#purpose

The Blessing of a Higher Purpose in Our Pain

It is amazing what struggles people will endure when they do so for a purpose they believe in. It is amazing what struggles people will deliberately bring upon themselves when they believe such struggles are the means to a desirable end. Athletes endure endless hours of training, excruciating times of preparation, and the pain of pushing themselves to the very edge of their endurance. And they do it all for the glory of a trophy, medal, or personal best. Students …

The Freedom of Embracing My Weaknesses

I am tip-toeing—or perhaps lurching—toward the age of 50. Whatever it means to be middle-aged, I am indisputably now well within that range. This stage of life has introduced some new trials, new difficulties, and new indignities, many of them related to a body that is no longer what it once was. But this stretch of time has also introduced some blessings. Among those blessings is a sense of realism about myself that may have been missing in my younger …

Become a Patron

What the Father Gives, We Must Receive

At different times in their lives, the children of a particular family were summoned to their father’s office. He called them in and sat them down and told them that he was going to give them something precious. What he gave them might be different from what he had given their siblings, but it would be no less valuable to him, no less cherished. He would give them something and ask them to care for it, to treasure it, and …

Keys To Knowing God’s Will for Your Life

Of all the issues related to Christian living, few receive greater attention than knowing God’s will for our lives. Many believers, and especially younger ones, agonize over knowing what God means for them to do and how he means for them to live out their days. Many end up leaning toward a low-grade form of mysticism, longing to receive some kind of a sign from the skies or some kind of a word in their hearts. Many live with hesitation, …

Embrace Your Purpose

At this very moment, you are running a race. You are running a race even if you are sitting on the bus reading these words on your phone, even if you are reading this to take a break from the drudgery of your work. Everywhere and at all times you are running the race of all races, the Christian life. The question is not if you are running but how. Are you running well or running poorly? Are you out …

Rule #8: Purpose to be Godly (8 Rules for Growing in Godliness)

We cannot overstate the importance of knowing our purpose. There is no doubt our lives will go awry and even go to waste if we neglect to learn the purpose for our existence and the purpose for our salvation. And central to understanding our purpose is understanding why God placed us on this earth. This is why the old catechism begins with the question of purpose: “What is the chief end of man?” This is the question that has provided …

A Knight in Shining Blubber

We all know that the story of Jonah is really the story of Jonah and his whale, right? Every childrens’ Bible majors on that whale and its role in miraculously delivering Jonah from the depths of the sea. The whale is the hero of the story, the knight in shining blubber who comes to the rescue. Except, of course, that he isn’t (and may not be a whale at all since the Bible identifies him only as a “giant fish”). …

Will God Interfere With Our Free Will?

Some Christians see God as a kindly but passive observer of our choices. After all, God wouldn’t ever interfere with our free will, would He? Ask Jonah and a wry smile would come over his face.” This is how Colin Smith introduces a fictional anecdote from the life of the prophet Jonah: Would God ever interfere with our free will? Hmmm … let’s see. I had made my choice. I suppressed my conscience, steeled my nerves and, by a free …

We Are Not God

We are not God. That seems obvious when we consider it and yet so often we act as if we actually are God, or gods, at least. John Piper talks about this and many of its implications in one of his meditations from Pierced by the Word. Here is what he says: We are not God. So by comparison to ultimate, absolute Reality, we are not much. Our existence is secondary and dependent on the absolute Reality of God. He …

All About Endorsements

I’ve been thinking a fair bit lately about endorsements (or blurbs, if you prefer)–the little lines and paragraphs you see on the back of a book giving you good reasons why you really ought to read it. I have done this as I’ve gone through a process of defining my ministry, what I will give time to and what I will not give time to. Endorsements, when done right, take a lot of time and often for very limited results. …