I may be the only man ever to receive for a wedding present from his new bride the complete works of Henry Scougal. I read the book on our honeymoon, and have been greatly impacted by the short earthly life and long-lasting passion of this godly man. The Scottish Scougal (1650-1678) (whom I’ve mentioned before) died of tuberculosis at 28 years old, yet his enduring legacy through from his most well-known book: The Life of God in the Soul of Man. The book is a description of Christianity to a friend with additional spiritual counsel for daily life. The title alone — that God’s...

Many want to do great and big things for God. This morning I had a conversation with a man who has a "God-sized vision" for mentoring. He’s right, for God has to show up to do this great work. I urged him in a few key things, and one of them was for do little things for God . It is only in our willingness to do anything, small or menial, that God gets the glory and can share it with us. While many want to be God’s instrument to accomplish great things, as D.L. Moody said over and over, God is looking for those people who are willing to do the little, unnoticed things for His...

I’ve been returning to some of my roots, reading the Nicene Creed a lot lately. In preparation to teach on the life of Athanasius — to our high school group, in a series called INSPIRED — I’ve been contemplating the first official church creed (AD 325). Here’s the modern wording of the Nicene Creed (edited again in 381 at Constantinople and of course translated into English, after the Reformation): We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only son of God, eternally...

"If you want to get to know Jesus more, Colossians is a good place to start." That’s what our Lead Pastor, Joel, said on Sunday as we kicked off this New Yea with a nine-week expositional series in Colossians, with The Source of Transformation (Col. 1:1-14). This book is perhaps the most Christo-centric book in all the Scriptures. Our congregation is challenged to read through all four chapters in Colossians each week for the next 8 weeks. I decided to read the whole book each day. Today was awesome. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "A good place to start", url: "http://www.deTheos.com/2009/01/06/a-good-place-to-start/"...

Our church begins a new series in Colossians this weekend. We’re calling it "The Source ." As in Jesus is the source of everything. The whole letter of Colossians shouts forth descriptions of His infinite worth. All things are from and through and by Him. Indeed, all things exist for Him. (Col. 1:15-17) He is of course, the source of time, though He lives outside it. He did step into our world, the fulness of God dwelling in bodily form (Col. 1:19). Which got me thinking about the New Year, and how this one-second holiday leads to 31,535,999 more seconds full of opportunity after...

This morning our junior high students had a unique church experience. We met in a coffee shop (Bullseye Coffee ), as there was not room in our facility for the morning. We had to get creative for the third week in a row, due to weather. (God is in control, we are not.) We ended the Advent season by considering The Incarnation of the Son God — the Word dwelt among us (John 1:1-18). Briefly seeking to establish the infinite worth and amazing creativity of Jesus as the One true Creator, I pointed the students to some images from outer space (see here ). The Word — the One who displays...

“As God, Christ is the destination to which we move; as man, the path by which we go.” - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion , 3.2.1 (via OFI ) SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Journey: our destination + path", url: "http://www.deTheos.com/2008/12/09/journey-our-destination-path/" });

Missional is more than a buzzword (see here for some humor about it, some serious reflection here ). Missional is missionary used as an adverb — an adjective-verb. I believe it aims to connote the what, why and how of being the Church in our culture. (I like the word, although I don’t want to overuse it. Much like "love," we want to be wise with our words, for we should not "love" a hamburger as much as our child. Although, come to think of it, enjoying Burgerville with my son makes us both happy.) (grin) The Scriptures are replete with God’s commands and enablements...

I want to celebrate those who get "it." What’s the "it?" It is the Gospel. It is the lens through which we are to see, and the engine for what should drive us in life. We are far worse than we realize, yet, in Christ, far more loved than we every imagined. God relates to us totally on the basis of His free grace. We cannot earn, should not deceive ourselves into thinking we could or should, and God has designed that we can only relate to Him rightly on the basis of the finished work of His Son. He treated Jesus like He was us, so He could treat us who trust in Christ like...

Yesterday I shared a bit of our story — and realize their are so many gaps I left out. Since this really isn’t about us , but rather about Christ and His worth, those gaps will have to be like the cracks in a clay pot that reveals the excellency and worth of the object inside ( 2 Cor. 4 ). Please look past us and see the beauty of God. Here are the top five lessons I (think I) have learned over this past 50 month journey and beyond. All are interconnected: People are more important that what they do. Personalizing it: I am not what I do . That is, my identity is rooted in...