When God Won’t Let You Have Fun

Have you ever been in a situation you knew you shouldn’t be in, only to stay in the situation?  I have – many times, actually.  If you are a Christian, how did you feel before, during, and after the event?  Whether it was a fight, a drunken night out on the town, something involving sexual expression or any other number of things, there’s one thing I’ve discovered about such situations:  God won’t let you have fun.

In the moment, the thrill can be very real and exhilarating.  But, given time, it wears off and

Christ’s Beautiful Body

Noelle and I just went camping with our church, The Well.  It was a fantastic weekend full of relaxing, enjoying God’s creation and one another’s company.  And, it made me miss the four epic camping trips that we went on with Providence Bible Church’s youth group, Under Construction Ministries.  Those were seriously great times.  It got me thinking:  Christ’s body really is beautiful.

We moved to Portland 11 months ago, and it’s hard to believe so much time has flown by already.  Routinely Noelle and I will

MMA: What Did You Expect?

Marriage can be hard.  Scratch that… it is hard.  It’s also many other things:  fun, adventuresome, deep, character forming, and so on.  Over the past 4+ years, I’ve come to realize the one thing that is not often discussed before getting married is a person’s expectations going into the marriage. But it’s exactly those unsaid and unmet expectations that become major issues in many marriages.

What did you expect marriage to be?  We all come into marriage with expectations – assumptions of our spouse and

Video: Jesus Wants The Rose

This video is one of the more powerful expressions of the Gospel of Christ that I’ve seen.  Take a few minutes to watch the video and, if you would be so kind, answer at least one of the two questions below.

 

Why do you think the gospel of Christ so often gets left out of messages related to sexual sin?

 

In what ways can we seek and love “the rose” among us in Jesus’ name?

MMA: The Blessing Zone

How many of you were at my wedding?  Do you remember what the message was about?  I’d be impressed if you did, seeing that it was almost 4 ½ years ago.  The message was given by Noelle’s uncle, Greg Sidders, and was about “The Blessing Zone”.  I won’t summarize it so much as hijack the great title and illustration for today’s MMA.  Thanks Greg!

Some of you who read this blog

What Are You Seeking?

This post will be brief… so read it.  I ask you this, Christian:  what are you seeking today?  What is on your mind the most, what are you dwelling on these days?  The truth is, for me, that the most consistent battle with sin that I am losing these days is the battle for my mind’s attention and my mind’s desires.

Colossians 3:1-4 “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

We first need to start with the

It’s (Not) All Greek To Me!

I’ve been going through a pretty torturous process these past 10 months, attempting to become more than an amateur at New Testament Greek.  It’s been hard.  Real hard.  The month of June has been especially brutal because I decided, on whose advice I am not sure, to take the 3^rd course in just one month when it is usually done in four.  But, after all of this time, I’m discovering something:

The Love Problem

I must say that reading Augustine has been a challenge for me in the past month or so.  I’ve had much to read for school, and then to try and continue this year long project has at times been more burdensome than I expected.  But then I take on the task of finishing a chapter and am so glad I did.  Book four has several great themes in it, but one especially caught my attention.

In book four, chapter XII, Augustine breaks from his usual form of “confessing” to God and entreats his readers about the direction of their love.  As I reflected on his words, here’s the big idea:

MMA: Compassionate Honesty

“Does this dress make me look fat?”  This has to be one of the more feared questions for men, considering that women are usually very intuitive as to whether or not we’re lying.  Being honest really isn’t as easy as some people make it out to be.  And, being compassionately honest is also very difficult at times.  What do you do when you have the chance to talk about your husband’s weakness in front of several friends, when the hubby isn’t around?  Should you be “honest” in that moment and let it fly?

Let’s first talk briefly about

Fulfill Your Assignment

“Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.” I Corinthians 7:17

What is your calling?  This is a question people have asked me quite a few times, and it’s always hard to answer.  For starters, people usually mean different things by the word “calling”, so that is tricky in and of itself.  Additionally, it seems that most people