Buttered Noodles and Kind Words (Friday Devotional)

Anxiety weighs down the human heart,

    but a good word cheers it up. 

- Proverbs 12:25

A few nights ago, Lindsey had plans with some friends, meaning I was responsible for making dinner for me and the kids. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea here—my “cooking” amounted to whipping up some buttered noodles for Katherine and Isaac and a few quesadillas for me and Andrew. Nobody was winning a Michelin star here.

Nevertheless, when Katherine took a bite of her dinner, her eyes lit up. “Daddy!” she exclaimed. “These are SO GOOD! You’re like an expert at buttered noodles!”

At first, my reaction was to brush off the compliment, to look at it as proof of just how low the expectations were for my cooking. But as I watched her happily gobble down her meal, I have to admit: I appreciated the praise. I hadn’t done anything big or special—but it was still nice to be appreciated.

Sometimes we underestimate the value of encouragement. We know to thank people when they do something really momentous. We set aside special occasions—anniversaries, birthdays, etc.—to recognize people for how they contribute to our lives. But in the day to day, the little things just go by without comment.

In the New Testament, we see how important it was for those in the early church to encourage one another. Facing everything from poverty to persecution, a spirit of brotherhood was crucial to maintain their gospel witness. Led by people like Barnabas, the so-called “son of encouragement,” they kept each other going not only with the strength of their conviction, but with consistent kindness.

It may feel silly to praise someone for doing what they always do, or to thank them for something that barely even qualifies as a favor. But don’t lose sight of what a blessing your encouragement can be to them in that moment. For someone you love, even buttered noodles are worthy of a kind word.

Embrace Interruptions (Friday Devotional)

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.

- Matthew 14:13-14

A couple of days ago, my daughter Katherine was the first one to wake up after me, wandering into the living room a few minutes after 6:00 AM. Having already had more than an hour to myself to drink my coffee and read, I was cleaning the coffee maker and sorting a load of laundry when she emerged.

After a minute or two, she asked me from across the room, “Daddy, would you like me to read a book to you?” Focused on my tasks, I initially told her not right now, but maybe some later.

Then a few seconds went by and I caught myself. Katherine, who is finishing up her kindergarten year, is working hard on her reading these days. What’s more, she loves it; she’ll happily spend as long as you’ll let her sounding out each word and making her way through a book.

We weren’t in a rush to get out the door yet. Neither of my tasks was time-sensitive. And my little girl was asking me to let her sit in my lap and practice her reading. So I dropped the laundry on the floor and curled up in the chair with her. Jobs could wait; it was time to read with my daughter.

In an overstimulating world full of distractions, it can feel like a rare thing to be truly focused on something, which makes it all the more frustrating when you’re interrupted. Oftentimes, such interruptions—the ding of a text message, the notification of another email—can and should be set to the side so that you can continue what you’re doing. But every now and then, interruptions are opportunities to differentiate between the urgent and the important.

In Jesus’ ministry, people always wanted something from him: a fresh word from God, a healing, a heavenly sign. Periodically, he would go off by himself to rest and pray. But on one occasion, the crowds would not even give him that moment, following him to his place of solitude.

Jesus could have demanded they respect his boundaries. He could have told them to make an appointment. Those would have been reasonable reactions. But instead, he saw their needs and had compassion on them, allowing love to override self-interest.

You don’t always get to plan your opportunities to serve others. Sometimes those moments come at the most bothersome of times, when you’re busy or exhausted or locked in on what you’re doing. But don’t let inconvenient timing make you lose sight of a chance to show God’s love. Maybe, in Jesus’ name and by the Spirit’s power, you can even do the most countercultural thing of all: for love's sake, embrace interruptions.

One at a Time (Friday Devotional)

Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”

- John 6:26

At the beginning of the week, our dishwasher bit the dust, and we haven’t gotten around to replacing it quite yet. As a result, I’ve been handwashing the dishes every morning and most evenings.

It’s been something of a blast from the past for me, since the first apartment Lindsey and I ever shared—Section 8 apartments built in the 1950s—didn’t have a dishwasher either. In those days, I actually kind of enjoyed the slow, tedious, methodical process of scrubbing every last plate, fork, and glass. But with three kids now running around our house, I fully expected it to be nothing but an unpleasant chore this time around.

To my surprise, I have once again found myself taking an odd pleasure in the work. Something about starting with a mountain of dishes in the sink and then working my way through it one spoon at a time is satisfying. It’s not as efficient as the electric dishwasher, but going one by one turns a chore into a joy.

