Blog Archives
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Prayer is Much More Than You Think it is
“God is Great God is Good Let us thank him for our food. Amen” When my brother and I were […]
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Do You Have “Dishwasher Faith”?
It seems to me that the dishwasher has got to be the most misunderstood appliance in our homes today. I […]
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The God Who Sees You
There she sat alone by the water. Given to a man, by no choice of her own, only to be […]
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We Pay a High Price for Social Media
In the late nineteenth century, newspaper companies pioneered a powerful marketing concept that still to this day dominates our media […]
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Doing Ministry in the Christian Bubble
As a Christian (and a pastor, at that!) I can easily get into the rut of the infamous ‘Christian Bubble’ […]
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The First Words of Christmas
Most of us have read the story of Jesus’ birth and sung the songs of Christmas many times during the […]
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Takeaways from Christmas Carols – Part Three (Good King Wenceslas)
“Therefore, Christian men, be sureWealth or rank possessingYe who now will bless the poorShall yourselves find blessing” This is the […]
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What DID Mary Know?
The Christmas song “Mary, Did You Know?” was written by Mark Lowery and Buddy Greene in 1991. It quickly became a […]
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Five Ways to Cope With the Holidays When You’ve Lost a Loved One
Christmas is hard. Once you’ve lost someone you love, it’s bittersweet at best and terribly painful at worst. It’s a […]
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TENTACLES OF FAITH
I know very little about my ancestry and have never really had much interest in researching it. Once I get […]
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Evangelism Begins With Grace
If you’re like me, the word evangelism is a like a guilt switch in my soul. You say “evangelism” and immediately three […]
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Confessions of a Church Addict
My name is John and I am a recovering church addict. Those are words that seem inappropriate. After all, church […]
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What Christians Can Learn From Hanukkah
You may have seen a menorah, maybe heard a song about a dreidel, seen golden chocolate coins for sale in […]
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“Prone to Wander, Lord, I Feel it”
In 1757 Robert Robinson, a self-proclaimed “wanderer,” wrote the penitent words of a poem we know today as the hymn […]
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When Culture Defines a Family
What happens when society redefines family? Our teenagers are sorting through the wounds of a generation’s idea that family is whatever […]
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When it Comes to Loving People, Christians Have a Higher Standard
“Let us not become weary in doing good . . . Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good […]
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If You Want a Life of Victory, Fix Your Focus
One of my good friends, Alejandro, will sometimes text me out of the blue to just see how life is. […]
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When You’re Disappointed With God
Philip Yancey in his book, Disappointment with God, tells of a letter he received from a woman who was struggling with […]
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3 Reasons Patriotism is on the Decline in America
Since the turning of the century there has been a 23% decrease in people who are extremely proud to be […]
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Is it Happiness You’re After? Or is it Joy?
As I stare at my bag of double chocolate donuts, I ponder the question, where does happiness come from? I […]
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OUR COMMON ENEMY
It’s a heated environment these days. Politically. Racially. Religiously. Opinions abound. Listening is lacking. Fingers are pointed. It’s an environment […]
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When Your “House” is on Fire
I have always struggled with my tongue. From arguing to sarcasm to sharp, cutting words. I have memorized and meditated […]
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How to Find the God Who Delights in Us
With all three of my children, I experienced nearly the same special moment playing hide-and-seek. I would hide. They would […]
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Inside Look at a Pastor’s Preaching Prep
Every week I have the incredible opportunity of standing before a group of people to proclaim the truths of God’s […]
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The Secret to Keeping Friends
Friendships are often fickle. What’s the secret to keeping friends? I got a story for ya: On an epic day […]
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How Many Generations Does it Take to Bless a Child?
With an autumn breeze grazing our skin, carrying the backyard-laughs into the neighbor’s yard, we played and played . . . […]
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Yes, Son, There are Two Genders
What do you do when your child asks an honest (yet culturally unpopular!) question? One that, if answered biblically, will […]
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Considering Celebrity Conversions
In recent news, a fair number of celebrity conversions have been taking place in the public eye. Justin Bieber has […]
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What Should I Say to Fear?
Peanuts characters Linus and Charlie Brown were discussing how to deal with the difficulties of life. Linus tells Charlie Brown […]
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Does Jesus Want Me to Be Happy?
Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, gave us a pathway to happiness called the beatitudes. God blesses those who are […]
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Our Messy Relationship With This World
Jesus stayed on the streets and searched the corners to encounter the very people most religious folk snubbed. Jesus comes […]
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Happiness Depends on Whose You Are
“Happiness is in the eye of the beholder.” Have you heard that phrase? Usually with “Beauty” instead of “Happiness”? Sure, […]
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All People are Made in the Image of God
The Bible clearly states that God is the creator of all human life. (Find a list of some of those […]
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4 “Non-Spiritual” Things That Transformed My Prayer Life
I’m embarrassed about my prayer life. And I have yet to find someone who isn’t! It’s (usually) not our theology that […]
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Five Dangers of Not Asking For Prayer
The Christian life is about community. It’s about fellowship. It’s about being one Body. To do this you have to […]
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Five Ways to Prepare for a Bear Attack
Are you prepared for a bear attack? Our family recently took a vacation to the picturesque Grand Teton Mountains. The […]
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Three Ways to Parent Your Child’s Heart
I’m just a dad. I don’t have a PhD in parenting. I haven’t studied personality theory nor have I researched […]
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YOUR SMART PHONE IS LYING TO YOU, BY THE WAY
Here’s a riddle for you: What do we look at, on average, 63 times a day, for up to 4 […]
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People Are Not Your Enemy
People are not the real enemies. Paul made that clear when he said, “For our struggle is not against flesh […]
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Four Ways to be Grateful During This Season of Thankfulness
If only my children would be more grateful . . . As a young mom, I was sure that was […]
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Ten Reasons I’m Happy and How You Can Get There
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with […]
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Twenty Seconds
There are only a handful of times in my life I have thought, “I could die in the next few […]
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Rescue From Rebellion
A salvation story doesn’t have to be R-rated to be powerful. We may not all be saved from a life […]
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The Hard, Narrow Road to Biblical Literacy
We desire the silver platter of biblical literacy – that we might somehow put in the littlest effort yet receive […]
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Are You Spiritually Dehydrated?
Sometimes life can be completely and utterly exhausting. I’m talking stress from work, family, or money issues to being mentally […]
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Grateful: Not Just a Word on a Sign at Hobby Lobby
Hard to believe it’s already November, and it doesn’t seem possible, but it’s the month that officially begins the holiday […]
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Mike and Laura Beth: From Brokenness to Mending by the Potter
Mike: Sin and Brokenness “…Looking back, I see there was no actual desire to pursue the things of God… Nonetheless, […]
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5 Promises to You, My Daughter
Often when I put my daughter to bed I will not only pray with her, but I’ll catch myself repeating […]
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3 Reasons Your Work Matters and 4 Parts of the Performance Scorecard
(The following is adapted from a devotional by the BMA’s Director of Operations John Meriweather.) Colossians 3:22-24 says, “. . […]
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One Thousand Little Compromises
OUR PRIVATE CHOICES AFFECT EVERYONE WE KNOW Every moral decision that we make is like a brick in a wall […]