Simple Devotional: Bible Verses on Love

This post simply contains a selection of Bible verses on love. Read them. Pray through them. Experience them only in and through Christ. Share the verses with your spouse. Live the verses with your family and church.

Pray that the Holy Spirit reveal truth to you from these scriptures and they will manifest daily in your life as you submit to and pursue Christ. Christ is the only way to the Father. ‘

Read through this a few times over the weekend…

Be thankful.

Pursue and serve your spouse. [...]

Prayer Response to James 2:14-26 (Faith Without Works is Dead)

Tonight in my quiet time I read through James 2. In my journal, I wrote the following simple prayer, specifically as a response to James 2: 14-26, where James makes strong declarations on the reality of Faith and Works in a reborn Christian’s life .

My Prayer: Dear God, I offer you [...]

Movie Review: Soul Surfer – The Touching Story of the One-Armed Surfer (Yes, a Shark Attack is Involved & No, She Doesn’t Swim in Circles)

Last weekend my wife and I saw Soul Surfer as a “date lunch” (movies before 12pm at our local AMC are only 6$!). You would think “one armed surfer” and “shark attack” would entice curiosity and interest in any man. Even though the movie has a few highly recognizable stars in it (AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid, Carrie Underwood, Lorraine Nicholson), I really did not want to see it. The movie trailer and TONS of original video footage / interviews are at the bottom of this post.

My wife spent a couple years of her life in Maui, where she was a beautiful beach bum and surfer, so naturally she wanted to see this movie. I had no expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised. It is definitely neat to write this “Christian movie review” about  “wholesome entertainment” following my last post: Devotional: 6 Words that Change Your Choices & Show You Christ (from James 1:27).

Soul Surfer turned out to be one of the best movies I’ve seen in a LONG time. [...]

Devotional: 6 Words that Change Your Choices & Show You Christ (from James 1:27)

The title of this blog is actually kind of silly… there are well over 750,000 words in the Bible. Every one is important because each has been intentionally placed by and delivered from the Creator of the Universe as a gift to humanity.

One of the most amazing aspects of the Good Book is how you can read something many times and never catch anything “big”. It is also incredible how a few seemingly insignificant words embody and suggest so much about both our struggle with the flesh and our relationships with the world, others, and Christ.

Earlier this week I read through James. The close of Chapter 1 has six simple words that have been resounding in my mind and heart all week like low and overwhelmingly powerful hum of a gong in a symphonic performance. Who knows how many times I have read this and never thought twice about it. [...]

Challenge & Cultivate Your Prayer Life: Intercession Exercise (For Your Marriage or Small Group Bible Study)

Many people struggle praying at all for any period of time, much less out loud or with a group. Many people have a variety of struggles with prayer. In our small group / bible study this week, we went through a very engaging intercession exercise.

While the exercise below was used during and in our married couple small group, going through it with your spouse would be wonderful. This exercise led our group in about 2 hours of communal prayer.

Prayer outside our contexts, cultures, and comforts creates an opportunity to move and focus our hearts on Christ in unique ways. Prayer for our local communities and world opens our minds to opportunities to “go and do”.

The Great Commission calls us to actively share our faith and the Gospel with people. The message of the Gospel is amazing, overwhelming, and somewhat offensive to many. Often, people are turned off by the reality of the messages of “sin” and repentance. Although we never need to apologize for Truth, these conversations can be uncomfortable, invite persecution, and cause conflict.

How will we ever be able to share our faith if we can’t even exercise spiritual disciplines in our comfortably safe churches and/or Bible studies?!?While praying aloud, praying on your knees, raising your hands, etc does not earn any kind of gold stars, you should definitely challenge your comfort against the realities of Christ and the Saints’ prayer lives in the Bible. [...]