tomorrow. If you click here, Bible Gateway has a free audio version available as well, or you can...
Read MoreTaking Action in Troubled Times
Taking Action in Troubled Times God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. (Psalm 46:1-3 NIV) The news out of Charlottesville, VA, this weekend was dire indeed—angry people marching under Nazi flags and shouting demands. Condemning them is necessary, but not enough. What can I do? What can any of us do? It feels overwhelming. The news seems to be going from bad to worse, and we get a constant...
Read MoreEverlasting Life
This is an article from the archives, which I first wrote ten years ago. “…whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16b KJV) Allow me to share with you a profound sentence. It was innocuously nestled inside Day 8 of an advent devotional called The Christ of Christmas. …now you are born again in a life that will outlast the stars. There, simply stated, as if it were common knowledge, was a truth so powerful that it blew away everything else I was thinking. Now read it one more time. Your life will outlast the stars! Rich or poor, righteous or wicked,...
Read MoreA God Who Does “Women’s Work”
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27 NIV) I really enjoyed the new Wonder Woman movie, an origin story that was funny, interesting, and (without spoiling anything) not full of bitterness and revenge. A few weeks ago, an opinion piece about it popped up in my social media feeds. Its premise is that Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is an amazing representation of Biblical womanhood—someone who is strong enough to fight but motivated by love; someone who feels deeply, but finds her emotions a source of strength...
Read MoreTantrums and Torments
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2a NIV) I hate getting frustrated at my kids, but lately they’ve been throwing temper tantrums in response to the most basic requests. Even when I use all my tricks, when it finally comes time to turn off the video or wash their hands, they act like I’ve asked them to cut off their arm! Sometimes they protest things we do literally every day—like getting dressed. It makes me want to scream! I was telling this to my counselor, who observed that my kids might be upset about something they...
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