I’m reposting this series from 2009 when I was a youth pastor leading a trip to Colorado. Enjoy! -JB God said to Moses, “Go to the people. For the next two days get these people ready (i.e., “consecrate them”) to meet the Holy God. Have them scrub their clothes so that on the third day … More Mountain God 3: A Holy God (Exodus 19)
“Mountain God” is a series of reflections I shared on a youth adventure trip climbing in the Rocky Mountains in 2009 with a group of teenagers. Enjoy! Three months after leaving Egypt the Israelites entered the Wilderness of Sinai. They followed the route from Rephidim, arrived at the Wilderness of Sinai, and set up camp. … More Mountain God 2: A Holy People (Exodus 19)
I’m reposting this series from back in 2009 when I was a youth pastor. Enjoy! -JB “The mountain is no ordinary place. It is a dangerous environment of holiness, the place where the ordinariness of human, earthly life has contact with the holy that destabilizes and consequently transforms. We have trivialized “mountaintop experiences” as though … More Mountain God 1: Introduction
No one likes being underdressed. A beautiful sunset off the coastline is hard to enjoy when you are shivering in a T-shirt and shorts. It’s hard to enjoy three feet of fresh powder on the slopes of Aspen when your fingers and toes are numb from the bitter cold. And a rainy camping trip is … More Dirty Laundry 7: Dress Accordingly
Fashion trends come and go like the ocean tide, but one fad that is here to stay is the style of being in style. And the drive toward conformity begins at a surprisingly early age. I still remember my first brush with the “fashion police” from way back in grade school. The popular brand name … More Dirty Laundry 6: Jesus en Vogue
Whether we like it or not, our clothes make a statement. Uniforms identify us with a particular team, business, or school. Our attire often pigeonholes us by profession. The white-collar, blue-collar distinction is still readily acknowledged. More superficially, in school brand name shoppers are given more respect, while secondhand thrift shoppers are seen as “not … More Dirty Laundry 5: Wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve
For some, the entire idea of clothing one’s self with an alter ego, taking on a new persona empowered to accomplish awesome things, sounds like mere fantasy. It sounds just like our favorite comic book superheroes. Clark Kent goes into a phone booth and, seconds later, comes out Superman. Diana spins around in circles to … More Dirty Laundry 4: Superheroes & Phone Booths
Everyday we get up and put on new clothes. Yesterday’s apparel is dirty, wrinkled and smelly from yesterday’s work. Today is a new day, and should begin with clean, fresh smelling clothes. Yesterday’s attire may be spotted with embarrassing coffee or ketchup stains. Old pants get holes in awkward places. Dress shirts get “ring around … More Dirty Laundry 3: New Clothes for a New Day
You and some friends have escaped to a secluded lake in the country for some night swimming. To add to the excitement, you dare each other to take off your suits for a skinny-dipping rush. Just after you set your suits on the swimming dock and have swam out some fifty yards from shore a … More Dirty Laundry 2: Naked & Ashamed
“We do not want to be found naked, but clothed; so that what is mortal will be transformed by life.” 2 Corinthians 5:4 “Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete.” Colossians 3:10 … More Dirty Laundry 1: Introduction
A Daily Illumination classic from 2006. -JB I heard a bird chirping today. I actually stopped for a brief moment and listened. It was a good sound, and a good sign. Sign of what? A sign, I believe, of freedom. Yes, freedom from self-absorption. Our cell-phone society confines our internet identities to the rat mazes … More One Chirp at a Time: Flight from Self-Absorption
Matt 11:2-3, 15 “When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?…He who has ears, let him hear.” I suffer from what I call “The Yellow Brick Road Syndrome”. I want to be Dorothy … More Yellow Brick Road Syndrome (by Mike Fox)
Here’s a Daily Illumination spring classic from 2006! Do I look younger? Drip, drip, drip. Tweet, tweet. Can you hear the sounds of spring? What a messy time of year! Mud and slush. Scraping the bottom of your shoe off on the sidewalk or with a stick before coming into the house. Hopping and skipping … More Just Give Me the Flowers
I was standing on the dock putting gasoline into the boat the other day. I happened to read the bright yellow warning sticker as I slowly poured the 5-gallons into the tank. The sticker read: WARNING: Leaking fuel is a fire and explosion hazard. Inspect fuel system often. My mind began searching for some Christian … More Warning: Explosion Hazard
Repost from Spring 2010 but I’m in the exact same place personally. -JB “My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times…How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Psalm 119). It’s perhaps my favorite time of year. I’m sitting in the backyard, listening to the lively noises … More Springtime Feasting on the Word
Remember Drivers Ed class? Remember Behind-the-Wheel? In the “Student Driver” series, Jeremy shares some of the profound similarities between learning to drive and the road to discipleship. Jeremy writes from the unique vantage point of both a certified Driving Instructor and a pastor. This excerpt is called “Fatal Distractions.” Buckle up!
Tee off on the course of life and let the game of Golf guide you closer in your walk with God. In the “Golf & God” series Jeremy teaches you how to keep your faith on the fairways, avoid living out of bounds, make the most of life’s sand traps, stay out of the water, … More Golf & God: Spiritual Links to Life with God
One divine melody permeates the grand narrative of redemptive history. In The Father’s Song series, Jeremy guides us through the biblical narrative–from Genesis to Revelation–with “ears to hear” the penetrating God-beat keeping everything in sync. This excerpt is called describes the 40-year stubbornness of Moses and Israel in the desert. I spent several years substitute … More Moses & the 40-Year Band Rehearsal
Cabin fever anyone? Wanna get away from it all this summer? Imagine the phone rings and it’s Jesus himself saying, “Are you tired? Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest.” (Matt 11 MSG). Who would refuse such an offer? Well, the offer is there! … More SUMMER SERIES: Cabin with Jesus
The gentleman who drew this is Joe Castillo. He went to Asbury Theological Seminary.He did this during a chapel service. It was fascinating – he told the Gospel story – each part of Jesus’ life – and he was drawing the story as he told it.The longer you look at this picture, the more you … More ‘Facing’ the Christmas Story
“Come to me all you who labor and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest.” -JESUS Each of the last four days there have been news accounts of a few more funerals held for the killed children from Newtown, CT. It is hard to watch those stories as the short lives of 6 year … More Advent 2012 – Come to Me (by David Brown)
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, … More Advent 2012 – Weariness (by David Brown)
“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Matthew 1:1 This is a lengthy post but I do hope you will take time to read it. And before you do, go back and read yesterday’s post. I received the following story from a long-time friend who serves … More Advent 2012 – Genealogy (by David Brown)
“I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can … More Advent 2012 – Contentment (by David Brown)
John 5:1-15 “Jesus went…to a pool (in Jerusalem) where a great number of disabled people used to lie-the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked … More Advent 2012 – Personal Touch (by David Brown)
Jeremy Berg 