Spiritual Growth

  Recently, while I was reflecting on the events of the past year and my current situation in life, I kept thinking of the Scripture which tells us that God does not withhold any good from those that walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11). Having lost my jo …

I have an agnostic friend named Ben who regularly peppers me with politely antagonistic questions about my faith. For example, the other day, he asked me whether I really believed what the Bible said about Jesus’ life. “Shoot straight with me, Joshua,” …

  Remember the wonder of Christmas when you were a kid? If we’re honest, adult Christmases usually bring some pangs of sadness and loss when we realize that this fallen world has stolen the childlike freshness with which we approach the season. Bu …

This past weekend, we celebrated my son’s third birthday. (Wow, that happened fast.) He’s still young enough that he didn’t quite know what was going on with the whole party in his honor thing and the presents. It was fun to watch him meticulously peel …

  Back at the beginning of November, I wrote about how my pastor had told a story about being thankful in the midst of difficult times (“Changed by Thankfulness”). I was struck by his illustration, and I decided to let it shape a spiritual discipl …

  After describing the frustration I used to feel over Christian community and how it wasn’t happening for me, I got rolling on the real help I found in Acts 2 for growing community in my life.  I couldn’t stop. In addition to the five ideas I sha …