Simply Gospel

How Competition Made Me Less Successful Our world needs people who compete less and encourage more. It desires us to be liberal with our encouragement and quick to celebrate the accomplishments of others. Look for talented people and invest into their success. Avoid speaking negatively of others. Continue reading

The MLK Memorial I had gone to Washington when I was a boy, so there were several new memorials that I hadn’t seen before. One of them was the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. While the statue there is impressive, what really impressed me were some of the quotes that surrounded it. These were some of my favorites… Continue reading

Thinking You’re Naked Who told you that you were not enough? Who told you that I didn’t love you? Who told you that there was something outside of me you needed? Who told you that you were ugly? Who told you that your dream was foolish? Who told you that you would never have a child? Continue reading

I Hope We Never Become a ‘Christian Nation’ Again Institutionalized Christianity — churches, schools, corporations, organizations — may be on the decline, but the ideals of Christ are certainly not, and there’s a revolution occurring that puts the emphasis back on following Christ’s example of service, sacrifice, and love, contrary to spreading “Christianity” through political power, social control, and corporate influence. In reality, we’ve never been a Christian nation, but maybe we’ll become a Jesus-follower nation — and not in a way where our faith is co-opted by the agenda of others. Continue reading

Insisting Jesus Was White Is Bad History and Bad Theology The myth of a white Jesus is one with deep roots throughout Christian history. As early as the Middle Ages and particularly during the Renaissance, popular Western artists depicted Jesus as a white man, often with blue eyes and blondish hair. Perhaps fueled by some Biblical verses correlating lightness with purity and righteousness and darkness with sin and evil, these images sought to craft a sterile Son of God. The only problem was that the representations were historically inaccurate. Continue reading

Where Does True Love Come From Love is birthed in a heart that is free from guilt and that enjoys pure motivations. Paul recognized fully his own sinfulness, but he ministered with a good conscience because he had met the wrath-overcoming, mercy-displaying, joy-bringing Christ. As he says in 1 Timothy 1:14, “The grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” Jesus alone can clear the conscience of a sinner and enable right motivation, and therefore Jesus is the ultimate source for the life of love. Continue reading

Because He First Served Us Our good works, which flow from our faith, are not for God. They are for our neighbor. As Martin Luther preached, “By faith we receive blessings from above, from God; through love we give them out below, to our neighbor.” In other words, works no longer dominate us; rather, we have dominion over them, as God intended. We have been freed from the curse of the law, and we are liberated to a life of good works. We have been given a new desire to love our neighbor (whoever they are), a desire that comes not… Continue reading