That I May Know Him

I have been thinking about my buddy Luke a lot recently. Partly because he just sent me a great text message. He said that he is in IHOP with his friend Chris (who helped him drive everything to Florida) and they were sitting next to Edge from WWE. I responded that he should see if Edge would support he and Sarah. It is a nice thought. Anyway, Luke said something two weeks ago that is still ringing in my soul. It quote that is not foreign to me. But God gripped my attention this time. The quote was by, the British Missionary to China who also founded Heart of Africa Mission, C T Studd. He said, "Only one life, it'll soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last." Those powerful words reverberate in my soul like a pounding gong. I am the king of excuses and time wasting. So, now when I am going about my day C T Studd's words grip me. They shake me. And they refocus me. I am deeply thankful for the great men and women of the past who boldly lived daily in lig...

Last night was deeply encouraging. Luke Sumner spoke to the Student Ministry for the last time before he and his family move to Florida and becomes a missionaries for Agape Flights. First, I need to admit how difficult it will be to see a good friend like Luke (and of course Sarah) leave. I am deeply thankful for Luke's great love for Christ and desire to follow Him alone. I know that God has great things in store for Luke and God will complete those things (Phil. 1:6). Last night Luke spoke from one of my favorite passages in scripture (Ephesians 2:10). This great verse from Paul declares that we are God's masterpiece. As I look closely at my tattered life it is difficult to imagine myself to even be finger paint or paint by numbers let alone a masterpiece in God's eyes!!! But thankfully I do not have to rely upon the messy life I see or the rollercoaster of feelings that I through. If I did rely upon those things I would probably be in a gutter somewhere. That is...

Please pardon the following if it is riddled with errors. I have had something echoing in my head for weeks. And I feel that if I take the time to put it down I may be able to better aticualte it over time. The idea that I am wrestling with is that our beliefs are to be followed by our actions or they are not our beliefs at all. For instance, if I say that I believe that helping the poor is important. And I do nothing to actually help the poor except say I believe we should. Then it is not truly a beleif that I hold. They are infact empty words. If I say that I love my wife and kids and I cheat on her and abuse them then what are my actions saying. Certainly they do not say that I love them. Let's go one step further. If I say that I love Jesus and I follow him. And I live in unrepentant sin (sin that I do not address with God and turn from) and I do not share Christ with others. Then how in the world could I ever claim to be a Christ follower. I would live better unde...

I love the story of Peter walking on water. And yet, if I am honest it scares me. I feel the boat tossing and the waves crashing and yet I continue to bury myself in a life that requires little faith. Now, I do not mean that I do not have faith. I trust in Christ completly for my salvation. But as of recently I am afraid that my faith has become anemic. I have been wrestling with this for months now. I feel like a child on a diving board with his toes curled over the edge fearful of the leap. It reminds me of trying to jump off the high dive at Perry High School. So many times I would ascend that incredibly long ladder. I would at times creep to the edge. I would stare down into the deep blue while my stomach rose to my throat and my whole body broke into a cold sweat. I wanted to jump in but fear would grip me. Then I would shrink back and descend the ladder as quickly as I could. I don't even remember how many times that senario played out. Were my fears jus...

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...