Stumbling About for Truth

Our small group has been going through a book taking us through some basics of living a life following after God. We have been reminded of the importance of the scriptures and prayer over the last few months and are about to embark on a 4 part tour of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We are also beginning to develop and re-develop scripture memorization using Navpress' Topical Memory System. We just focused on Galatians 2:20 and are focusing on 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Romans 12:1 over the next few weeks. For me, all of this brings back some sweet memories of when I first became a Christian. Especially the memory verses as I memorized the same verses back then. Mostly I remember my new found relationship with Greg and Donna Herrick, who mentored and discipled my wife and I for 4 years. I wouldn't trade those 4 years for anything. Personally, I credit them with giving me a good foundation in following Christ. Had it not been for that foundation, I would have left the ...

I was reading an article over at Christianity Today about the 20-somethings generation being disillusioned with the church. You can read it here . I am no 20 something, but I have been disillusioned lately. So instead of posting a response on their website, I wanted to post here. I have been guilty of throwing the baby out with the bath water. I have written off the church in frustration more times than I care to remember. Each time though, God reminds me that if it's good enough for Him, it should be good enough for me. Of course, then I tell Him it's too messy and people can be so hard to deal with. Funny thing though, I haven't really had that many negative interactions with the church if I am being totally honest. My problem is seeing what others have gone through and thinking to myself, "I am not even going to put myself in that position so I don't have to deal with that pain and anger and frustration." So I throw stones at the church. Calling it irreleva...

I sat in devotion this morning (since I am just now writing this, the actual day was 4-14) listening to Geoff Moore, the talented Christian singer/songwriter talk about the process by which his family convinced him to adopt his daughters from China. From the beginning, he wasn't in the mood to discuss adopting - he wasn't on the same wavelength as his wife or his children. But eventually he came around and they ended up adopting from China. He spoke of the fact that he was glad God pushed him to change his mind through his family, otherwise he would have missed God's best for him. He said if it were left up to him, he would have missed what God wanted him to do. The question here is obvious: How many times have I missed God's best for me? How many times have I shut down any thought of doing something that God was trying to get me to do? It reminds me that I should be open continuously to what God wants me to do - even if I don't want to think about doing something H...

My wife and I just returned from our small group meeting tonight. And I have to say, it was a great time of looking into prayer and our need to be constantly connected to Christ through it. It's our lifeblood. But another thing happened. We took our openness and honesty in our struggles to a new level of trust. We shared our fears and struggles and prayed for one another. We prayed for God's strength and peace amidst the storm and for God to show us what He wants us to do in our given circumstances. I for one am grateful for a group that cares about me and for a group which I can care about and pray for. I believe we are close to God's heart and original intentions on which he established the church when we are intentionally in a community that cares for us, encourages us, exhorts us and never condemns us, but gently challenges us to persevere in living our lives with God's purpose in mind. Thank you Lord for my brothers and sisters in our group. For their willingness t...