Wednesday's Word

I love the gift element of the Christmas season. I love when my family updates their wish list so I can see what they want to receive this year. I love shopping up and down the aisles in search of that perfect gift. I love taking it off the shelf, paying for it, bringing it home and wrapping it. I look forward with anticipation to their reaction when they receive it on Christmas. It brings me joy to know that my efforts will fill a need in their life or provide them with delight. Yes -... Read More

My family loved the moment when we sat in darkness before its light. Each year my children would hound me about when it was going to happen; they would commiserate with one another about how big it would be. We would load them into the car and go to the place we always went to pick out our family Christmas tree. After weighing everyone’s opinions, we would decide, tie the tree to the roof of our car, and make our way home. That night we would decorate our tree together as a family.... Read More

You and your family are under attack. You probably won’t feel the siege—it’s subtle, seductive, and attractive—and that’s why this attack is infinitely more dangerous. What in the world am I talking about? Look at the calendar. The Advent season commences in just a few days. It should be a glorious time of remembering God’s response to his lost and rebellious image-bearers. That response wasn’t to condemn but to give the ultimate gift of grace:... Read More

It was one of those conversations you want to take back. It was one of those conversations when you go where your desires and emotions are leading you. It was one of those conversations when you know you should stop or walk away but feel you can’t. It was one of those conversations when afterward you are confronted with the sin that still lives inside you. Can you relate? It wasn’t a big deal in one way. Just a small conversation that had turned a bit ugly. It wasn’t a... Read More

Are you living a spiritually isolated life? How many of your fellow Christians are truly aware of the major areas of difficulty and temptation in your life? How many authentic and helpful conversations have you had recently about these areas? Inside the body of Christ, which is meant to be the most honest community on earth, many of us exist in a network of surface-level relationships. We live with the delusion that we know one another, but we really don’t. We call our easygoing,... Read More

This devotional is adapted from my new book, Sex In A Broken World: How Christ Redeems What Sin Distorts Sex — you don't have to look very far or listen very close to notice that it's being shown and discussed all over the place. If you pay any attention to your own desires and instincts, you'll quickly be reminded that you too are a sexual being. With all of this swirling around us and inside us, the church of Jesus Christ has been strangely silent. We seem to... Read More

What is love? You won't find the best answer on the pages of Wikipedia, Merriam-Webster or Shakespeare. No, the best definition of love was established at an event, the most important event in human history: the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ's sacrifice of love is the ultimate example of what love is and what love does. Here's a definition I like to use: 1. Love is willing self-sacrifice for the good of another that does not require reciprocation or that the... Read More

Today will be the ninth and final devotional on the topic of words. To conclude, I want to go back to an earlier verse we studied. "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45) It's absolutely true that what's already in our hearts will be revealed by what we say. But there's something else that this verse - and the overall... Read More

There are many verses in the Bible that encourage me and fill my soul with hope. But then there are other verses that scare and sober me. Proverbs 18:21 is near the top of that latter list. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits" (ESV). I like how The Message summarizes it: "Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit — you choose." That verse compels me to wrap duct tape around my... Read More

When was the last time someone confronted you of sin? How did you handle it? When was the last time you needed to confront someone of their sin? Did you try to avoid it? If you're anything like me, the thought of confrontation or rebuke can be very uncomfortable. But, the concept is an essential part of God's plan for Christian community and spiritual growth. Hebrews 3:13 says, "Exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened... Read More