It reminds me a little of Jesus’ approach to ministry. Our eyes are often drawn to the work Jesus did for big crowds of people, like when he fed the 5,000 or preached to multitudes. If we were planning Jesus’ ministry, we probably would have put a lot more of those encounters on his agenda—we’d have had him preaching in the Roman Coliseum, not in backwoods towns in Galilee.

Yet more often than not, Jesus' ministry was about individual encounters rather than pleasing crowds. Indeed, sometimes he would send the crowds away at the height of his popularity lest they get the wrong impression about his purpose. Jesus was more interested in one conversation with a widow than speeches to multitudes.

In our “efficiency is everything” culture, it’s worth remembering that the kingdom of God plays by different rules. There is not much earthly glory to be found in slow, intentional, personal ministry—especially compared to the lure of making a big impact that will be recognized by many. But there is more to God’s work than numbers. Don’t underestimate the value of sharing the gospel one person at a time.

He Knows Your Name (Friday Devotional)

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.

- Isaiah 43:1

Every day when I pick up my kids from school, we all exchange pleasantries with Mr. Bill, the school crossing guard. He’s been manning the intersection at least since Andrew started kindergarten in 2022, holding up his stop sign and wearing his neon vest.

His job, of course, is to ensure the kids’ safety. He steps out into the intersection before they do, signals to oncoming traffic to stop, and then tells the kids they’re free to cross. That’s why he’s there. But beyond that, what has endeared him to us—and everyone else—is that he greets all my kids (even Isaac, not yet a student) by name. Despite only seeing them for a few seconds each day and even though he has hundreds of kids to keep up with, he knows their names.

There’s something about that gesture, that simple act of thoughtfulness, that speaks volumes to people. In a crowded, distracted, busy world, you want to know that you matter enough to somebody for them to know your name.

So what an awe-inspiring thing to know that the God who created the universe not only calls you his, but calls you by name. You are not merely a drop in the ocean of humanity, you are important to him. So important, in fact, that he sent his Son to die on the cross for you.

Coming out of Easter Sunday, when we remember the story of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, don’t lose sight of what it means at a personal level. God so loved the world, and God so loved you. No matter what the world may tell you, you are not anonymous—for God knows you by name.

March Reading Log

When I look back at the books on this list, I realize just how long the month of March was. 6 books to review this month, with my usual electic allotment. Take a look!

DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE by John Piper

This was a reread of a book which I last read in 2017. To read what I thought then (which still holds up now), click here.

THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE by C.S. Lewis
PRINCE CASPIAN by C.S. Lewis

In mid-February, we finally hit a milestone I'd been looking forward to for years: reading The Chronicles of Narnia aloud at bedtime. These books were formative for me at a young age, and I was eager to introduce them to my 9 and 6-year olds.

Note: We are reading the books in publication order, NOT chronological order. That is, and I cannot emphasize this strongly enough, the CORRECT way to read them. Publishers who put the number 1 on the spine of The Magician's Nephew are simply wrong. I am a tolerant person, but I will brook no argument on this.

We started with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the story of two brothers and two sisters who stumble through a wardrobe into the magical land of Narnia, where they encounter everyone from a friendly faun named Mr. Tumnus to an evil White Witch to the heroic lion Aslan. This book is part fairy tale, part allegory, as becomes apparent when Aslan willingly gives his life to save even a treacherous child, only to be restored to life by "the deep magic." If you only know a little about Narnia, this is the story you know, and for good reason. After all, it's hard to top the gospel.

Prince Caspian, which we finished just in the nick of time to publish this log, is the sequel. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are brought back to Narnia a year later in our world, but several hundred years later in Narnia's. This time their mission is to help Caspian overthrow his wicked uncle for the throne so that Narnia can be restored to its former glory. This one is not as captivating as its predecessor (to be fair, none in the series are) and its allegorical notes are subtler, though the themes of renewal and restoration come through.

My kids were reluctant to start this series—children are usually skeptical, after all, that they'll like what their parents like—but it only took one chapter of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to win them over. So be on the lookout for more Narnia in the coming months!

MEN AT WORK by George F. Will

Baseball is a game, a pastime. But for those who play it professionally, it a craft.

That is the essential argument of Men at Work, an ode to the game's intricacies by political commentator and rabid fan George F. Will. Building upon history, interviews with figures in the sport, and his own observations, Will makes the case that baseball is something taken very seriously indeed by those who have made it their trade.

