Here you can find articles written by everyday Christians, exploring all the ways we may better commune and connect better with the Divine. These pieces come from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives, each aimed at increasing personal growth, dialog, and vital cross-pollinating as we seek building a better Kingdom together.
We in the Church often think in this way— our focus is being in tune. How do I get my biblical doctrine right? How do I ensure I’m doing what’s right? But did you ever wonder if being in tune was the purpose of music? This perspective of being in tune, connected to God first, is important, even necessary, but at the same time, using the same analogy, being in tune is not sufficient for good music.
There are a handful of times in my life where God has surprised and ‘spoken’ to me even more overtly than I’d ever expected. At a time when I was feeling particularly discouraged with the return on my efforts in life, I was grumbling internally (partly to God, but mostly to myself) as I walked the short distance down the street…
“…and to this day I weep at the remembrance of being and feeling seen by God that day."
An encouragement to those Christians trying to build a close relationship with God, from one who has been practicing and refining his relationship with God for many years.
“In my heart, I was craving for a true relationship in which I could see God as a Father and a Friend… With this kind of spiritual pursuit, I have been blessed to be on a pathway to continue developing a really close and intimate relationship with God.”
What wisdom would you give to your old self on following Jesus well?
I say, “The Lord sees you. It feels insufficient, but plant that truth deep in your heart. He sees you, and he’s with you…” and “He will use the mundane to reveal Himself. God will use the mundane to reveal Himself…”
Communing with God face to face isn’t reserved for the “greats” in times past, but that access, that face-to-face friendship is something we all have access to in the present.
Prayer is the one activity that ties together the faculties of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
What does it mean for me, personally, in this current season of my life, given my own particular resources, giftedness, and calling from the Lord, to live in a way that is good, righteous, truthful, and wise, making the most of the opportunities I am specifically called to pursue, so that I am able to “please the Lord”?
…we are overdue for seeking a rediscovery of Jesus’s “easy yoke” when it comes to our understanding of what it looks like to have a more “restful” spiritual and devotional life.
The skill tree is a practice-based initiative based on the beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5. Using these beatitudes, we’ve developed a skill tree for each beatitude that contains tasks and achievements for walking through the spirit of the beatitude with the grace of God.
From the early onset of quarantine when we couldn’t tell the difference between Tuesday and Saturday anymore to the shock of how long our small group has been meeting via Zoom, the way I interpret and measure time has been one of the biggest shifts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
I could try my best to conform to my dad’s ideals and deny my deepest desires, or I could choose the creative life—and perhaps the life God intended for me.
People say that being a pastor is hard, but I would argue that being a pastor’s wife might be even more difficult.
Do we let our worldly measures of what it means to be a Christian get in the way of a posture of daily reliance in God?
Some people joke and call seminary a cemetery, a place where enthusiast followers of Jesus become dull and headstrong. But what if seminary can be a cemetery for something good?
God isn’t looking for perfect people. He’s not looking for saints. He’s not looking for the most righteous people to accomplish his goals. He’s looking for tough people, people like General Butt Naked.
What I found when I joined a Christian organization that believed what I believed in but which I never felt accepted by.
This awkward position is one the human race faced before the coming of Christ, and that’s the inability to live up to a set of rules. For example, let’s say a basketball player is taught all of the rules of basketball, and he simply strives to keep the rules. Now, the player that keeps the rules most diligently is not necessarily the best player.
I used to think if I ever got a tattoo it would be the words “be brave” - in black script and somewhere visible, like my wrist or forearm.
What do you do when there are about one thousand miles between what you know in your head and what you actually feel in your heart?
A few years ago in the late fall or winter, I was sitting in the subway train when a young man came into my train car and broke the public silence…
This interaction largely shaped my view of God. If God held a progress report of my life at the time, it might have read, “Church attendance: A, Relationships: B, Selfless acts: B, Quality of prayer: C.”
Once we recognize our faults, blemishes, and undesirable features, we can seek to understand them and displace the imperfection in our lives.
Belonging. When originally approached about this theme, I had topics in mind, some fun stories, perhaps a joke or two. But as I compose this article, none of these come to mind. All that pervades my consciousness is the loneliness and isolation I have experienced in terms of community.
When my sister was in high school, she volunteered at nursing homes, and as a pesky middle school student I questioned why someone would spend time with people who would likely spend the rest of their lives in the same building before passing away.
I could have been an awesome Pharisee. At least, I could if I were a first-century male Jew.
We have the privilege of enjoying God in our lives, in every ounce of the hobby we may enjoy, and he also gives us the things that we really want. So begin to enjoy God in whatever hobby he has given you.
Looking back, I can clearly see it as one larger theme gifted to my Big Grand Uncle, my family line, and to me by our Creator God. It is larger because God in His grace pointed us to His majestic attributes and design—the invisible beyond the visible of the world. God revealed Himself not only in my youth through creation but to my family in a hunger for the truth of His character.