Cleaning Up the Mess (Friday Devotional)

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

- Colossians 3:12-13

Don’t cry over spilled milk, they say. Little messes are unworthy of big reactions, and it’s important to keep your head when something goes awry in life.

But here’s the thing—when your kitchen table is covered in milk, it’s hard to remember that lesson. You’re scrambling for a towel, you’re trying to contain the mess, and you’re wondering why nobody is helping you. And in that moment, crying over spilled milk feels pretty reasonable.

That’s why Scripture ties virtues like patience and forgiveness to something bigger than doing the right thing merely for the sake of doing the right thing—living well is tied to life in Christ. We forgive because Christ has forgiven us. We bear with one another because we are one in Christ. We love because he first loved us.

It’s not about what you’re capable of, in other words, but remembering what he has done for you. If you count on yourself to be a saint at all times, you will find yourself yelling when you should have listened and holding grudges when you know you should forgive. You will cry over spilled milk. So focus less on your abilities, your strength, and your will, and lean instead on the Lord’s.

Losing Jesus (Friday Devotional)

My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand

- John 10:27-28

Over the last few years, my family has picked up a small assortment of miniature rubber Jesus figures, some given to us by friends and others picked up as giveaways. So last week, Andrew and Katherine decided it would be fun to hide four of them around the house and then send me and Lindsey on a scavenger hunt.

They hid them well—one on a light switch, another on the fireplace, still another on a wall decoration. But as we ransacked the house for the final Jesus figure, neither Lindsey nor I could find it anywhere. When we asked for a clue, Andrew said he didn’t know where it was either, that Katherine had hidden that one. And when we asked her, she couldn’t remember where she’d put it.

We kept searching, but to no avail. And no matter how hard she tried, Katherine couldn’t recall in what room she’d hidden it. As the minutes crawled by and Lindsey and I prepared to give up, Katherine grew more upset that she couldn’t remember where she’d put it. Finally, in tears, she exclaimed, “I lost Jesus!”

What a nightmare it would be if believers could really do that—not lose a rubber figurine, but lose their relationship with the Lord. Having placed your faith and your hope in Jesus to save you, what a terrifying thought that he might leave you if you step out of line.

After all, that happens sometimes with earthly relationships. Parents get divorced and only one sticks around to help raise the child. Spouses determine their differences are irreconcilable and call it quits. Friends drift apart. Some earthly relationships wind up having a shelf life far shorter than you ever anticipated they would.

But the Lord promises that he never leaves nor forsakes us, and that no one can snatch us out of his hand. Once you follow the call of the Good Shepherd, you are part of his flock—and he will never abandon you to the wolves.

You can lose possessions. You can lose friends. You can even lose family members. But praise God, you can never lose Jesus.

Prayers for Our Nation (Friday Devotional)

“...if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

- 2 Chronicles 7:14

I’ve spent the past week at youth camp with 16 campers and 3 adult sponsors from our church, along with hundreds of other participants from around the state. Youth camp is one of my favorite weeks of the year, and something I’ve made a priority since my first year as a pastor—I love everything from the bad food and the silly games to the inspiring worship services and the infectious earnestness of teenagers captivated by their love for Jesus.

At Mt. Lebanon Baptist Encampment, where our church typically goes every summer, camp ends with the “Concert of Prayer,” a 2+ hour service that is routinely the most meaningful gathering of the week. No sermon is preached. The band leads in a few worship songs, but the vibe is considerably more muted than at the more raucous morning and evening worship services. Mostly it’s just a morning of guided prayer, huddle after huddle of teenagers bowing their heads and lifting their requests to God. It never ceases to move me.

Camp is over now, but I can’t shake the sight of hundreds of young believers repenting and confessing and thanking and petitioning their God. And on this weekend when we celebrate 250 years as a nation, I don’t want to forget it.

In 2 Chronicles 7:14, God promises his children that, by turning to him in a spirit of humility and repentance, they will receive his forgiveness and blessing. To be sure, America is not Israel, and a promise given to one group of ancient Israelites ought not necessarily be read as a universal guarantee for God’s people for all time.

Nevertheless, James 5:16 reminds us that the prayers of the righteous have great power. I saw it myself just yesterday in a crowded auditorium in Cedar Hill. When believers cry out to God—not triumphally, but humbly; not demanding power, but offering repentance; not wanting to see our will done, but God’s—we see change come.

If you’re wanting a spiritual awakening in America, don’t fix your eyes on the ballot box, but on Jesus. Don’t focus on the White House, but the church house. For it is to the humble, obedient, repentant prayers of his children that the Father responds.

June Reading Log

Happy 250th birthday, America! I read a seminal, prophetic work about you this month (along with an excellent memoir and a bunch of old Avengers comics). To see what I thought, keep reading!



ALL MY KNOTTED-UP LIFE by Beth Moore

Growing up, I knew Beth Moore as "that lady who writes women's Bible studies," which was both correct and extremely reductive. In fact, Moore was one of the most prominent people in Southern Baptist (and therefore, more broadly, American evangelical) life. She wrote books that were instant bestsellers, she filled megachurches and conference centers when she spoke, and, yes, she wrote Bible studies that Sunday School classes and life groups devoured.