Will's book is divided into four sections, with each focusing on one central character: the manager (Tony La Russa), the pitcher (Orel Hershiser), the hitter (Tony Gwynn), and the fielder (Cal Ripken, Jr.) Each section highlights the complexities of baseball, showing how much intelligence, preparation, and work is required to succeed at the major league level.

This book is highly regarded for its focus, detail, and how effectively it shows the sophistication of America's national pastime. No one leaves a chapter thinking players are just winging it.

Unfortunately, the title and central premise betrays the book's central flaw: Will makes baseball seem more like work than play. As a fan, my #1 priority is that baseball be fun, and sometimes Will's writing is so dense that it seems to lose sight of that. In seeking to show how hard the best players are working, Will sometimes makes them seem more like soldiers than ballplayers, and it left this reader periodically cold.

This book is a must-read for baseball fans for the way it reveals the game's complexities. Nevertheless, the more time you spend reading it, the more you need to go outside and get on the diamond with a 9-year-old. After all, no matter how hard the pros work at it, baseball is a kid's game.

ESSENTIAL MARVEL SAGA VOL. 1-2

By December 1985, the Marvel universe had existed for nearly 25 years, dating back to Fantastic Four #1 in November 1961. One of Stan Lee's innovations (and yes, this is the very rare time we can give Stan full credit) was the introduction of continuity throughout Marvel's superhero books—not only did these characters exist within a shared universe, but they regularly interacted with one another, and every story "counted." So by 1985, the Marvel universe was now a sprawling web of characters, stories, and lore. It was still possible to get your mind around it all and connect all the dots (in a way that's virtually impossible now), but it would take you a lot of time and effort.

So Marvel Saga, whose 25 issues are collected in these two Essential volumes, aimed to simplify that task for the reader who wanted to know it all without having to track down back issues from the 1960s. Each month in an oversized book, editor Dan Fingeroth and comics historian/writer Peter Sanderson gave readers a beat by beat chronology of Marvel's history as it had been told up to that point, using art primarily reprinted from those Silver Age stories. It was an ambitious task, but one Marvel zombies ate right up.

For somebody who has read a lot of the stories being told (thanks to the modern prevalence of collected editions like the Essentials), there were times I was skimming these issues more than reading every word, and at times it did feel a little like homework instead of storytelling. But for Marvel fans then and now, Marvel Saga provided an invaluable service. For a newbie to Marvel lore, I'd recommend this as a good place to dive into the lore, especially if all you know is the movies. For somebody who's read their fair share of the Silver Age, it's still an interesting time capsule and reference work.

April Reading Log

Five books this month and SO MANY PAGES. Look below to see what I'm talking about!

THE IMPERFECT PASTOR by Zack Eswine

Based on the title, you might have thought I wrote a memoir and forgot to tell you.  But in fact, this was a truly enlightening book about pastoral ministry—sometimes confessional, sometimes devotional, and always helpful.

At its heart, The Imperfect Pastor is a plea to young pastors to slow down and trade ambitions of mass ministerial impact for the still, small work of loving real people where they are. Author Zack Eswine, a pastor himself, tells of the mistakes he made as a young pastor with big dreams and how he only found peace—and success—when he stopped looking for the Next Big Thing and instead focused on the people God had given him to shepherd.

Written in a style reminiscent of Eugene Peterson (HIGH praise) and with similar thoughts, this was a book I took in slowly, even as I was tempted to gulp it all down at once. For pastors, especially those slogging through difficult times, I can't recommend The Imperfect Pastor enough.

LES MISÉRABLES by Victor Hugo

My all-time favorite Broadway musical is Les Misérables, which adapts Victor Hugo's 1862 novel. Its overtly Christian themes of grace, justice, and love are compelling to me for obvious reasons, its setting of a revolutionary period in 19th century France is intriguing, and, yes, the music is top-notch. It's also nearly 3 hours long...so who would have imagined they left so much on the cutting room floor?

That's right, before I say anything about this book's story or style, I have to acknowledge its size. My copy came in at 1263 pages, and that was with font I'd consider too small (I wound up reading it on Kindle rather than in my faux-leather physical copy, pictured above.) In principle, I don't like abridged literature, believing that if the author felt it was important enough to include and an editor and/or publisher agreed, then I as a reader should give them the benefit of the doubt. Les Misérables, in all its overwritten glory, admittedly made me reconsider that position, if not necessarily change my mind. This is a BIG book.

