📖 We follow Jesus because he is true

My New Ephesians Devotional Study Is Here!

Today I released a brand-new 5-week devotional study through the book of Ephesians. This 27-day study walks you through the entire book, helping you better understand God's Word and apply it to your everyday life. If you enjoy this newsletter, you’ll enjoy this brand new study.

To celebrate the launch, you can get it for just $6.99 through Monday, November 2, before the price increases to $9.99.

I. We don’t follow Jesus because doing so “works.” We follow Jesus because he is true.

There are many blessings that come with believing the gospel and submitting your life to Christ, but there are also difficulties that come with following him in this life.

Jesus says we must deny ourselves and take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23). In addition, we read things like this in Philippians 1:29:

“For it has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him…”

The great news is that any suffering, hardship, or difficulties we face for following Jesus and standing firm on his Word are worth it. As Paul writes in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.”

But that doesn’t mean hardship, persecution, and difficulty won’t come. If you don't understand that, you can easily walk away from the Lord when things get hard, assuming that if he really loved you, he would make everything better according to how we define “better.”

Following Jesus is not something we do because doing so “works.” We follow Jesus because he is true.

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II. Parents, you should talk to your kids about sex earlier than you think you should because they will hear about it from friends and screens earlier than you think they will. And it is better for them to feel comfortable coming to you with questions rather than turning to their friends or the internet.

Believing parents are called to train up their children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6) and bring their children up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

Want a biblically helpful resource for having age-appropriate conversations? God’s Design for Sex by Jones, Jones, and Nystrom is a great four-book series to walk through with your kids as they age, and one we have used personally in our home.

Sex and sexuality are neither weird nor taboo in the Scriptures, and they should not be weird or taboo for us to talk about with our kids.

What a gift to your children for them to know that Mom and Dad want to help them navigate such a big topic and that they can feel comfortable coming to you with important and confusing questions.

And training children up in the Lord is intentional. Meaning, parents don’t wait, but lead the way in conversations like these.

Timothy Keller on the assurance of our salvation in Christ:

“It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you. Strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch.”

No one can argue with a changed life.

You don’t have to have bible verses memorized and intellectual arguments crystallized in your mind to make a difference in the Kingdom of God.

Numerous times in the Gospels, we see the message of Jesus spread simply by people going and telling how Jesus has changed them.

You can make a difference in the Kingdom of God, simply by telling your story.

The Surprising Genius of Jesus by Peter J. Williams

When we think about Jesus, a lot of descriptive words come to mind. Interestingly, "genius" is not one of them for most of us.

This short book seeks to correct this. The author primarily uses the story typically referred to as the Prodigal Son, which he prefers to call "The Two Sons," found in Luke 15:11–32.

Using this parable, we see how Jesus not only knows his Bible, but ingeniously references a number of biblical stories within this short story.

The book also briefly hits on a number of other parables that do the same. Williams uses these examples not only to demonstrate Jesus’ genius, but also to show why the stories attributed to him in the Gospels make the most sense if they actually originated with him.

If you have not read much on how interconnected the Scriptures actually are, you'll likely be quite amazed at all that Jesus is doing in his stories. Even if you have some experience studying the connectivity of the Bible, you'll still leave grateful and amazed at the genius of our Lord.

It's a short book (roughly 110 pages), but a very enjoyable read.

8/10

Should Christians attend same-sex weddings? 🏳️‍🌈

I share some thoughts and show that biblical wisdom offers clear answers.

Click here to read whether Christians should attend same-sex weddings.

P.S. Imagine being one of Santa’s elves these days…