|
|
Blog
For Better or For Worse
Oct 13, 2008 Marriage is hard work. Don’t let anyone deceive you into thinking that marriage is all about feelings, romance, and endless smiles. While a relationship often begins with such superficial components, marriage is much deeper. Marriage is a covenant.
Why is God Faithful?
Oct 8, 2008 Am I the only person who finds it remarkable that God is faithful? I mean, from a God-is-perfect-holy-and-cannot-be-anything-other-than-true perspective, I get it. But from a human point of view it just doesn’t make sense. Why would God be faithful to people who have proven throughout all of history their incapacity at reciprocating such faithfulness? We have such short attention spans and the attribute of faithfulness is certainly not one that is hardwired into us at birth. We drift… a lot.
Be Narrow-Minded
Oct 1, 2008 I realize from the onset that the title to this article might not be popular in our modern society. (But that's OK. After all, God says I'm an alien.) Listen to any radio broadcast or watch any television news show and the message becomes pretty clear: open your mind and broaden your acceptance of anything and everything around you. And while it seems such a principle might bring the desired effect of increased joy and happiness by embracing all ideas equally, the true net effect of such indiscriminate acceptance is one of foolish pride and pitiful emptiness.
By Faith
Sep 19, 2008 How might your life be different if you lived each moment conscious of your true citizenship? If you are a believer in Jesus, you are not home. Not even close. In fact, the Bible repeatedly refers to God's children as aliens, strangers, ambassadors, living in temporary tents, and groaning with creation for our true home. But do you live right now with such an eternal mindset, a perspective that goes beyond urgent, material needs and desires? It's a convicting question, isn't it?
More Connections, but Less Connected
Sep 4, 2008 Which of the following tech gadgets is your favorite?
My personal favorite is 'anything wireless' as I have three children under the age of eight in my house. Wires and children do not go together. But that's not the point of this article, so I will move on.
Don't Panic
Aug 30, 2008 Ok, so the title isn't original. In fact, I stole it from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. But I like it and I think we might just be able to glean some real life wisdom from it (for those of us scurrying around on this blue ball called Earth). Life is filled with transitional moments. Think about it. From the time you get up in the morning until you put your head back on the pillow at night, your life and mine is all about transitions. Most of them seem small and insignificant, like moving from your house to your car to the highway to your office and back again. These don't seem like transitions that could cause your heart to stop or your palms to get sweaty. Regardless, life is still about transitions, external and internal.
Why is Grace So Hard to Embrace?
Jul 28, 2008 grace, n. The freely given, unmerited favor and love of God. There is no other doctrine, I believe, that is simultaneously the most difficult to understand and yet the easiest to receive than that of grace. Denominations are split over it, pastors argue about it, cultures ignore it, and only a few ever embrace it. Why is this one little word, this small, yet overwhelmingly powerful concept, so difficult to embrace?
What's a Wretch to Do?
Jun 19, 2008 I know a counselor who recently approached a local church to ask if they would host a conference to help homosexuals learn about God's best regarding their sexuality. The pastor of the church simply stated he wasn't interested. This, unfortunately, is not uncommon. There is such a fear among many well-meaning, evangelical churches of how their church fellowship will appear to others. In many ways, it is politics as usual in the church.
Fatherhood: An Investment that Lasts
Jun 13, 2008 My father died in 1992. I face every Father's Day with mixed emotions. I am sad he is gone, I miss him so much. But I also love the memories, I love this time of year where I can reflect on the things my dad taught me, the investment he made in my future.
Why We Like Superheroes
Jun 11, 2008 My son, Ethan, loves superheroes! His favorites include Superman, Spider-Man, and Aqua Man. Bending the laws of physics is a regular habit of these superheroes. They fly, shoot spider web silk out of their hands, and all other sorts of things "regular" human beings can't do. For little boys (and even us "big" boys) there is an attraction and even envy of these larger than life superheroes. Why is that?
The Fear of Failure
Jun 4, 2008 I think that the fear of failure is one of the biggies for men. I mean, even the word, fail-ure slides downhill, like your heading for something bad. We don’t read the instructions, we won’t ask for directions, we don’t dare ask for help to fix the garbage disposal. What is it about men and failure?
When You Don't Look Up
Jun 4, 2008 My wife and I were recently hiking a nature trail through the hill country (that's in Texas, by the way) when an interesting insight struck me. We were on a getaway (that means no kids!) and so we were just talking and enjoying the beautiful scenery along the trail. About halfway through our hike we decided it would be fun to search for some rocks to bring home to the kids. Each of our three children have started a rock collection. This particular hiking trail was near a river, so there were lots of rocks to choose from. From that point on we were intently focused on the ground right in front of us, searching for the perfect rocks for the kids.
Desiring to Be Nothing
May 30, 2008 God has been tearing down a few more walls in my life lately. It's funny (sad, really) how I can think I have come so far on my journey only to look up and realize I haven't moved an inch on the timeline of eternity. One of the walls God seems to be keenly focused on right now is pride (probably one He will be chipping away at for some time). I have come to the sober realization that I have not fully embraced my insignificance. God really doesn't need me. I don't add anything to Him that would complete Him or enhance His essence in any way. Sadly, I often think God couldn't do "purity ministry" without me. He is breaking me of the lie.
The Beauty of Brokenness
May 28, 2008 Brokenness is not a condition we usually desire. We typically associate brokenness with weakness, being incomplete, or something is out of order. We don't strive to be broken. We don't pursue brokenness like we would wealth or fame or love. Yet, we are all broken. We are all weak, imperfect and in need, regardless of economic position or social status. Brokenness is the common denominator in all of humanity. We all come up short of perfection or wholeness. But no one seems to admit their brokenness. This is truly sad because I see such beauty in our brokenness.
Why Are We Not Ashamed?
May 5, 2008 Is there such a thing as healthy shame? I spend a lot of time in our ministry helping people overcome the negative effects of shame, the kind of self-loathing thinking that causes a person to believe that he or she is worthless. This kind of shame eats away at the core of a person's identity, stealing away the truth that God made man in His own image. A person can thus begin to believe that God made a mistake when He made them, and they therefore live their lives in a state of depression and despair. This is obviously unhealthy shame. But is all shame the same? Is all shame wrong or negative or unhelpful? |
|
© 2006-2010 Be Broken Ministries and its licensors. All rights reserved. If you have any technical trouble with the site, please contact webmanager@bebroken.com. Powered by the Big Medium content management system. sitemap xml |
