Yesterday marks the 15th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. After 15 years, the pain still stings the many families who lost loved ones on that day. The memories still haunt those who survived the attacks, and live with the trauma of the devastation. Memorials and moments of silence permeate the places where many lost their lives. Our nation still feels the weight of the loss of that day. In the midst of the tragedy, America...
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1). This past weekend, I went on a church retreat with Bethel English Church at Oak Glen Christian Conference Center. While I really enjoyed being away from the city, and out in nature, the messages during this retreat were also quite impactful to me. Our speaker talked about...
I have been meditating on the book of Ecclesiastes lately. Tonight as I was driving home late I stopped on the coast to listen to the waves and look at the stars. I murmured to myself: I am free to not make an impact. I am free to not have a legacy. I am free to be unimportant. I am free to be forgotten. I am free to not be amazing in the world’s eyes. Of course,...
Last Friday, I had the awesome opportunity to speak in Biola’s undergraduate chapel about my thesis on shame and how it affects our relationships with God and others. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to share about what I’ve learned about shame and grace, and also my own struggle with shame and depression, and the hope and healing that I’ve found in my life through community. It all came about quite organically and it was...
I want to begin by making it abundantly clear that I love America. I love the unparalleled freedoms & opportunities we’ve been granted. Most of all, I love the ideals that America was based on, but this is a nation that has fallen far from those truths that we used to hold to be self-evident — that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among...
“Your love never fails. It never gives up. It never runs out on me.”* I stood, watching a gym full of hundreds of college students, singing these words of praise and truth. Arms-raised, dancing, clapping, and shouting – I admired their passion. The pulsing drums, the rocking guitars, the melodic keyboard, and the passionate vocals all came together to celebrate God’s relentless love. I joined them in singing these words, and I remembered sitting in...
= Equality = If your facebook newsfeed was anything like mine, pink and red was the dominant color scheme of the beginning of the week. As if Valentine’s Day was having a month late resurgence, signs for equality have flooded the social media and blogospheres in the supreme courts pending ruling on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. As the news coverage and national anticipation increases, activists and advocates draw attention to memories...
Most of the readers of this blog will be familiar with the Law/Gospel distinction that is present in the New Testament. While this distinction grew out of a particular set of controversies involving a particular law code and its relevance to a particular cultural situation (something that we Protestants often forget to our own exegetical detriment), the New Testament also occasionally abstracts what we might call the principles of Law and Gospel as two ways of...
It should go without saying that art is a powerful thing. When it is done well it can easily change the way we see the world, subverting our perspective in a way where other forms of communication would struggle or fail. We are surrounded by well executed art, yet it is an exhilarating rarity to find a piece art that is not only aesthetically exquisite, but also serves as an incarnation of the gospel for...
To the world, homosexuality is more than an orientation; it’s an identity. Being gay is like being black or vegan or republican. It’s part of your persona. Something to accept, embrace and celebrate. Coming out means becoming part of a community—complete with flags, parades and flashy bumper stickers. To the person who experiences same-sex attraction, the world says you’re gay. Now assume your identity. Be who you are. Jesus says there’s another way. See, Christianity...
Recent Comments