Monday Moments

As humans, we try to be better at things. We try to be better friends. We try to be better parents. We try to be better at budgeting. We try to be healthy. With God, however, He simply is. In Exodus, God showed His glory to Moses and declared that He is compassionate and full of loving-kindness. In other words, God showed Moses His very nature is one of generosity. When God created the world, He g...

It seems obvious that being in God’s Presence is paramount to our faith and life as followers of Jesus. When we dig deeper, however, we find that we substitute or settle for a way of life that is less than God’s best. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, we crave a formulaic approach to our relationship with God. It was the same with the Israelites coming out of Egypt. They missed God’s heart...

The invitation to God’s rest is simple. Jesus said, “Come to me.” A relationship with our God and Savior is the priority above all else. Despite that simple invitation, we fail to experience a lifestyle of rest because we run into roadblocks. This is nothing new. The Israelites experienced the same thing after they left Egypt. They were promised a homeland, yet they could not enter because they co...

More and more studies show that detaching from work completely leads to increased performance and quality of work and life. It’s almost as if the world is catching on to the notion that rest is important. We all know this is true. However, how and where do we find the most rewarding and satisfying rest? The answer is very simple. Jesus invites us to simply come to Him. There isn’t a lot of detail...

Doing something without knowing why you’re doing it can easily lead to burnout and giving up. Even good things can become burdensome if we don’t have the “why” settled in our hearts. In looking to Jesus as our model for a Sabbath lifestyle, we see that His “why” was deeply rooted in compassion. It began even before Jesus was born. The famous verse, John 3:16, says, “For God so loved …that He gave...

Think about someone in your life who meant a great deal to you. What do you remember about them? Is it the good things, the bad things, a little of both? Remembrance was critically important to Jesus. It wasn’t for His ego, though. He knew that the world and life experiences would try to convince us that the opposite of Jesus’ character is true. He also knew that remembering Him correctly would le...

Confusion about the roles and identities of men and women has existed for a long time. It existed in Paul’s day, and we now grapple with it in our culture today. Unfortunately, a beautiful truth and biblical model gets lost in the weeds, and it is the most life-giving model for living this life. The reason is that, like so many other aspects of worship, we allow our culture to shape the Kingdom in...

The Bible makes it clear on multiple occasions that we should “flee” idols (1 Corinthians 10:14). We see Joseph run from the compromising situation he was in with Potiphar’s wife. But “running away” is probably counterintuitive to our thinking or our flesh. We may want to “stand and resist” that temptation or idol in our life. We may want to try and reason with it. We may want to tame it. But to r...

It’s easy to think idolatry doesn’t exist when we live in a (mostly) monotheistic society. Idols are very much a real thing in every culture, however. They just look different. Some we might deem more obvious, and others more subtle. The caution is that no matter the time or place, we are all prone to idolatry, and we must keep ourselves from them. St. Thomas Acquinas eloquently stated that, “the...

Motivation is a funny word. We often use it when we talk about something that compels us to action. It's usually in reference to a very inconsistent, circumstantial emotion, however. It's rarely a constant, predictable force in our lives. Yet love for others is what ought to be at the heart of our lifestyle as Christians. Brotherly love should dictate everything we say and do, or that we...

As humans, we can be pretty simple creatures. If we see something that makes sense to our brains, or someone at least sounds like they know what they're talking about, we follow it and call it wisdom. God, however, does things differently. He chooses the foolish things of the world to show how wise He really is. Unfortunately, our "wisdom" often leads to elevating our preferences. &...

The Good Samaritan. Many are familiar with this story, or at least its essence. Kind stranger helps needy stranger. Roll credits. But not so fast! Maybe that's what's happening on the surface, but if all you take from this story is that we should be kind to others, you're missing out on a trove of implications and revelations that can only be uncovered when you commit to the text. S...

Priests represent God to the people and the people unto God. There was both a privilege the priests enjoyed as well as a responsibility. It's the same for us today. While we have the amazing treasure of God's Presence in this fragile, earthly body, we also have a responsibility to maintain our "temple" and to bring others to God. It's an amazing dynamic that can only be ex...

Making disciples was the last charge Jesus gave us before He went back to Heaven, and it should be the primary concern of all Christians. Every person on Earth deserves to know and experience the love of Jesus. Over the years, disciple making for many churches has morphed into programs, books, and a set of "dos and don'ts." Those aren't necessarily bad. They were just never mea...

When you stop and think about it, contentment can be hard to define and even harder to identify. After all, the wise among us would tell you that contentment can be a moving target as we grow older and the seasons of our life change. Life is a journey of ups and downs and everywhere in between. Being content no matter our circumstances can feel much easier said than done at times. The apostle, Pau...

Money can be massively divisive topic. It is one of the top contributors to divorce, as a matter of fact. It's no less potent when discussed within the church. The Bible has a tremendous amount to say about the topic of money, however. While it may not be the most important aspect of our faith, it does certainly hold a significant amount of weight to our lives and our relationship with God.

"I didn't see that coming," is a common expression after something unexpected happens. From accidents to surprises, we can easily be caught unaware, fixated in our own little worlds, tasks, and day to day lives. It was the same in Jesus' day. Well, it was the same before His day, to be more specific. The Lord was silent for 400 years leading up to the birth of Christ. It was th...

Have you ever tried to push a big car? Depending on your strength, it may seem doable at first, but after a short while, even the stoutest among us would get tired. What if you knew that car was in perfect working order, it only needed a full tank of gas? Would you still continue to push it, insisting that your strength was enough, or would you fill it up as quickly as possible so you can really m...

When you're on a trip or adventure, it's important to have some kind of guide. Maybe that guide is an actual person who has traveled that way before or maybe it's a map. Whatever the case, following the guide will get you to your destination. Not following your guide will get you lost or worse. Going your own way sounds nice initially, and it can certainly seem like the easier way....

Trends are nothing new. While our culture may be obsessing about trends currently, the fact is that trends have been rising and falling like waves in the ocean since the dawn of time. What is particularly valuable, though, is to observe trends over long periods of time and what they tell us about people's behavior. To be more specific, observing church trends reveals something that is, frankl...

Life would probably be a lot easier if we ignored Jesus' words. He did a lot of nice things and loved a lot of people. It's safe to say we can all agree that very few people had issues with what Jesus did. It's what He said that causes problems.  Whenever God's Word, aka Jesus, says something that goes against our paradigms, we stand at a crossroads. Are we going to continue to...

The Lord tells us in His Word over and over that He will be our provider. We sing songs about it. We read about it. We encourage one another about it. When the world around us is...unfavorable, are we going to continue to trust Him to provide even if, and especially if, the circumstances don't change the way we want them to. That's the essence of the story of Esther, which is what we&apo...

Forever is a long time. That may be the most obvious statement in history, but there is a lot to unpack when you really stop and think about it. What is forever? What implications does that reality hold for this present life? These questions and others like it ought to run through our mind at one time or another and evoke a compelling lifestyle change. This was David's view when he wrote &quo...

There is a theme throughout Scripture of the table of the Lord. At best, we have a fuzzy, intrinsic understanding of that concept. But when you think about it, the concept is a bit abstract. When King David wrote, "He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies," in Psalms 23:5, he communicates deeply profound truths about God's provision in our lives. What does that ac...

It's not a matter of "if" we go through hard times but "when" we go through hard times. We all face it. It's part of life. There are all kinds of questions that arise in the midst of hard times such as "why" or "why me" or "will this ever end." Psalm 23 offers us amazing insight into the reality of the hard times that we all go through in...