Posts with the category “articles”

A Journey to Joy – Lessons from John Piper This morning, on my way to the office, I listened to a sermon by John Piper entitled, ‘How God Made Me Happy in Him: John Piper’s Journey to Joy.’When we think about happiness in God, we must ask ourselves: How are we called to self-sacrifice and self-denial (Luke 9:23), but also called to be happy and joyous in God (Phil. 4:4; Pro. 29:18)? To Piper, thes...  Read More

After the resurrection, there was a period that transpired before Jesus ascended to Heaven. It isn’t given a name exactly, but we do know that it was 40 days in total. The events that occurred between Jesus’s resurrection and His ascension were some of the most consequential, life-changing things that impacted His disciples. In fact, the radical transformation that occurs in their lives is one of ...  Read More

One of the greatest criticisms leveled against the events of the Resurrection are the perceived “inconsistencies” that exist in the four Gospel accounts. Unbelievers love to point out the fact that each of the Gospel writers capture the events of that Sunday morning a little differently than the others. They say these “inconsistencies” invalidate the veracity of the events. Is there merit to such ...  Read More

At the beginning of the calendar year, I created a year-long Bible reading plan for myself with the help of AI called “Forging the Family Man.” Since Ezra is due in June, I made the first 6 months of the plan for soon-to-be fathers, and the next 6 months for first-time fathers.  Before I get into the weeds, I want to make clear that I did not use AI to write any devotionals, commentary, or lessons...  Read More

Simon was his name. He had just arrived in Jerusalem with his wife and two small boys for Passover when we catch up to him in Scripture. Together, they traveled from their home in Cyrene, a region in northern Africa we know today as Libya. His journey to Jerusalem would have been no small matter – a journey of about 800-900 miles. Despite its lengthy nature, though, it would have been a time of gr...  Read More

Psalm 121 – The Mountaineer’s Favorite VerseThis past week, Cheyenne and I took a vacation to the Smokey Mountains. It was a nice, relaxing getaway; we wanted to get one last vacation in before the baby arrives in June. In preparation, I created a playlist full of soft, acoustic folk music (James Taylor, John Denver, etc) as well as bluegrass. It was a very aesthetic experience; there’s just somet...  Read More

The McNugget TheologianThe Apostle Paul is widely regarded, by believers and unbelievers alike, as one of the most profound theologians to ever live. Whether it was because he was classically trained by one of the most prominent Jewish leaders of his day – Gamaliel – or whether it was because of his close, personal time in the Judean wilderness with the Lord (or likely a combination of both), ever...  Read More

The Beauty of Covenant Commitment: Acts 2:42 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.” -Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭42‬ ‭CSB‬‬I was studying for a midterm for one of my seminary classes, and I came across this verse. It was foundational for the development of Christian worship.  It also affirms something I’ve been thinking about lately, which i...  Read More

I sometimes think about Frodo's journey to the Undying Lands to that of the believer's journey to heaven. You see, Frodo was asked to do the impossible: take the Ring of Power to Mordor and destroy it. He was asked to do it against incredible odds too. He was up against the deepest hate, darkest foes, and greatest obstacles anyone could ever imagine.A little Hobbit - the "most remarkable of creatu...  Read More

Thank you to everyone who prayed for James and me as we traveled to New Orleans this past weekend! If you didn’t know, I am currently pursuing a Masters of Divinity (MDiv) at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Most of my classes are online, but I occasionally get the opportunity to attend a weekend hybrid class in person. James had expressed some interest in seminary, so he made the 8-hour ...  Read More

Standing Firm in a Hostile WorldEveryone in the world today wants to hate on the Christian faith. Opponents of Christianity want to label the doctrines of Christ as hateful, bigoted, homophobic, divisive, and/or a plethora of other things. They want to believe that Judeo-Christianity is somehow a threat to societal progress, saying that the faithful are holding back certain human rights, privilege...  Read More

What is Prophecy? When many of us think of the word, “prophecy,” many of us think of someone predicting the future. In the case of the Old Testament, many of us assume that all prophecy is a prediction of Jesus’ arrival and earthly ministry, which is fair; there is certainly Messianic prophecy found in books like Isaiah and Micah.  However, according to Old Testament Scholars Gordon Fee and Dougla...  Read More

Over the last few months, I’ve been trying to work on myself so that I can be a better husband and prepare myself for fatherhood. As such, I picked up a book called Thoughts for Young Men by 19th century pastor J.C. Ryle. The lessons taught here are so timeless that I forgot it was written over a hundred years ago. Here is a quote that really stood out to me:“The older you grow and the more you se...  Read More

I’ve been watching a lot of Winter Olympics. I love watching the best athletes in the world compete against each other. I’m also fascinated by how certain countries seem to dominate certain events. Not always of course but it seems to be true that downhill skiing is generally dominated the European nations, cross country seems to belong to the Scandinavians, and the USA seems to be dominating even...  Read More

In Ephesians 3, the Apostle Paul shares a personal prayer with the Ephesian believers that is quite beautiful. For context, this prayer is nestled in an explanation of how God mysteriously calls people into salvation. His point is that none of us fully comprehend how God saves or how God calls. This was especially true for the Gentiles. For centuries, God’s covenant of salvation was given to the J...  Read More

King Cake – The Preaching PastryThis past weekend, Cheyenne and I visited family in Alabama for a very late family Christmas. We went to pick up some groceries for the party, and we came across a King Cake, a famous dish often associated with Mardi Gras. I’ve always had a soft spot for New Orleans and Cajun culture- after all, there is a reason I chose to attend New Orleans Seminary-  so we took i...  Read More

Jesus Paid It All – The Gospel in the SnowBy Casey StanfillAt the time of writing this, I am currently at working from home amidst the snow and ice. The snow reminds me of the familiar hymn, “Jesus Paid It All,” written in 1865 by Elvina M. Hall and John Grape. The chorus reads:Jesus paid it allAll to Him I oweSin had left a crimson stainHe washed it white as snow.  In Hebrew, the word for snow is...  Read More