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Always wear Packers gear when you know you'll be standing on top of a mountain.  In part 1 of this 2 part blogstravaganza we looked at the depth of our need for a Savior. We saw that because of our sin, we find ourselves separated from the holy God and we are helpless to save ourselves by works of the law. The greatness of the gospel of God's grace to sinners is that while we are sinners, He redeems us and reconciles us to Himself through the blood of Jesus.  This post will look at 2 more reasons why we should preach ourselves the gospel every day.  2) The gospel magnifies God's grace in provision by bringing us in awe to the foot of the cross. We have rebelled and ruined our relationship with God on account of our sin. We cannot obey the law or any other religious practices to purify ourselves in order that we may draw near to the holy God. It doesn't work! But that isn't the end of our story! God takes us from hopeless sinners to hopeful sons! Fo...

Allison and I spent our honeymoon in Banff, Alberta, Canada.  We primarily stayed in Canmore, Alberta which is in the middle of the Canadian Rockies. Mountains! On the first night of our honeymoon, we landed in Calgary International Airport and picked up our rental car to drive the hour to our resort reservation. The entire drive was under the guise of darkness. Even as we neared Canmore, Allison could make out mountains in the shadows. It was so dark we could barely see the silhouettes of the mountains pressed against the blackness of the night sky. "It's mountains," she said. Being unable to see them fully I was somewhat skeptical because it would mean that we were surrounded by so many mountains! We pulled into our resort, which we had purchased as through HomeAway.com. It was about midnight and after a wedding and a day of travel, we were ready to hit the pillow. "I cannot give you the code, because I do not have it." As the receptionist said this...

What makes human beings exceptional? I recently read an article on The Economist  about what makes human beings exceptional. The article is about an American anthropologist, Agustín Fuentes, who has recently written a book called, " The Creative Spark: How Imagination Made Humans Exceptional." The article states, "In “ The Creative Spark ”, Agustín Fuentes, an anthropologist at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, argues that it is the power of imagination, more than anything, that has made humans unique among the planet’s beasts." (Economist.com) By stating the idea that imagination above all else is what makes humans exceptional, Fuentes is championing a new idea in the field of anthropology. According to the article, the field of anthropology typically attributes man's distinctiveness to "an aptitude for violence, exceptional intelligence, or a preternatural (superior) ability to cooperate." By promoting the idea that imagination is f...

Although it often doesn't seem like it, sometimes the internet actually does bring us good news stories. I particularly love this story, (link)  and other ones like it, where people shave their heads in solidarity of a friend who has been losing their hair due to fighting cancer with chemotherapy treatments. It's such a small gesture of friendship and support, but such an act of solidarity can be staggeringly moving. The images are especially powerful when women shave off long, flowing locks to show that they stand with their cancer-fighting friend. This kind of act of true, self-forgetful, others-focused friendship resonates. Jesus told us of true friendship when he said to his disciples: Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.  (John 15:13 ESV) Jesus spoke these words shortly after the famed Last Supper. At the Last Supper, Jesus knew that he would soon be betrayed and put to death. Knowing his fate, amazingly, Jesus k...

The Bible is certainly quite a book. Whether you believe in God or not, you still have to acknowledge the sheer impact and significance of the Bible. With a book with as much history as the Bible there come many interesting facts. I hope you can find these rather interesting or at least maybe use them the next time you are watching Jeopardy or playing trivia at a bar... FACTS ABOUT BIBLICAL AUTHORSHIP The Bible has over 40 different authors. In contrast, books like the Quran and the Book of Mormon claim one author. These authors had diverse occupational backgrounds. Authors of the Bible include kings, homeless prophets, fishermen, a tent maker, pastors, farmers, etc.  The Bible was written over a span of over 1500 years The Bible is made up of 66 "books." (39 Old Testament, 27 New Testament) Geographically, the Bible was written on 3 continents, Asia, Africa, & Europe The last book of the Bible, Revelation, was written about 95 A.D. For a more complete time...

When I first became a follower of Jesus Christ, it was a big shift in my life to say the least. For pretty much the previous ten years, I had been fairly outspoken about my atheistic leanings. Now after ten years of saying that God didn't exist, and living accordingly, I was in the midst of experiencing a huge identity shift. I was transitioning from atheist to believer and I was convicted to tell my friends about my new found faith in Jesus. Being ashamed can mean to be reluctant to do something through fear of being embarrassed or being humiliated. For me, it was humiliating at first to associate myself with faith in Jesus. This feeling of being ashamed came from the fact that I felt I was seeming like a hypocrite. I was embarrassed at times as if I had undergone a whimsical and ill-advised change. This was a challenging time of growth for me in my faith. The old me used to boast about how 'there was no God.' Now, in God's good sense of humor and as He often doe...

Shortly after I started writing this blog, my friend said to me, "Doesn't writing those posts encourage you ?" I had to immediately agree. I need the gospel every day. Nobody needs the gospel more than me. Yes, these posts are written in hope that other people will see the beauty of Jesus Christ and put their trust in him, but they are also written for the encouragement of people who already believe, like myself. Most of the time, I write these blog posts for me  to remember the level of my debt to God and how great God's provision is in Jesus Christ. I think there is this idea about Christians that we are "holier than thou," and perfect and that everyone should try to be like us. Often I think by pushing morality without pushing the gospel, we cause ourselves to be perceived this way. I think this is misguided. Christians are sinners in need of a Savior, every day. We always need the good news of the gospel because we live by faith in the son of Go...