August 14, 2016. “And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34) This past week at a bible study that the guys do on Thursday morning, my friend Jacob said something…
Tag: hard
Patience may be a virtue after all.
November 8, 2014. One of the things that I have actually been advised not to pray for is more patience. Why? Well, I think the mantra “be careful what you wish for” is fitting here. When we ask for more patience, we can be quite sure that God will grant our request (as it is…
The Christian Virtues, Part 1: Faith and Diligence.
October 5, 2014. Over the past few months something has been on my mind that has troubled me. We are called to live a holy life, consecrated for the Lord, yet this calling seems to be virtually impossible. We can beg and plead with God to lead us out of temptation, but then we turn…
Is it fair?
July 11, 2014. Today I want to talk a little bit about fairness. We all have an almost innate sense of fair. Actually, I would call it innate, or what C.S. Lewis would call moral law. If we take an honestly look at a situation, we understand what treating someone with fairness means, at least…
Three types of forgiveness.
June 21, 2014. “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18) Amen. Let’s take a little bit of time to explore forgiveness. It is a topic that is…
Commitment to Christ.
June 17, 2014. “And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if…
Repentance and baptism.
June 16, 2014. I received word this morning that one of the boys we were studying with in Nicaragua decided to get baptized into Christ! His good friend, who was studying with us too, is also considering making the decision to follow Christ. This was wonderful news. It’s great to actually see the fruit of…
Obedience over sacrifice.
June 4, 2014. Tonight was the last night of the campaign (aka gospel meeting) that we had here in Nicaragua and it has been really good. There has been a story that has come up two nights in a row, so I thought I would talk about it tonight. It’s a good story that we…
The cost of discipleship.
May 21, 2014. Today it rained. Such a simple sentence, but what an impact it had on our mindset. We had just finished teaching English at the academy and we got back to the church went it decided to downpour. It was honestly the happiest I have been all trip. I was ecstatic. After we…
Are we Christians?
May 11, 2014. Today we ask a hard question. It’s a question that I don’t like to ask, but one that I believe is necessary. Before we continue on, just know that today’s post is not for the casual reader who does not like conflict or questions that challenge his or her faith. If this…
A new way.
May 2, 2014. If you have chosen the path of Christianity, you have faith that Jesus Christ is the son of God and have been baptized into him, do you ever feel like you are being pulled back into your former life? Do you ever fall back into the sins that you committed before you…
Discipline.
April 26, 2014. The Christian walk is hard. I don’t think we should sugar coat it. The truth of the matter is, the flesh makes constant war against the spirit. This war can be taxing and may even seem hopeless at times. I think we have all been at the place where it felt like…
Twenty Eight Eighteen 