Thankfully, it's also a beautiful one. It tells the story of Jean Valjean, a convicted thief who is given a second chance at life thanks to the mercy of a kindly priest. Spared by this act of grace, Valjean then extends his own to Fantine, a woman whose life has taken such a steep downward turn that she has been forced into prostitution. Valjean adopts her innocent daughter Cosette, seeking to bring about some measure of redemption from his sins and Fantine's victimization. But as he does so, he must contend with four forces: Inspector Javert, that paragon of clear-eyed justice; Marius, Cosette's young suitor as she blossoms into adulthood; the vile Thénardier, who once housed the infant Cosette and now demands recompense; and the spectre of revolution in France.

Needless to say, there's a lot here in terms of plot, characterization, themes, and pages. But while staggering, it's never overwhelming and rarely boring (except for the novel's notorious Waterloo and sewer sections. If you know, you know.) Having also read Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I can confidently say that Les Misérables is his masterpiece, offering an expansive story about how God's love manifests in human kindness to those the world doesn't believe deserve it. Did it need to be 1200+ pages? Nah, 800 or so would have done the trick. But for those willing to climb this mountain of a book, the view from the summit is worth the journey.

JACK KIRBY: THE EPIC LIFE OF THE KING OF COMICS by Tom Scioli
I AM STAN: A GRAPHIC BIOGRAPHY OF THE LEGENDARY STAN LEE by Tom Scioli

Alongside Lewis and Clark, Watson and Crick, and Lennon and McCartney, Jack Kirby and Stan Lee are an inseparable duo, whose work together changed their industry forever and whose work apart (some of which was actually quite good!) mostly pales in comparison. They are without a doubt the most important creators in comics history...and fans have spent 60+ years arguing who deserves more credit for their shared success.

In his graphic biographies of both creators, Tom Scioli (like most comics professionals) clearly chooses Jack Kirby. According to Scioli's well-researched account, Kirby is a blue-collar professional from an immigrant family who was repeatedly taken advantage of by his employers. Filled with ideas but devoid of business sense, Kirby was always a company man through and through right up until he'd been so worn down by his companies' demands that he was ready to quit.

Jack Kirby is not a hagiography, but it's clear that Scioli has tremendous admiration for his subject, and many of the sources cited in the bibliography are from Kirby-friendly publications. The art style is reminiscent of Ed Piskor (most famous for his Hip Hop Family Tree books), though it's marred slightly by the baffling choice to give Kirby (and only Kirby) an enlarged head and "anime eyes." It doesn't ruin the book or anything, it's just distracting, and something he doesn't repeat in the next book.

I Am Stan, though less critically beloved, might have actually been my favorite of the two books. At times it feels almost dreamlike, with its protagonist floating from life event to life event, as opposed to the more concrete Kirby biography. In Scioli's telling, Stan Lee is less a creator than a salesman, a would-be Great American Novelist who succeeded in comics through a combination of family connections, luck, bravado, and, yes, talent. It follows Stan's rise to the top of Marvel Comics, his fame as the face of that company, and his pitiable final years, when he was arguably subjected to elder abuse by his daughter and employees. It has been said that no one ever really knew Ronald Reagan, that he was a smiling cipher, and you get the same feeling after reading I Am Stan about Lee. Some readers will surely find that frustrating; I found it fascinating.

For comics fans, these are must-reads. For pop culture fans, I'd say the same. Whether you know it or not, Lee and Kirby are two of the most influential storytellers of the last century, and their own stories, told in the medium they shaped, are worth a read.

ESSENTIAL MS. MARVEL VOL. 1 by Chris Claremont, Gerry Conway, John Buscema, Jim Mooney, et al.

Many years before Carole Danvers was Captain Marvel, one of the most prominent faces of Marvel Comics, she was a failed experiment. In the 1970s, Marvel editors, who prided themselves on their progressive bona fides, realized that they didn't have any superheroes to meet second-wave feminism's moment. So they hastily introduced several new books starring female characters: She-Hulk, Spider-Woman, and, yes, Ms. Marvel.

Carole Danvers, first introduced as a supporting character in Captain Marvel, was now reimagined as the editor of the Daily Bugle's Woman Magazine and imbued with powers from the alien Kree, including a "seventh sense" that Stan Lee absolutely would have called "superpowered women's intuition" if he'd been writing it. It was...clumsy.

