Victory
I gasped for air and charged around a curve on a dirt path deep in the woods. To my shock, my cross-country coach was th...
Following Jesus
64 studies
Sewage Smells
Every conversation at a national ministry conference in Washington, D.C. felt like it followed an unwritten script. "Hi,...
Quintuple Honor
A new church initiative led a friend to quit his job, sell his belongings, and move overseas for missionary service. But...
Stars
In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis, the Narnians arrive at an island at the edge of the world, where they m...
Already
In high school, my Bible study leader did a verse-by-verse study on Ephesians. By the end of it, I was convinced that pr...
Out of Line
Christianity Today tells the story of a pastor who drives two members of his church to work every day. They're legal imm...
A Rigged Game
Elisabeth Scott Stam, February 22, 1906 / "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21. It's a short...
Follow Me
After I finished my D.Min. at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, I had to reckon with what my Major Project had conclu...
The Last Fishing Trip
In February 1941, during the German bombing of London in World War II, James Welch of the British Broadcasting Corporati...
The Empty Seat
In seminary, I spent fifteen minutes a day memorizing Scripture. It seemed like the kind of thing a future pastor should...
Not A Bumper Sticker
I was talking with a friend who told me he keeps praying, "God, what do you want me to do with my life?" He said, "I'm s...
The Wrong Parade
As I walked through Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham, I looked up and saw The Foot Soldier. Ronald McDowell's statue show...
Daring Thomas
When one of my friends died, his wife prayed for three days that God would raise him from the dead. She reasoned that Je...
Prayers That Bounce
At Thanksgiving, we gathered in the kitchen, joined hands, bowed our heads, and prayed. But I wondered, "What's the poin...
Not the Messiah They Ordered
You've repeatedly asked God the same question, hoping for a different answer. You've journaled about it, asked three fri...
Divisive Love
"I appreciate what you're doing, but I can't get involved. I hope you understand." I did understand. Our family had t...
The Unlikely Disciple
The discolored, funky-smelling jerseys made middle school P.E. bad enough. But the worst part was when teams were picked...
Outsmarted
"How do you know my name?" my professor asked. As a young philosopher, I wanted an impressive answer. What is the eviden...
Reflect: Plans for Jesus
Come and Drink
I went to the morning prayer meeting because I was running on empty. The grind of planning our annual summer conference...
Going to Jesus
We were sitting at Flour in Boston because I couldn't resist their croissants. As I caught up with an old friend, I a...
The Invisible Jesus
When a large foundation announced they planned to spend a billion dollars on advertisements about Jesus, I felt conflict...
Nowhere Else To Go
I showed up at the building to collect my items and say goodbye, but a security guard met me outside the front door with...
Reflect: Jesus on His Own Terms
The Offensive Jesus
Before he said a word, his tousled hair and bemused smile identified him as a skeptical Harvard student. "So, what's thi...
When the Bible Becomes a Battleground
I spent years arguing about whether God chose me or I chose God. Scholars on both sides warned me that the other positio...
DoorDash Jesus
For ten years after college, I worked as a campus minister. So, my income depended on the sacrificial giving of others....
The Incomprehensible Jesus
A few years ago, I was questioning again whether I still believed in God. To give God a fair chance, I decided to study...
The King Who Ran Away
"Thank you Heavenly Father...to allow us to send a message to all the tyrants, the communists, and the globalists that t...
Angered By Grace
In the spring of 2009, a student I discipled, whom I'll call Rob, went on a missions trip to Honduras. Unfortunately, on...
A Beautiful Waste
When I graduated from Rhodes College, all of my friends were getting traditional jobs that came with salaries, benefits,...
Defending Your Faith Without A Philosophy Degree
After I came to faith, my family and friends often asked me difficult questions. The big discussions in my teenage years...
The Water That Doesn't Run Out
We were expecting a fabulous meal at the ski lodge's steakhouse. High ceilings, mahogany leather chairs, elegantly dress...
Reflect: Living Water
When God Already Knows
"How's your week been?" I asked him. He started talking about the stress of his studies. It was safe terrain, and I knew...
The Friend Who Brought You
Sitting in the library at the University of Aberdeen, I argued with an atheist for seven hours. By the end of the day, I...
Why Spiritual Growth Feels So Slow
After I got married, I realized that I was not nearly as spiritually mature as I had believed. One night, I paced around...
Where Are You Looking?
"Why were your headquarters so nice?" asked my friend. I was puzzled. "What do you mean?" I thought to myself. "The mini...
The Same Fire
I drive by the old RZIM headquarters at least once a week. Every time, I reactively grip my steering wheel tighter, look...
Screen Door
“You want to be like a cat on a screen door.” I looked blankly at my mentor. I tried to imagine a cat hanging for its...
I Had To Tell You
I had just asked him to tell me the story of his commitment to Jesus. He answered by telling me about a long chain of di...
The Wobbly Table
Fifteen years ago, a freshman and I met every week at a hip coffee shop in Boston for a Bible study. We sat at a tiny ro...
Imitate Me
Chuck Johnston, my high school Bible study leader, taught me the book of James. I don't remember anything he said. But...
What Goes Down Must Come Up
“One of the girls in our small group came to me after maybe a year or so of listening to people and she was like, ‘I fee...
Kneeling
"I'm your pastor. Tell me." I looked down at my burger, then out the window of Huey's, looking down Madison Avenue in...
Unusual Motivations
"I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share...
And
In the fall of 2003, I was sitting in a chair outside Emory's dining hall by myself. But suddenly, I felt surrounded by...
Written
In Barracks 28 of the Ravensbrück concentration camp, Betsie ten Boom coughed on a bed stuffed with fleas and lice. Corr...
A Strange Glory
I grew up with the idea that I needed to believe in Jesus to go to heaven. Even in seminary, three semesters of syste...
Better Without Jesus
It was a dream trip: to walk where Jesus walked in the Holy Land. When our tour group arrived at the Jordan River, a few...
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