Is That The Right Verb?
on March 5th, 2024
Ps 130:3-4 1 cor 4If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,    O Lord, who could stand?But with you there is forgiveness,    that you may be feared.The last word of this passage has been giving me pause. Is that the right verb? Our gut level intuitions would think that our response to God’s forgiveness would be something else. “With you there is forgiveness that you may be…honored; loved; thanked; p...  Read More
Take Another Look
on February 6th, 2024
When I was 7 years old I got my first pair of glasses and I hated them! I didn’t like the way I looked. I didn’t like the jokes and name calling. I didn’t like the inconvenience. I didn’t like being different than most of my classmates. What I DID like was that I could see! Those new lenses gave me new vision and put things in focus. I could read better and see the ball coming more clearly. I coul...  Read More
Our Calling: Be with Christ
on January 3rd, 2024
I was cleaning up recently after all of the holiday festivities and I picked up a stack of conversation cards that I have. On one of the cards is the question, “Is there something that you feel God might be calling you into this next year?” This got me thinking about my own calling. Heartland just installed elders and the question of “calling” has been a topic of extensive study for me personally ...  Read More
Thinking Differently About Efficiency
on December 6th, 2023
One of the primary messages that our culture screams at us is the need to be efficient in every area of our lives. In fact, much of our culture is based on the ability to get more things done in less time, while utilizing fewer resources. This creates the feeling of intense pressure on us to measure up and “prove ourselves useful” as we inevitably attempt to cram more into the day and to get as ma...  Read More
Slow Down and Embrace the Wonder
on November 1st, 2023
One of the things my children love to do is go on walks. Going for a walk usually means them taking a scooter, or balance bike, or some other toy to ride through our neighborhood as they think about a destination. Recent destinations include a pond, or a certain house with Halloween decorations, or a little book nook. It never ceases to amaze me how different my two older children are. My daughter...  Read More
The Wonder of Our Sanctification (learning to live in love and fear)
on September 28th, 2023
As I have discipled countless men over the years in areas of struggling with sin, and as I have been discipled by others in the same way, I have recognized a pattern of tension that exists in our counsel. Many will say that the way you die to your flesh and deny the passions of your former self is to experience the love of God for you. As God’s love is poured out into your heart, you reciprocate t...  Read More
Be Still: Patience is a Virtue
on September 6th, 2023
Be Still: Patience is a VirtueI love to hunt. Some of my earliest memories are my dad, my uncle, and myself all heading out into the field to hunt deer in the winter or turkey in the spring. Those were some great times of fun and fellowship. However, they were also great times for learning life lessons. The majority of the lessons learned center around stillness. Stillness involves exactly what yo...  Read More
The Discipline of Remaining In Jesus (a remedy for our restless hearts)
on June 7th, 2023
I have been thinking a lot lately about the beautiful simplicity, and also the great difficulty, in living a gospel-centered life. On the one hand, the calling on our lives is very clear and quite uncomplicated — we are called to remain in Jesus and find life and contentment in Him. On the other hand, our restless hearts consistently wander away from His presence and drift away from our true iden...  Read More
Jesus In the Breaking Point
on May 2nd, 2023
I've done a bit of traveling lately. That might seem strange since I now have a newborn and two toddlers, but it’s true. Some of you might live in the place I've been checking out, but probably nearly all of you have visited. It goes by several names: The End of Your Rope; The Breaking Point; The Straw That Broke the Camel’s Back; Rock Bottom. Yes, I've been spending some time discovering the bord...  Read More
That One Thing
on April 4th, 2023
We all have that “one thing.” You know, that “one thing” that we hang on to for dear life. For some, the one thing is a career. For others, it’s something material (like a keep-sake from a relative). For many, the one thing is relational (e.g. a spouse, a children or a parent). To be clear, these things represents idols in our lives. This means that, for the Christian, the question becomes, “Are ...  Read More
Joy In Suffering
on March 1st, 2023
14 years ago this past week, my wife, Kayla went into labor 8 1/2 months into her pregnancy with  a “weird feeling”. We were nervous, but excited about the arrival of our son, Levi Joseph Massey. However, there was a complication with his life support internally while he was still in the womb and by the end of the evening we had lost our son. We would not have the opportunity to raise him, to teac...  Read More
Psalm 11
on January 31st, 2023
Psalm 11 1 In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain, 2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; 3 if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” 4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the child...  Read More
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