Should Christians listen to secular music? This is probably one of the most controversial questions that exists among Christians. But it shouldn’t be. The right way to approach this question is Biblically, not culturally or even personally. The question is not about if you can listen to secular music but rather what should guide and direct your consumption of any type of music. So, can a follower of Jesus listen to music that is distinctly secular? Continue Reading…

In the wake of what happened in Boston this past Monday, our culture in general and people in specific, are again faced with the evident existence of evil. Immediately there are two streams of thoughts that emerge when any catastrophe occurs: Continue Reading…

In light of the recent tragedy that took place in which Pastor Rick Warren’s son took his own life, I have been bombarded by questions about what the Bible says about suicide.

First off, I want to extend my deepest condolences to Pastor Rick Warren and their entire family. I had the privilege of being in a wedding party along with Matt. He was super friendly and was a pleasure to be around with. We pray that the peace of Jesus that surpasses all human understanding would be with the family during this time. Death is not the end.

I also want to bring to light what the Bible says about suicide. As a pastor, my job is to tell you the truth about all things related to life – no matter how tough or unpleasant they may be. Continue Reading…

When Jesus was on the cross, he was surrounded by two thieves. Both were guilty but only one realized it. People who were punished justly were hung next to the One who justifies. The sinless Judge experienced the treatment reserved for the most sinful of transgressors. Continue Reading…

In this life, suffering is inevitable. But it is not insurmountable. Every one of us will suffer in various ways and degrees. It might be a betrayal by a friend. It might be false accusations or slander. It might be physical or emotional abuse. It might be a maligning of your character. If you suffered unjustly, there is no minimizing what happened to you. It was wrong, selfish, cruel. If you feel like you are going through hell, keep going.

Sometimes, Jesus does not redeem us from our suffering, because Jesus wants to redeem us through our suffering. Continue Reading…

I hate death. Ironically though, I cannot wait to die. Why? Because my life is about pursuing Christ and my death will be the finale when I will meet with Christ, face to face. The Bible also teaches us to hate what God hates. So when I say that I hate death, I am just trying to be Biblical.

Continue Reading…

As we head into the New Year, embrace the new and the fresh with this mindset:

God loves us with a reckless kind of love.

A love that humanely speaking, does not make any sense at all.

He sends His beloved Son to earth, to be brutally murdered on a cross. This was done in order that grace would flow freely unto us.

We received grace instead of wrath.

We received eternal life instead of eternal death.

We deserved unending torture. We received unmerited favor.

Embrace grace and be uncomfortably overwhelmed by the comfort of knowing Jesus loves you and desires to make all things new in you, perpetually.

All ungrounded sentimentality and a seeking of spirituality collapses on days like this – because nothing can help or heal the hurting apart from Jesus Christ and His promise that He has overcome this world including devastating tribulations and senseless acts of murder.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” -Jesus (John 16:33)

Trust God in every tragedy. What should surprise us is not the presence of evil but rather that evil does not manifest itself more often.

Click here to read or listen to what I believe is a biblical and balanced commentary to the Connecticut massacre.

Here is an excerpt:

A tragedy like this cannot be answered with superficial and sentimental Christian emotivism, nor with glib dismissals of the enormity and transience of this crime. Such a tragedy calls for the most Gospel-centered Christian thinking, for the substance of biblical theology, and the solace only the full wealth of Christian conviction can provide.

In the face of such horror, we are driven again and again to the cross and resurrection of Christ, knowing that the reconciling power of God in Christ is the only adequate answer to such a depraved and diabolical power.

Last week, about twenty-five of us gathered together for an event aptly named “friendsgiving.” This was an opportunity for some close friends and team-mates in the ministry to gather for an evening of good food, fellowship and a giving of thanks. Before the holiday madness would commence, before the different families would come into town, we wanted to spend this time reflecting on the past year. It was a great setting.

Each person present was able to share with the entire group two things that they were thankful for. It is always a pleasure to hear how uniquely Jesus has been working in and through the hearts of the young people. The answers were diverse but the spirit was similar – it was a spirit of gratitude.

Last year, I wrote this post outlining one hundred things that I am thankful for. It was a fun exercise that challenged me in thinking past the regular platitudes. I read over the list. Chuckled at some things and had some good moments of nostalgia.

