Category: personal
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Good Friday – Isaiah 53
Isaiah 53 53:1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? [1] And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty…
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Adoption and Redemption
Reflecting on Ephesians 1:1-14 the other day, God struck me with a profound truth about the very nature of salvation: In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption…
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Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! I pray that the simple, yet miraculous truth that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” rests profoundly on you during these few weeks!
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2009 Top Posts – Ethereal Thought Train
I’ve pretty much let Ethereal Thought Train go stale in the last two months, but I figured to close out 2009 I’d throw out your favorite posts of the year. Without further adieu, here they are: The 5 Big Issues in Campus Ministry | Missiology 1 Summary of College Ministry | Gentrified Discipleship and Ministry…
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Giving Thanks
I’m sitting in the passenger seat on my way to the inlaws’ family thanksgiving and dwelling on this great American holiday, so I figured I’d jot down some thoughts. In no particular order: Most of the country is taking the weekend off to celebrate WHAT they are thankful for. What an incredible opportunity to show…
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Lessons from a Razor
As many of you know, I was in a South Asian country with two other pastors from The Austin Stone, and we had an unfortunate incident with some youth. My friend who was attacked has written his reflections, and I highly encourage you to read them. Here is a short snippet: Unexpectedly, one of these…
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Home on the Range
After flying ~15,000 miles in the past 6 days, and sleeping for ~16 hours over that span, I’m officially home with my family. I am grateful to God for the time I was able to spend with new friends, thankful for the power of Jesus to keep me and my team safe, and dependent on…
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A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Psalm 59:16-17 16 But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. 17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress,…
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Lessons Learned in Fatherhood
We’ve had a pretty rough week in our house this week, most notably because our oldest son came down with croup. The first night, we slept in shifts as our son continued to wake up terrified and having difficulty breathing. After a trip to the doctor, we thought we had the problem solved with a…
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Benefit for Missionaries to Sudan
Local Austinites – please consider supporting my friends Jonathan and Lauren Ramirez as they pursue God’s call to work with the Didinga people in Sudan! Ramirez Sudan Benefit Night @ Dominican Joe Friday, September 11th, 2009, 7:00 – 11:00PM Music Performances by: Aaron Ivey and Aaron Peace — Armed with wide eyes and a desire…
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Sunday is for Questions
I was hoping to have some time to write down some thoughts today, but between morning services with the family and preparation for an evening class, I’m tapped out. I figured a good quick post would be to ask for some dialog from you, my faithful readers: What questions would you like me to address…
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So Many Thoughts, So Little Time
Where does time go? I had great ambitions for developing my thoughts on leadership, continuing a series of posts on college ministry strategy, and writing thoughts on adoption, but I just can’t carve out the time to write. Part of it is feeling like I don’t have enough time to sit down and craft what…