That I May Know Him

For the last three months my Sunday School class has been studying When Worldviews Collide by Ergun Caner as well as various other cults and world religions (Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, Christian Science, Scientologists, and much more). It has been a sobering and spiritually challenging class. Studying and teaching through the beliefs of these cults has helped me see all of the millions of people who are wrapped up deeply in various false religions as individuals for whom Christ died . This study has given me a greater passion for the gospel and the work of Christ on my behalf. It has given me a desire to spend more and more time with the lost. To love them. To listen to their hearts cry. To see them put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. I desire to be able to more clearly share the gospel with those for whom Christ died. I am deeply thankful for for all of my students but especially for the group of 30 nonchristian students that I work with on ...

Just before I got started on my devotions this morning I received a phone call from my wife. She wanted to see how my morning was progressing and also share something that she overheard my son saying as he was playing with his toys this morning. Let me preface what he said with what happened yesterday. Yesterday was a beautiful day. It was actually sixty degrees outside and sunny. (This is a miracle because of all the snow that we have received this last month in Northeast Ohio.) My wife and I decided that it was time to take our first walk of the spring. With my daughter in a stroller and my dog on a leash this meant that I needed to go into the garage and pull out my son's tricycle. From the back door all the way to the garage door my son kept on telling me that I needed to get his tricycle out for the walk. I simply and calmly told him that daddy was getting into the garage to do just that. In the midst of digging in the garage our dog ran off down the street and my son started ...

Years ago, my time of personal devotion and prayer was capped off by a spiritual discipline known as journaling. I always carried an additional notebook with my Bible and regularly chronicled what God was doing in my life. In that notebook I would always take time to write out important passages, thoughts, and even personal prayers. It was an excersise that I thoroughly enjoyed. It allowed me to progressivly follow my own spiritual formation as well as teach me to more succinctly communicate what God was doing in my life. Unfortunately, with the busyness of life, family, and ministry that wonderful practice was not only neglected it was all together abandoned. I honestly tied to not think about it that much over the last several years because it upset me. I knew what I was missing by not taking the time to personally journal what God was challenging me on. I have noticed that many pastors that I look toward for spiritual guidance have updated this spiritual discipline to blogg...