The bible teaches us to give thanks always and to give thanks for everything (Eph. 5:20). As I think about this, I cannot help but tether two important themes of the Christian life together: Gratitude and Worship. I am convinced that if you pursue perpetual worship, a spirit of gratitude will never leave your lips. Here is why this is the case:  Continue Reading…

1. You can say a lot of right things but if you say it in the wrong way, the impact you desire will not be made.

2. You cannot win an election if you look like the past and not like the future (again, perception trumps reality here in the ears and eyes of most people – a guilty by association factor is highly indicative of this).

3. When less Americans attend church, there is a shift in voting patterns. (True of this election)

4. Worldview matters and during this election, we saw a seismic shift in the way the US thinks and feels about issues that pertain to the sanctity of life, the sanctity of marriage and the freedom of religious expression.

5. The American mind is secularized and hostile towards biblical morality.

The challenge for the Christian is to be able to translate tightly-held biblical convictions into an understandable worldview that will lead people to Christ.

Of course this is a myth, albeit a popular one. There are more: There is a common myth that I constantly hear among professing Christians. Very often people tend to predict that it is the end of times — and it is literally happening right now.

The reason of course for this bold claim is the following: people are not passionately pursuing Christ, marriages are falling apart, the youth is historically the most rebellious specifically during the present time and the country we live in is becoming increasingly hostile to Christianity. I would say the latter for sure is the case. The reason for why the other three items are occurring is not because of the time period we live. They are happening precisely because the powerful gospel of Jesus Christ has been misunderstood at best or completely neglected at worst. Continue Reading…

We are about a week into the season of lent. This means that we are thirty seven days away from Good Friday and forty days away from Resurrection Sunday. This year more than ever before, I want to immerse myself in the meaning of Jesus’ cross. I still cannot wrap my mind around why Jesus would go to such a length for a sinner like me. There was absolutely nothing good in me that He would need to die for me. And yet He did.

Specifically, what did this pivotal event in history accomplish in my life personally? This is what I want to study deeper and see clearer. I want to trace the path Jesus took that ultimately led him to that old rugged cross. To guide this process, I have been reading this book. I want to share with you today from it. Here are three reasons why Jesus knew he had to die: Continue Reading…

If you have not yet picked up this book, I highly recommend it. The author does a phenomenal job approaching the holiness of God and the mortality of man.

It is often when we read certain parts of Scripture that we become all too accustomed to them. When they are thus explained, we gain a deeper understanding of the God we worship. Here are four reasons why our fear of God guides and directs our life: Continue Reading…

The words we say to the people we interact with have the power to either help or hurt. It is an authority we have with a responsibility we need to recognize. Every single time you engage in a conversation with another person, you are ultimately responsible for the outcome.

Your conversation can either construct and establish a friendship or de-construct a relationship that was already on the rocks. I believe the root of the problem is in the filter we use with every single conversation we have. Here is what this practically looks like: Continue Reading…

Generally speaking, most people have a few set hopes and dreams for their life. Most young people want to get married, start a family, secure a position in society and remain influential, culturally.

Beginning with this basic framework, two streams emerge: One is content with accomplishing basic primal instincts. This first stream conducts life in a relatively civil manner. The other stream is more ambitious and wishes to impact the world in which they reside. Here is the potential disaster that this second group will face: Continue Reading…

Death is a direct consequence of sin. It is a direct result of sin. It is precisely because we as humans chose to rebel against God. Death came in to this world because of our absolute arrogance. We thought and think we know what to do and how to do it. We neglect(ed) a God who created us by positioning ourselves as gods who create constant catastrophes because of us.

The bible teaches us that the wages of sin are death (Rom. 6:23). It does not matter if you are a religious person or a staunch atheist. You will die. The date of your death is impending. It is looming over you. You cannot control it. You cannot do anything about it. It is an event in your life that will come like a thief in the night. You will not expect it. You might not be ready for it. You are surely not anxiously anticipating it. You are for certain not overtly excited about it. But it will happen. Continue Reading…

There are many things that can be barriers to an effective prayer life. One of the primary reasons why your prayers may not be heard by God is because you are living in habitual, unrepentant sin.

Because we were created by a holy God to worship a holy God, He demands that we be holy as well (1 Pet. 1:16). When we commit sin and fail to repent of it, this creates a barrier in our communication with God. I expand upon this in the following video clip: Continue Reading…

There is a specific reason for why we at times can become temporary atheists. This condition occurs when there is a disconnect between our confessional and our functional theology. We openly confess the truth of Scripture but fail to practically live out.

We declare that Jesus is our only Lord but quickly run to other lords when things are not going the way we expected. This condition deteriorates one very important aspect of the Christian life. The one area that gets hit hard when we practice this temporary atheism is our prayer life. I speak specifically about this in the following video clip: Continue Reading…

The Apostle Paul purposefully states that if he would want to get somewhere, it is ultimately God who needs to guide and direct his drive (1 Thess. 3:11).

