Category Archives: Uncategorized

A few months ago the ground had a pretty layer of snow covering it, preserved by the cold temperatures. Then it started to get warmer. And as the sun shone on the freezing ground, the snow started to melt, exposing the ugly, lifeless grass. You could almost sense how shameful the dead grass felt. LongingContinue reading “When the Son Shines, Lives Are Changed”

Most people who have a negatively skewed sense of Christianity feel that way because of how they see Christians live. There are generally two ways a Christian can enhance the negative perception of others. The first way is to become legalistic and judge people based on rules that the other person has not put themselvesContinue reading “How to Judge Well”

Looking at the life of Jesus Christ we see a call to love and grace as we follow His example. But we also see how harsh he was to the religious leaders of the day. He called them vipers and whitewashed tombs that look good on the outside but are only good for housing deadContinue reading “You Shall Judge Your Brothers and Sisters”

Most of us have heard the old adage ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, but my favorite new adage is: ‘don’t judge a movie by its trailer.’ We have all read books or went to movies that looked better on the outside, but the content was lacking in several areas. I’ll be the first oneContinue reading “The Dangers of Making Inferences”

I visited downtown Grand Rapids recently with friends who were ‘open-air’ evangelizing. Stereotypically, this is when people stand outside talking (occasionally yelling) about Jesus. The men that I went with know the good news of God, and were preaching it unashamedly. One of the main reasons why I wanted to see their method of evangelismContinue reading “Open-Air Evangelism & Hypocrites”

I recently read Donald Miller’s book, Scary Close. In his book, Miller is transparent about his journey to true intimacy. But what is intimacy? Our culture has been showering us with perverted versions of intimacy for many years, resulting in most of us having no idea what true intimacy looks like. If you haven’t experiencedContinue reading “Shame Perverts Intimacy”

My wife and I just became parents; Britt labored for 38 hours before they opted to perform a cesarean section. I was able to watch most of the surgery; it was pretty disgusting but also incredibly amazing. They made an incision, cut the muscles and then started stretching the incision apart. I looked away forContinue reading “Our Plans and God’s Purpose”

As I look outside the window I see lifeless trees, dead grass, and a more expensive electric bill. When the seasons change from spring to summer and summer to fall, it’s not nearly as drastic as the change from fall to winter, especially in Michigan.   Winter is coming and I can’t do anything about it.Continue reading “Without Wilderness, There is No Power”