fisher of men

Everyday, references about God make their way into our social feeds and social circles: Say a pray for me! Keep the faith! God’s got this! Some are expressed with sincere hearts, but all too often, such sentiments are more reflective of a person’s culture or upbringing—and less of a true belief in God. But what is true belief in God? Surely it stretches beyond admitting he exists, beyond acknowledging he’s the creator and orchestrator of the universe. Even Satan and his demons believe these things: “Even the demons believe—and shudder” (James 2:19). But in no way do they trust God. In fact, Satan wants for himself the glory and honor due only to God. Trust in God More than believing in the existence of God, we must trust in Him for salvation, and that means coming to him through faith in J...

I love the Harry Potter stories. My first trip through them was an audio excursion guided by the talented Jim Dale. Enthusiasm for the books swept me right into reading them aloud to my children, and we’re almost finished with the series. I am thrilled that J. K. Rowling’s next book, The Casual Vacancy, is appearing any moment now. I can’t wait to read it. Sorry for my effusive delight over these books—what I’m trying to do is tell you about one of the characters in the Harry Potter stories, Remus Lupin. There’s a play on his name, as lupus is the Latin word for “wolf,” and Lupin is a werewolf. Werewolves are not exactly pleasant, and the surprising thing is that Lupin is one of the good guys. This is one of the ways that Rowling has given us stories that are true to life. In the Potter st...

I recently had to call the exterminator. My father-in-law was visiting and thought he spotted termites. I tried not to panic, hoped insurance would cover the costs, and had someone come inspect the house. Thankfully, no termites. That was the good news. The bad news is that we do have carpenter ants. And, based on this fella’s look in our crawl space, a few mice to boot. When I got home that day, Holly (my wife) was ready to sell the house. She doesn’t do mice. So, now I’m on a quarterly pest control plan and am a few hundred dollars poorer. Dealing with pests is annoying. I don’t have time for this kind of stuff. Why did God make ants and mice anyway? But not dealing with pests is dangerous. Carpenter ants (along with termites) eat wood and can cause serious struct...

  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28 ESV) Though Jesus invites sinners (like you) to come to him for cleansing, relief, and renewal, I find that many of us are often slow to come to him on account of those very things that should speed us on our way to him. There are many lies we are tempted to believe that can short-circuit our communion with Christ. Here are four to watch out for. This sin isn’t serious enough to take to Jesus Some of you consider your sins, at least some of your sins, as too small to take to Jesus. No one got hurt, your faith is intact, so why both Jesus with it? The problem is the perceived smallness of your sins has created an excuse for you to stay away from the Savior, rather than reminding you of your ...

Of all the teachings of Christianity, no doctrine is more central than the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The truth of the resurrection has been attacked from every angle. New books and television media regularly appear questioning the truth of the resurrection, re-hashing old theories about what happened to Jesus’ body. Since the resurrection is crucial to Christianity, Christians ought to be able to give answers to the inevitable questions about the truth of the resurrection. Historically Credible Accounts The first step in defending the resurrection from its detractors is to establish the fact of the historical events that took place as conveyed in the Gospels. As philosopher William Lane Craig notes in his book Reasonable Faith, “The issue is whether the g...

I am continually struck by Jesus‘ teaching in Luke 18:9. There are so many angles by which I am instructed, convicted, refreshed, and amazed. Jesus tells us that he told the parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous. In other words, they did not need him. They were good with their own ability to earn and maintain God’s pleasure through their obedience/holiness. At the heart of the parable Jesus shows that in order to really need him you must first really that you don’t need yourself. Our lack of righteousness makes Jesus appealing while our perception of righteousness makes Jesus appear, at best, to be an adornment and at worst, to be an insult. We notice that the guy in Jesus’ cross hairs is bragging on himself in the temple. Can you e...

I often ask my students to give me a quick summary of church history. It’s a good way to see what they know, and, more importantly, what they think they know. The results are fascinating. Beyond the unsurprising fact that most know very little about the story of God’s people between the end of the New Testament and the day before yesterday, the stories usually have at least one thing in common: a Golden Age. THE GOLDEN AGE MENTALITY Here’s how the story goes. At some point in history, the church got things right. This could be the early church, the Reformation, the Puritans, or some other group. But, whoever it was, they nailed it. They weren’t perfect, of course. But they got as close as we’re likely to get this side of heaven.   And the reason this generation...

We learn from the opening verses of Romans that this letter is all about the gospel of God, which centers in his Son. It is the good news of God’s saving grace in Jesus for sinners like me and you. And that good news is all about God’s peace. Paul closes his introduction with this promise and blessing: “To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:7). These words come to us as more than mere formalities. They declare life-giving hope to seize and believe. The apostle announces God’s stance—his posture of grace and peace toward us in Christ. Just as the words “loved” and “saints” point back to the designation of God’s people in the Hebrew Scriptures, so this promise of peace calls to mind th...

Saint James the Greater was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and the brother of St. John the Evangelist (Mark 1:19-20). James and John, along with the Apostle Peter, were part of Jesus’ “inner circle,” witnessing key events that the other apostles did not witness (Mark 5:35-43; Matthew 17:1-8, 26:36-46). After James was martyred, legend places his remains in Spain, where they are supposedly enshrined in a cathedral known as the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Since the Middle Ages, people have walked from certain starting points across Europe to his tomb along pilgrimage routes that have become known as the Way of St. James. Who was St. James the Greater? James the Greater was the son of Zebedee and Salome and the brother of John the Evangelist. Scripture recounts that after callin...

  Recently I was asked to give a conference address on “Positive Leadership.” It got me thinking about how many different kinds of pastoral leadership I’d come across in my ministry. Mr. Passive never takes a step forwards. Like a snooker ball, he just waits to be hit by the next event. If he can maintain the status quo or manage a congregation’s gradual decline, he’s quite happy. If Mr. Passive is a snooker ball, Mr. Dictator is the snooker cue. He’s always pushing his way around, pushing others out of his way, and aggressively pushing his own agenda with little thought about the knock-on effects for others. Sometimes he pushes so hard that he rips the cloth and ends the game for himself and everyone else too. Mr. Crisis is neither too passive nor too aggressive. He doesn’t...