It is God who can straighten the path, show a more probably path, remove all obstacles (or create them), and provide direction for where we should go and what we should do. Continue Reading…

A profound appreciation or a prolonged love is acquired only after careful contemplation. We only truly understand something after we have studied it, thought about it and reflected on it.

This happens with our salvation. The more we see the density of our depravity, the more satisfying the gospel becomes to us. This happens with our spouses. The more we study them, pursue them, love them and think about them, the more we want to be with them, see them, talk to them and talk about them. This should also happen with the Holy Spirit (HS hereafter). Continue Reading…

Is faith all about results? No. Are results a natural yield of an authentic faith? I would say yes. So, what kind of results does a resolved faith produce?

Today I would like to explore with you what results flow from a resolved faith. Here are three results that are produced by a faith that is resolved in character, resolute in nature and divine in disposition: Continue Reading…

There are usually two camps in Christianity and their approach to the Holy Spirit. One camp places an inordinate emphasis on the Holy Spirit while the other, rarely if ever, even mentions the third person of the Trinity.

Some people go as far as to have their own version of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Bible. How do we reverse this tragic neglect of either the over-emphasized God or the under-appreciated God?  We know about it but do not know what to do with it.  To begin, we first need to understand the unique nature of the Holy Spirit. Continue Reading…

The following material is an excerpt from my first published book entitled Authentic Faith: A Collection.

You can read the whole book online by clicking here. You can buy the book by clicking here.

As human beings, we characteristically crave, cultivate and covet relationships. Some of our relationships are built on a solid foundation; others are strained or limping, always looking for a crutch. Continue Reading…

There is hardly a more scandalous topic that we naturally want to disagree with than the topic of grace. Grace is simply defined as unmerited favor given to us, in spite of us. Because grace is something that has been given to us and not something that was achieved by us, we are ironically positioned to not accept it or live by it.

Grace is a gift to us that did not originate from us. We had absolutely nothing to do with it. It was not our talent, energy, ability, charisma or connections that allowed us to be undeserving recipients of grace. Grace works through you to produce fruit that did not originate from you. Paul says that we are justified by God’s grace which is a gift (Rom. 3:24). He also says that grace is a free gift given to us (Rom. 5:15). We have also been saved by grace through faith. This is clearly not our own doing. This is a gift of God and a gift from God. And this is precisely the reason why we find grace so scandalous. Continue Reading…

This past week, the place I read from the book of Isaiah absolutely blew my mind.  These were life-altering words. It is probably one of the most powerful and potent passages that I have ever come across in the Old Testament. The whole counsel of God is phenomenal and all of Scripture is profitable. This place that I am about to share with you is no exception.

This is a place that with graphic detail and illustrious word pictures, demonstrates to us the God who saves us and the God who sustains us. This is a picture of our God who loves us, pursues us and saves us because His glory must be upheld. This is a God who despite the density of my depravity, continues to love me and demonstrate patience towards me. This is a God who is for me, will protect me and will shepherd me. This is a God who will not give anyone else the glory He most definitely deserves and craves. Continue Reading…

Sin tainted humanity in the garden of Eden (Gen 3:6-7). Sin was conquered on behalf of humanity in the garden of Gethsemane (Lk. 22:39-46).

The epic conquest for the lives of human beings did not begin at Golgotha but in Gethsemane. It is in this garden, the bloody battle for our life was begun and completed by our sinless Savior, Jesus Christ. Continue Reading…

Часто мы слушаем Слово от Бога и Слово Бога так как оно не является тем самым сообщением которое имеет силу поменять нашу жизнь. Мы много знаем о Слове, говорим Слово, цитируем Слово, слышим Слово, но часто пренебрегаем Словом и не принимаем Слово как следует.

Нам нужно поменять нашу позицию относительно того как мы принимаем Слово. Перед тем как мы можем принимать это Слово за то что оно именно есть (Слово от Бога) нам нужно понять почему и как оно имеет сверхъестественную силу. Нет лучше источника узнать что такое Слово Бога чем само Слово Бога которое записано в Библии Continue Reading…

We often think that God is all about us. That God’s mission revolves around us. We look at the world surrounding us and then we look at ourselves.

photo credit: Peter Shpak 

We then use our cultural lens to conclude from that position specifically what God is all about. And here is the answer we come up with: Continue Reading…