Then in 2016, when the Access Hollywood tape hit the airwaves, she crossed Donald Trump and his followers by questioning how Christians could possibly excuse such behavior. When she refused to retreat from that conviction, she was abruptly cancelled by the SBC universe, in ways both social and official. Having given decades of her life to the church, specifically the Southern Baptist Convention of churches, she was now a pariah within it.

Moore has since bounced back—she does not have and probably will never again reach an audience the size she once did, but she maintains a following, particularly among that segment of the country that loves the Lord but is ambivalent about where evangelicalism finds itself in the age of Trump. In 2019, she was one of the guests at Truett Seminary's inaugural preaching conference and preached what I consider the finest sermon I've ever heard. She continues to write and speak, even as the opportunities are more limited than they once were.

So, especially in light of the news coming out of this year's Southern Baptist Convention meeting, I decided it was time to read her 2025 memoir, which traces the circuitous path her life has taken and offers thanks to the Lord for holding her through it all. This was my first Beth Moore book, but it won't be my last.

Those looking for a tell-all about her life post-2016 will be disappointed; this is not that kind of book. In typical Moore fashion, full of grace and wit, she tells her story from childhood through today, reflecting on the highs and lows and never flinching from uncomfortable moments.

Indeed, the newsworthy headline that came from this book's release was that Moore was sexually abused by her father as a young girl. Those wanting a cathartic confrontation will be disappointed; she maintained a relationship with him (as did her mother) until his death, even reminding him that she forgave him on his deathbed. Her childhood, as she narrates over nearly half the book, was chaotic and cruel at points, joyful and loving at others. You don't get clear-cut heroes and villains, just fallen people trying to get by.

That pattern is consistent throughout her life, whether she's talking about her parents; her husband Keith, whom she adores even as she is unafraid to point out his flaws and blind spots; or the Southern Baptist church which gave her so much only to cruelly rip it all away. Moore is both honest and gracious, sincere in both her love and her criticism.

Those willing to read about a faithful life where only one person is perfect will love this book, as I did. Having checked it out from the library, this is one where I'm going to have to hunt down a copy for my shelf. We need more Christians willing to tell the truth about their "knotted-up lives."

DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA by Alexis de Tocqueville

In 1831, the French diplomat Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to America to observe what made our still-young country so special. His findings, presented in the two-volume Democracy in America, were a sociological study so insightful that we're still reading it today. So this month, in anticipation of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I read the whole thing, all 880 pages of it.

Volume 1 examines the political structures of the United States, from the three branches of government to the rule of the majority to the preeminence of the Constitution. This volume takes you back to your high school social studies classroom, and is pretty easy reading for the nerds like me who eat that stuff up.

Volume 2 I found more challenging to read, riskier in its predictions, and, given where our country finds itself today, sadder. It deals with the more abstract nature of the country: our religiosity, our ambitiousness and industriousness, how we relate to one another, etc. Many of de Tocqueville's insights into the American character held strong for 150+ years, only to suddenly seem questionable in the last decade or so. For example, the arisocratic de Tocqueville writes often of the United States as a classless society, where the rich and the poor alike hold the same beliefs about what would one day be called "the American Dream." That used to feel true; it feels more tenuous today.

Democracy in America, given the dry subject matter and date of its writing, was more readable than I feared it would be, though only a completist or a hard-core nerd (I qualify on both counts) needs to read the whole thing; key passages will do just fine for most. It's always worth asking what outsiders think of what you're doing, and this Frenchmen hit the nail on the head more times than you might expect.

ESSENTIAL AVENGERS VOL. 1-2 by Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Jack Kirby, Don Heck, et al.

This month I decided it was time to jump back into the Essentials, specifically the first two of nine volumes containing 200+ issues of The Avengers. Long before they were the faces of Hollywood, the Avengers were Marvel's answer to the Justice League, a team mixing the stars of its universe (Iron Man, Thor) with B-level characters popular enough to feature, but not capable of helming their own books (Giant Man, the Wasp). It would take 50 years and some blockbuster films for the team to surpass other Marvel properties like the Fantastic Four, but it all started here.

These initial Essential volumes, covering the first 46 issues and an oversized annual, are reflective of the early Silver Age, when Stan Lee was still developing his voice and was throwing way too many words at the page. Similarly, the art—first by Jack Kirby, then Don Heck—is serviceable but nothing special. Reading two issues per day of these books, my pace for most of the month, was a bit of a slog, taking me every bit of 45 minutes most mornings.

But there are some things worth highlighting. The first comes in issue #4, when Captain America—a Kirby creation from the Golden Age of comics—is revived from the icy waters of the Atlantic and joins the team. Another is a heavy-handed but well-intentioned story where the Avengers oppose the Sons of the Serpent, a xenophobic stand-in for the Ku Klux Klan. Lastly is one of the book's biggest swings, when the entire original lineup is replaced by "Cap's Kooky Quartet," i.e. Captain America joined by villains-turned-heroes Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, and Hawkeye. That lineup would see the comraderie and competency of the original group replaced by a squad of bickering, jealous Avengers eager to prove themselves.

These early issues show a book finding its footing, but managing to consistently offer entertaining stories while doing so. In the next volume, things really start to take off. Tune in next month to see for yourself!