This Essential volume contains all 23 issues of that original series, before Ms. Marvel was invited to become an Avenger and her solo book was unceremoniously cancelled. Supporting characters are introduced and then forgotten. Her costume changes. Her origin, mysterious at first, is revealed. Nothing sticks.

When Marvel mercifully put this book down, it wasn't because it was too woke, but because it was Bronze Age schlock that never found an audience. It's not bad exactly, but it's utterly unmemorable. It would take another 35 years for writer Kelley Sue DeConnick to make Carole Danvers relevant again, this time as Captain Marvel. I'm glad Carole got a do-over...because her initial series is only worthy of reading for historical purposes.

Give Us Barabbas (Friday Devotional)

Then they all shouted out together, “Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!” (This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city and for murder.) Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again, but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him.” But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified, and their voices prevailed. So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.

- Luke 23:18-25

On that dark day so long ago, the mob made a choice. Angered by Jesus’ apparent refusal to meet their revolutionary expectations—to overthrow Rome and restore Israel to the greatness of their forefathers—they now turned, ironically enough, to Rome to enact judgment against him. Though Pilate was initially unwilling to execute an innocent man, they leaned upon a Roman custom of releasing one Jewish prisoner during Passover to force his hand.

He offered them a choice. On the one hand, they could have Barabbas, a murderous insurrectionist. Barabbas was the kind of criminal the Romans had devised crucifixion for in the first place, the sort of rebellious and violent spirit whose execution would stand as a stark warning to any who might be tempted to rise up against the empire. In a recent uprising, Barabbas had committed murder—the Gospel of Mark is careful to use that word, lest readers believe his violence was justified. To set him free would be to endanger themselves and others.

On the other hand, they could have Jesus, whom they had welcomed into Jerusalem as a king only days earlier. Jesus had healed the sick, had raised the dead, and had told anyone who would listen about the coming kingdom of God. But that kingdom, the people now understood, wasn’t going to come in the time or the manner they had in mind. To set Jesus free would be to accept God’s plans over their own.

The mob chose Barabbas.

Amid all the lessons of Good Friday, this is one of the most chilling: apart from the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, we still choose Barabbas every time. We would rather feel secure in our own self-righteousness than in the righteousness of God. We would rather cling to our own vision for how things ought to be and risk the consequences than to open our eyes to God’s plan. We would rather accept destruction on our terms than renewal on the Lord’s terms. For those apart from Christ, Barabbas is always the choice.

But for believers in Jesus, those filled with the Holy Spirit, there is another way. You don’t have to let anger and bitterness guide you. You don’t have to assume your way is the only way. You don’t have to be self-destructive for the sake of pride.

Jesus died so you could have life; he took on your sins so you could be cleansed. In him you can live and move and have your being, you can live as a citizen of his kingdom even as you remain a resident in this world. By his blood, he offered you salvation from who you were and a pathway to who God made you to be.

Others will choose Barabbas. Christian, choose Christ.

Separation Anxiety (Friday Devotional)

“Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.”

- Deuteronomy 31:6

It’s always tricky getting back into the swing of things after a long break, especially for kids. So after a week of vacation, Lindsey and I anticipated our two eldest children needing a couple days to readjust to waking up early, spending all day at school, and having a reasonable bedtime.

What caught me by surprise was the reaction of our 2-year-old, Isaac, when I was headed out the door Sunday morning to get to church. Clinging to my pant leg and sobbing, he cried out repeatedly, “No, Daddy!!! No go church! No leave Ikey!” After a week of us being together all the time, he couldn’t stomach the idea of being separated from his daddy.

“Parting is such sweet sorrow,” Shakespeare wrote. Being away from those we love most is a hard pill to swallow, whether at age 2 or 102. And especially when you are the one being left behind, there is a sting to it, a feeling that you are being abandoned—that they are not leaving because they have to, but because they want to.

So one of the Bible’s most welcome promises is that God never leaves nor forsakes his children. On the brightest days, the Lord celebrates alongside us. In our darkest moments, he steadfastly remains with us. Nothing is compelling enough to tear him away, and nothing is powerful enough to separate us from his love.

“I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” Jesus assures us. He remains Emmanuel, God with us, today. And nothing you do or the world throws at you will change that.

