The Ever-Learning Disciple

Tired. If I had to choose one word to describe my spirit, most days, I would answer with 'tired.' Not that there isn't liveliness, joy, and hunger in my soul-- there is. What I mean to say is that I fail to rest when it's most necessary. Sometimes that's simply my dealt hand, but sometimes it's pride and stubbornness that drives my work-do ways. Ruth. If I could compare myself to any woman in the bible, it would be Ruth. I think her spirit was tired, too. See, she was a Moabite. Which means she served a god that wasn't the Lord. (Chemosh was his name). But in comparison to me, I also served a god that wasn't the God I serve today. That god manifested in many different forms: pride, arrogance, charm, bitterness, unforgiveness-- you name it and it was probably a god of mine. Ruth seems strong-willed and slightly dogmatic. She was married to Mahlon who died along with his brother, Chilion. The Mosaic law states that when a man dies, his brother is to...

"I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand and you only look at me. You have turned cruel to me; with the might of your hand you persecute me." Job 30:20-21 I have doubted his goodness. In fact, I've doubted his goodness more than not. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I have called God a bully and wrestled with his intentions in prayer. I have accused him of being a horrific beast who is basking in my anguish. I've imagined him on his glorious throne with a bowl of extra buttery Orville Redenbacher waving his magic wand ushering the rain to keep pouring. The storms are sudden and they are so constant that it's caused a flood and I'm left stranded without a vessel. Assuming there's even somewhere that it could take me where the land is dry and the sun beams down in righteousness. I haven't doubted his power. I have cried out to him reminding him that he could intervene. I have pleaded with him to give mercy on my soul. "How long, ...

Throughout the Gospels and New Testament, we see many warnings of false prophets. Scripture says these false prophets will come in sheep's clothing but inwardly will be ravenous wolves (Matt. 7:5). What I understand from that statement is that these teachers will seem genuine. They will not only fool others, but they themselves are fooled! How scary to know that our flesh can so easily be persuaded by such convincing ideas. What I did not realize is that the first greatly impacting false prophet of the 21st century would be jesus himself. I didn't capitalize jesus because I'm not talking about the Jesus of the bible. I'm talking about the jesus that society has conjured up in order to create love, acceptance, and peace. Nothing short of a hippie jesus.  I would have loved to walk the roads with Jesus. I can't imagine literally, with my fleshly feet, following Him. But what I do know is what scripture tells me about Him and what the Holy Spirit intercedes wit...

I once ran a mile in 6 minutes and 32 seconds. It was the fastest mile I ever ran. That was the goal of cross country practice that day-- to run the fastest mile possible. We rarely did that because we usually worked more on endurance (obviously). But I remember that day. I was late to practice (as usual) because I had cheerleading practice right after school. The other team members had already ran their 'fast mile' and were about to start their un-timed mile. I knew I couldn't use their momentum to push me like I usually did. Their muscles were fatigued and the pressure was off. We all took off together. I was usually the 4th runner on our team. I zipped by the 3rd runner and quickly caught up to our top two runners. "This is AWESOME!" I thought. I have never been able to pass up the freshmen girls with the gazelle legs. Of course I was at an unfair advantage, but it revved me up and made me run even faster. Thus, 6:32:00. That was about 7 years ago. But ...

When I was in high school, it was the rule that chores came before homework. I never really understood that commandment. I didn't know why a few dirty dishes trumped expressive algebra. I mean, those dishes were always going to serve one purpose, but my future career depended on my scholastic success. So instead of tending to the soiled towels that had been in the hamper since at least two Tuesdays ago, I chose homework first. I was reprimanded every day for my choice. Mainly having my cell phone taken away (which let's be honest, is detrimental to social acceptance in the world of teenage angst). And yet, I never corrected the behavior. I was right, dad was wrong; and besides, there were more clean towels in the closet and you can totally just eat your cereal with a clean fork. I chose convenience over obedience. I recently started an extensive study on the book of Judges. And thanks to the help of Tim Keller, I've noticed that time and time again, Israel chose con...

Our first impression of who a man is comes from watching our fathers. Whether that means watching them love endlessly or seeing them walk away from their families (and everything in between). In our adolescence, we all have a different perspective of what it means to be a father. Which in turn, affects the way we comprehend who God is. I frequently find myself feeling as if my mistakes are disappointing my Heavenly Father; that He's downcast on the mediocre work I'm doing for His Kingdom. Because that's part of what I learned from my earthly father. It's deep-rooted in me that I have to earn my love from The Lord. And some days He doesn't want anything to do with me.   It's important to realize that our earthly father is not a mini-representation of Christ. They may or may not do a good job at reflecting who Christ is, but at the end of the day, they are human just like me and you.  Scripture tells us that God is the father to fatherless. If our fath...

If we created a being to represent the 'Body of Christ' based on who the church is, we wouldn't want to associate with the very being we've created. We'd have a head full of knowledge and theology, but necrotic fingers and a failing heart. We would electively rid of the organs that feed the body no purpose. We'd be dolled up with the most glamorous hair and aesthetics, yet our lungs would be consumed with the cancer of worldly things and our arteries with the love of the money in the offering plate. If anyone showed up who looked or acted differently, or maybe wasn't as good as we are at hiding our sins, we'd flood the body with antibiotics to make sure they know that they don't belong. We'd be legally blind to our own faults. We would be a being that didn't look any different than the rest of the world.  The church as a body is ill. It's consumed with itself and has no room to care for the lost. It's too busy feeding itself a fi...