Category Archives: Spiritual Growth

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The Importance Of Reading The Bible (ESD)

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If you take a look around our society today, you see a level of superficiality that is almost unbelievable. Somehow, over the last few generations, we have turned into a culture that is focused on instant gratification, looks only to ourselves, and refuses to nurture the inner life.

The curse of superficiality is at epidemic proportions in the twenty-first century. The problem lies in the fact that we have lost the ability to be deep people. We are smart. We are connected. We are talented. But we aren’t deep.

If we want to see some incredible change in our lives, we need to be able to look at the inner life and take it deeper than we ever have before. And one of the easiest ways to do this is to spend time in the Bible.

Bible Reading Plans

Tomorrow, we will look at several ways to start this discipline, or deepen in in our lives. But to day, I want to look at some reasons why this is so important.

Here are ten reasons to spend consistent, daily time in your Bible.

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One Word 365 – 2014 Edition

For the past few years, I’ve selected a single word to live by throughout the year. As I’ve described before, this is a word that defines my life for the year, and helps undergird everything I do for the next twelve months.

One Word 365

I’ve settled my focus on several different words over the last few years. For example, in 2011, I chose to focus on the word passion. This word underlined all I did throughout the year. It defined the year. Everything I did, I did with enthusiasm, and passion was pretty visible in most areas of my life.

In 2012, I chose the word commit. One of my biggest struggles in life has been to stick to many of the things I decide to do. Focusing on this word helped me to address that deficiency.

Last year, in 2013, I chose the word intentional. We have a large family, and as a result, we have a lot going on. I realized that I needed to be intentional, especially in my relationships with family and friends, and in my ministry.

Each year, I choose to identify and implement a single word as a part of my life plan. I add this word to the beginning of my plan, and try to use it as a piece of the foundation for every portion of my plan. Some areas are more successful than others.

The past half a year has been a pretty crazy year for my family, and for me, personally. We’ve seen several major changes in our lives, from the birth of our sixth child, to a move to the Midwest from Florida, to a change in ministry role, from youth minister to a lead minister role. I’ve also started a master’s degree program, which requires some time.

Add all of that to the higher priority things, such as family time, personal growth, fun and leisure, and it starts to get pretty hectic.

It’s been obvious to me that I need to slow down, take a deep breath, focus, and wait.

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2014 Bible Reading Plans

One of the most critical disciples we can develop in our lives is consistent, daily Bible reading. I believe strongly that we should take in something from God’s Word on a daily basis. And I believe that the benefits far outweigh the time investment. It’s completely worth it.

Bible Reading Plan Ebook

I’ve written several times in the past about this discipline:

I firmly believe that this is a critical element of our spiritual lives. And it seems to be lacking in a lot of people’s lives. I think, when you experience the many benefits of consistent, daily time spent in God’s Word, you’ll develop a craving for more.

God’s Word truly does change us.

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One Word 2013 In Review

For the past few years, I’ve selected a single word to live by throughout the year. This is a word that defines my life for the year, and helps undergird everything I do for the next twelve months.

One Word 365

The new year is quickly approaching, and a new word is on the horizon. I’m not going to reveal it now; that post will come closer to the end of the year.

I choose to identify and implement a word every year as a part of my life plan. I add this word to the beginning of my plan, and try to use it as a piece of the foundation for every portion of my plan. Some areas are more successful than others.

Right now, I’m examining the past year to see how I lived according to the word that I chose.

For 2013, I chose the word intentional.

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For Freedom…

One of the most personally inspiring passages in the New Testament for me is found in Galatians 5:1:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Fireworks

Such a passage always comes to mind as we celebrate Independence Day in America.

Freedom and liberty have always been cherished concepts in the United States, from the first shots of the American Revolution, to the emancipation of American slaves, and more. Even today, freedom is a banner we can rally under as we protect those oppressed around the world, spreading the chance for liberty to peoples who have been burdened under the yoke of communism, socialism, terrorism and more.

Oppression doesn’t lurk only in such realms though. Our world still sees too much physical slavery, from child labor to child soldiers to the sex slave trade around the world. We kid ourselves to think this doesn’t happen at home as well. It does. I’m thankful for ministries such as Rapha House, who work to expose such slavery and free these people from slavery and fear.

But as Christians, there’s an even deeper layer of meaning than either of these. Paul explains that the worst slavery of all is the slavery of sin. Fortunately, there is a way out of this slavery. Through Christ, our sins are paid for and our bondage is broken. And only Christ can set the sinner free.

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When God Shifts Your Focus

Twenty-three years ago, I started volunteering in a small youth ministry near Ozark Christian College. A couple of years later, I was hired as a weekend youth minister at Park Street Christian Church, my first “official” youth ministry. And from there, I continued to grow in my ministry effectiveness and skills as a youth minister.

Cabool Christian Church

If you had asked me at any point throughout most of my time in youth ministry, I would have told you that youth ministry was all I could ever see myself doing. And for a very long time it was.

However, as I have aged, God has changed my focus gradually. For some time, I’ve been thinking and feeling that my effectiveness as a minister to teens was coming to an end. My passions have been changing from planning events and lessons to writing sermons and articles. My relationships have shifted from hanging out with teens to parents and beyond. God has been shifting my focus into new areas of ministry.

Recently, one of the students from my first youth ministry contacted me, asking me if I knew of anyone interested in a position with the church where he was serving as worship minister in Cabool, Missouri. Since it was a preaching position, I didn’t think twice about it. After all, I’m a student minister, and have been for more than two decades. But after much prayer, and a few more conversations with that former student, my wife and I decided that this might be where God was calling us to go. So, we should check out the possibilities.

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How I Revitalize My Faith

This post was written as an editorial article for the Hernando Today, published on January 3, 2013.  You can see the article here.

 

Writing New Year's Resolutions

With the start of a new year comes a lot of New Year’s resolutions. It’s a fresh start, a time to begin anew in so many different areas of life. It’s the perfect opportunity to review where we’ve been and where we want to go.

One of the areas many people strive to revive is the spiritual life. While there are many ways to bring renewal to this foundational element of life, here are a few that I find especially helpful in my life, and in the life of my family.