Sleepless Nights (Friday Devotional)

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

- Psalm 55:22

My family had been on the road all day, having finished our weeklong trip to Colorado and begun our journey home. In 12 hours we had made the journey from Denver to Great Sand Dunes National Park to our destination for the night, a motel in Amarillo. It was 1:00 AM and everybody was exhausted. After getting the kids into pajamas, I finally collapsed into the bed I was sharing with my eldest son, Andrew.

And try as I might, I couldn’t sleep.

Some of it was the caffeine coursing through my veins, courtesy of the Dr Pepper I’d been nursing on the drive. Some of it was Andrew, who kept stretching over to my side of the bed. And much of it was my mind exiting vacation mode and now thinking about all the responsibilities, activities, and stresses awaiting me when we got home. I just couldn’t sleep.

I suspect you’ve been there before, tossing and turning, counting sheep, trying to will yourself into a slumber that refuses to come. Few things are as frustrating or as exhausting as a mind so full that your body can’t rest.

In such times—or better yet, before then—the Bible encourages you to turn anxiety into prayer, to cast your burdens upon the Lord. Instead of letting stress consume you, give it to God. Instead of worrying yourself to death, pray your way to faith—faith that, when you feel out of control, God is still sovereign.

Prayer won’t make your problems go away. Faith isn’t a magic cure for all of life’s ills. But when you have the humility to acknowledge that God can handle what you can’t, you’ll find peace. And maybe even a good night’s sleep.

A Worthwhile Challenge (Friday Devotional)

Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 

- Luke 14:27-28

On Wednesday morning, my family and I set out for a road trip to Colorado. After many hours of driving, we stopped for dinner in Amarillo at the legendary Big Texan steakhouse, which is most famous for its 72 oz. steak challenge—anyone who can eat a steak of that size in an hour gets their meal for free.

Naturally, the kids thought one of us should try the challenge. After all, those who do so get lots of attention in the restaurant—an announcement to the whole place, a table in the center of the restaurant, and a timer counting down your meal. But what we had to explain to the kids was that there is a price to the challenge—if you pulled it off, it was free, but for those who failed, the meal cost a cool $72. As exciting as it seemed to take the challenge, it was not something to be attempted lightly.

Jesus offers that kind of warning to those who would seek to follow him—it’s not all walking on water and multiplying loaves and fishes. Indeed, even before his death at Calvary, he warned that anyone who thought they understood his message must be prepared to pick up their cross and follow him. Being a disciple of Jesus comes at a cost.

The church, with its emphasis on salvation by grace through faith, doesn’t always remember to share that part of the message. People hear the news that Jesus offers them forgiveness and redemption and eternal life, and that this comes by his work, not theirs. And praise God for the truth of that message!

The key is for us to know and to share the fullness of the gospel message—that following Jesus comes at a cost, and it’s more than worth the price. “In this world you will have trouble,” the Lord said, “but take heart—-I have overcome the world.”  Today, may you count the cost of obedience to Christ—and may you find it worth the while every time.

What the Book is For (Friday Devotional)

 

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work".

- 2 Timothy 3:16-17

“Ikey, no!!!”

That was the sound that sent me and Lindsey running into the bathroom a few days ago. We had left our two youngest kids, Isaac and Katherine, in the bathtub while we worked on the dinner dishes, but now we found ourselves rushing to see what had gone wrong. When we made it to the bathroom, we saw the source of the commotion: Isaac, age 2, had dropped a book in the bathwater. And while we were ready to scold Isaac for what he’d done, I think Katherine put it best: “That’s not what the book is for!”

That simple exclamation got me thinking this week about how we interpret the Good Book, God’s Word. There are many teachers in this world—I would be so bold as to call them false teachers—who use the Bible primarily as a bludgeon against their enemies. For them, Scripture is primarily a collection of proofs that God is on their side and that he hates the same people they hate. Their agenda comes first, and the Bible is the divine tool used to justify that agenda.

But here’s the thing: that’s not what the book is for.

Scripture tells that all Scripture, from the Law to the Prophets to the Gospels to the Epistles, is inspired by God. More specifically, it is “God-breathed,” given to a series of writers through the Holy Spirit. While humans did the writing, the Lord gave the message.

Why? For “teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” God gave us the Bible to help with our sanctification, not to fuel our holy wars. God’s Word is given so that we might be “equipped for every good work,” so that we will have the theological foundation to bless others in Jesus’ name.

When the Bible helps you grow in faith in Christ, you are using it as intended. When you read it for ethical instruction, so that you will know how to share the gospel in word and deed, your aim is true. When the written Word of God leads people to the Word made flesh—Jesus, the Son of God—we see its purpose fulfilled. The Bible is God’s revelation of himself to humanity, it is a treasure of ethical teaching, and it offers us truth in a world of lies.

