17 Nov Surrounded
My friend Ron had a very brief stint as an amateur boxer. He loves to tell the story of a fight where his opponent, to say the least, was getting the better of him. Ron felt as though punches were coming at him from every...
09 Nov Jesus and the Love/Hate Relationship
In a recent Instagram video, Zach Windahl, the author of “The Bible, Simplified,” made a point that many modern believers might find jarring. He said: “I hate it when people say, ‘Jesus loves you just as you are,’ because He doesn’t. If that were the case,...
02 Nov The Greater Works
There is a single verse of the Bible that has generated immeasurable debate over the past 2,000 years: “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to...
26 Oct Course Correction
Seventy years ago, this past June 8, a routine baseball move was made. No one realized it then, and few know about it now, but it turned out to be a decision that would dramatically impact baseball for decades. The Brooklyn Dodgers optioned a left-handed rookie...
19 Oct The Masks of Satan, Part III
The past two weeks, we have been looking at the temptation of Jesus in Luke 4:1-13, as utilized by author Peter Scazzero in his book “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.” Scazzero sees “three false identities or masks that Satan offers each one of us.” I never identified...
12 Oct The Masks of Satan, Part II: I Am What I Have
Last week in Fresh Start, I told you about a book my pastoral coach has me reading: Peter Scazzero’s “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.” In the temptation of Jesus in Luke 4:1-13, Scazzero sees “three false identities or masks that Satan offers each one of us.” They...
05 Oct The Masks of Satan
Allen, my pastoral coach, (and he’s an awesome coach!) often suggests books for me to read. The most recent one: Peter Scazzero's “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality” has already rocked my world. In the temptation of Jesus in Luke 4:1-13, Scazzero sees “three false identities or masks...
28 Sep The Bully Who Thought He Loved Jesus
When I was growing up, there was a kid my age who came from a devout Baptist family. I once heard an adult observe how good the kids were in that family and how they were faithfully in church. The kid my age often spoke...
21 Sep Jesus Didn’t Need a Megaphone
As the Major League Baseball season winds down, controversy is heating up outside T-Mobile Park, the home of the Seattle Mariners. As the “Seattle Times” reports: If you have been to a game at T-Mobile Park, you have heard them. They are omnipresent. They are loud....
15 Sep Biblical Myth Busted
Recently, I was briefly taken in by a biblical myth that apparently has been around for a few centuries. One of my daily devotionals focused on Psalm 51:8: Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Psalm 51 is David’s prayer...