Simply Gospel

May my steps be worship. May my thoughts be praise.

  • 10 Surefire Ways to Make Your Kids Hate Family Devotions

    10 Surefire Ways to Make Your Kids Hate Family Devotions Family devotions are a good thing. They can be a means of grace to your entire family, but often we turn them into an idol. We get some idea in our head about how devotions are supposed to look, and we won’t budge an inch from getting that picture exactly right. As for our family, we don’t have scheduled devotions, but we try to find opportunities to work devotions into our daily activities. Continue reading

  • Going Toward God, Come Whatever May

    Going Toward God, Come Whatever May The spiritual life is not principally about the avoidance of difficulty. It’s about going toward God, despite the difficulties that obstruct us. For now, our greatest prayer is not for peace, but for progress toward the Promised Land. The peace will come in due season. This was John Bradford’s thought when he prayed, “Life is a pilgrimage. I came from the Lord and I will return to the Lord. I may pass through dangerous places. O Christ, be my guide.” Continue reading

  • Proclaiming Jesus’ Death

    Proclaiming Jesus’ Death When we come together to eat the bread and drink the cup, let’s proclaim to the world the wondrous news: He has risen! Continue reading

  • An American at Heart

    An American at Heart Background to the previous link: The same people that loved me and accepted me would also often say very ugly things about “illegals.” The life of an undocumented believer is one of a heavy heart. I passionately hated having to lie and living a double life. Fear and shame plagued me, and I lived an isolated life because of it. Continue reading

  • The Bleeding Woman: A Meditation on Mark 5:25-34

    The Bleeding Woman: A Meditation on Mark 5:25-34 Like the bleeding woman in the book of Mark, my immigration condition is something I cannot fix. Like the bleeding woman, I have seen professionals and sought help to adjust my status – but to no avail. Like the bleeding woman, I have felt the ostracizing effects of my condition. And like the bleeding woman, my heart is reaching out to the edge of Jesus’ garment, or in this case to His church. Continue reading

  • 3 Things Christians Should Stop Doing on Social Media

    3 Things Christians Should Stop Doing on Social Media Maturity plays a big role in using social media. So if you claim to be a Christian, then please keep your drama, arguments, and bickering to yourself. The last thing someone wants to see a Christian do is argue behind the safety of a computer screen. It’s not worth your time, nor does anyone else want to see it. Continue reading

  • Our world doesn…

    Our world doesn’t need more critics; it needs more servants. – Chris Tomlin (on Facebook) Continue reading

  • “Liberal” Is Not a Bad Word

    What do you think about when you hear the word liberal? I was raised to equate the word with all sorts of negative qualities, and I imagine many of you were too. It was a word that denoted an enemy of truth: “His views are too liberal.” It was a word to discredit political enemies: “Don’t vote for that liberal candidate.” It was a word to identify those congregations: “We can’t visit there. That’s a liberal church of Christ.” When we use the word liberal, we create all sorts of negative imagery fostered by the past twenty or so years of political culture wars.… Continue reading

  • Do Not Grieve; This Is a Holy Day

    Do Not Grieve; This Is a Holy Day Granted, there were times when God’s people were to “afflict their souls,” especially on the Day of Atonement. But that’s not a permanent condition nor a common element of worship. The joy of the Lord is your strength! Continue reading

  • The Slippery Slope of Grace

    xkcd has been one of my favorite webcomics for a long time, and today’s entry is absolutely fantastic. Sure, taking a few seconds to be respectful toward someone about something they care about doesn’t sound hard. But if you talk to hundreds of people every day and they all start expecting that same consideration, it could potentially add up to MINUTES wasted. And for WHAT? What would happen if you took time to care about the people around you? What would result from actually showing kindness and concern for your bank teller, your waitress, your cashier, your plumber, or a… Continue reading

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