It is the Spirit’s sword, not yours. It is God’s Word, not mine. And the criterion by which we interpret it is not our own opinions or agendas, but Christ—for ultimately, it leads us to him. That’s what the book is for.

February Reading Log

 

February is the shortest month of the year, with a mere 28 days to read books. But I did my best! Take a look below to see what I spent the last 4 weeks working on.

PAUL: A BIOGRAPHY by N.T. Wright

Theologian N.T. Wright made a name for himself in the late 20th century as the most visible voice of the so-called "New Perspective on Paul," which argued that our understanding of the apostle and his letters has been overly influenced by the medieval excesses of Roman Catholicism and the subsequent reforms of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, et al. Properly understood, says Wright, Paul must be understood foremost as a Jew who saw Jesus as the fulfillment of God's covenant with Israel—in Christ, Wright argues, God wasn't starting a new religion, but simply being faithful to the covenant that had come before and opening its blessings to all the world.

Having spent decades explaining this perspective in books, articles, sermon, and lectures, Wright now does so with an accessible biography of the apostle, one that seeks to explain chronologically the events of Paul's life and how they affected the content of his letters. As such, the book is trying to do several things at once.

Most obviously, it seeks to be a straight biography—a difficult task given how relatively little information we have to go on! Working from Paul's letters, the Book of Acts, and extrabiblical information about the 1st century world, Wright puts forth his theories about how Paul's life progressed from being a young, zealous Pharisee to his "conversion" (not Wright's favorite word, given its connotations that Saul the Jew became Paul the Christian) to his missionary journeys and writings. There are understandably some assumptions and inferences that must be made as part of this project, but Wright is always careful to qualify and explain the reasoning behind them.

Secondarily, the book is a textbook on the letters of Paul. Much of the second half of the book, for obvious reasons, consists of Wright summarizing and providing context for the contents of Paul's epistles. This is a worthy endeavor, obviously, but at times it's indistinguishable from a New Testament survey textbook or a biblical commentary. As someone who spends a lot of time in such reference books, I sometimes skimmed these passages more than I read them.

Finally, this book is another argument for the new (or, by now, not-so-new) perspective on Paul. Having written extensively about how certain key books and passages work within this perspective, this book is Wright's chance to do so at a more macro level, while also theorizing how key events in Paul's might be better understood through this perspective.

I didn't find this as compelling as some of Wright's other popular level books—and indeed, if you're familar with Wright, much of what's contained here is understandably rehashing previous works—but it's a worthy read nonetheless. Especially when operating as straight biography, this is a helpful resource for better understanding the apostle who wrote most of the New Testament. 

CLOUD CUCKOO LAND by Anthony Doerr

In his breakout novel, All The Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr dazzled readers—myself included—with a historical epic told from multiple perspectives, all of which ultimately converged. With Cloud Cuckoo Land, he takes things one step further, not only by offering more characters, but by telling a story that spans centuries. Part historical fiction, part thriller, part science fiction, this book is doing a LOT all at once.

The connective thread of the story is the fictional book Cloud Cuckoo Land, written by the real Greek philosopher Diogenes. In 15th century Constantinople, a girl named Anna finds a copy of this book even as the city is being beseiged, including by Omeir, a boy conscripted into the sultan's army. In present-day Idaho, the book is set to be performed as a play, directed by the elderly Zeno Ninis, when the library where it is being prepared is taken hostage by a troubled teenager named Seymour. And in the 22nd century, Konstance, a young girl aboard the space ark Argos, discovers the book in the ship's virtual library, leading her to ask questions about her voyage.

If you're wondering how those disparate pieces could possibly relate to each other, welcome to my thought process for the first 300+ pages of this book. But sure enough, Doerr pulls it off in the end, rewarding readers' patience with a story that is ultimately about the preservation of stories.

This novel is more ambitious but less enjoyable than All the Light We Cannot See, owing mostly to the natural problem for a book with multiple POVs: some of the characters are more interesting than others. For my part, the Anna and Omeir chapters were considerably duller than the others, and the Konstance chapters were difficult to follow at times. Nevertheless, by the time I got to the payoff of the last 100 pages, my rating for this had gone from 3 stars to 4. Readers willing to stick it out the end will be glad they did.

QUEST IN YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK by Aaron Johnson

With the conclusion of this book, two of my kids and I have now made it halfway through the National Park Mystery Series (and are caught up, as author Aaron Johnson is currently writing the sixth). This was a good place to go on hiatus, as it was my favorite one so far.

As the title indicates, this entry takes Jake, Amber, and Wes to Yosemite National Park, where they continue on the scavenger hunt for ancient treasure laid out by Jake's late grandfather, a prize that sinister, enigmatic foes are also pursuing. As usual with these books, there are lots of facts about the National Parks System, conservation, and safety; additionally, there are corny jokes, riddles, and YA relational dynamics.

Two things made this book stand out for me as the best so far. The first is my own familiarity with Yosemite, a park which Lindsey and I visited several years ago. The second was a "side quest" of sorts within the story, in which the three heroes helped park rangers track down a missing child in the park. The kids and I were unanimous that this B story actually intrigued us more than the central plot, and the stakes felt higher.

It'll be a while before we read any more books in this series—according to his website, Aaron Johnson isn't very far into writing the sixth book—but we've certainly enjoyed them up to this point. Let me know if you want to borrow any of the first five!

ESSENTIAL IRON MAN VOL. 4-5

Let's just say it: the 1970s was a weird time to be telling stories about Iron Man. He'd been created in the Kennedy days of Cold War patriotism, when being a symbol of the military-industrial complex was a boon rather than a liability. But post-Vietnam, he seemed dated at best and problematic at worst, a cool costume in search of an enduring character. Beginning in the late 1970s and continuing into Ronald Reagan's 1980s, when consumerism and Commie-bashing became cool again, writer David Micheline and artist Bob Layton would finally give Tony Stark some shine and give readers an Iron Man title they could love.

Unfortunately, Essential Iron Man Vol. 4-5, covers the character's title from 1971-1976. So these books contain 50+ issues of grasping at straws, trying to make the armored Avenger cool. It goes about as well as you'd expect.

First there is Tony Stark's decision to renounce his industrialist ways and pivot to ecological research, a well-intentioned but clumsy overcorrection. Then there is the introduction and shuffling off of a host of supporting characters, none of whom managed to connect with readers. Most infamously, there is the redesign of the Iron Man mask, giving him a triangular nose that evokes The Wizard of Oz's Tin Man.

All of it is just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks, and none of it ultimately does. This era can be thought of as years in the wilderness—full of movement, but absent any direction. Far from essential reading for anyone who is not a completist.

Simple Solidarity (Friday Devotional)

 

Now when Job’s three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him, each of them set out from his home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go and console and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads. They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

- Job 2:11-13

The other day, my daughter Katherine was very loudly having a hard time. I don’t remember exactly what the problem was, but I do know it was a catastrophe to her 6-year-old heart, and she was not exactly suffering in silence.

Isaac, our 2-year-old, curiously poked his head in the room to see what all the commotion was about and, with wide eyes, looked at me and Lindsey and said, “Kaka crying!” We affirmed what he was saying and then turned our attention back to Katherine as Isaac left the room.

But then a few seconds later, he reemerged with something in his hand. Gingerly, he walked towards Katherine and set a handful of Corn Pops cereal at her feet as she sobbed. Then, silently, he scooted back and sat down.

That little gesture got me thinking about how we comfort people—or fail to comfort them—as grownups. Sometimes when we see someone hurting, we feel powerless to help them unless we have the tools to solve their problem. If we don’t have the cure for their disease or the money to resolve their debt or the perfect words to comfort them, we often do one of two things: we fall back on trite clichés or, paralyzed by indecision, we do nothing at all.

But I’m reminded of the story of Job, who had every blessing stripped from him and was left with nothing but his life. Eventually, his closest friends would lean on faulty theology to try and explain what he must have done wrong to deserve such a fate. But at first, their reaction was a good one: they simply sat with him in silence. No explanations, no fixes, no words at all—just simple solidarity.

A handful of Corn Pops never solved anybody’s problems. Sitting in silence never took away someone’s pain. But when you show someone you care in little ways—ways that, to you, may feel inconsequential—you are acting as a comfort and an encouragement to someone who feels alone in their trouble.

So when you see somebody hurting, don’t assume that because you can’t do everything, you should do nothing. Send the text message. Offer the hug. Bring over the cup of coffee. And when you don’t know what to say, just listen. You’ll be amazed by how powerful and how godly simple acts of kindness can be.