grace

Finding the Gospel in the NBA Finals

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Start Here The NBA Finals are upon us again. For the 8th straight year Lebron James leads a team from the Eastern Conference while the Goliath of the West, the Warriors, are looking to solidify themselves as maybe the greatest team ever to play. Here at Things Above Us, we like to talk about the gospel, … Read more

The Urgency of Scripture Memorization

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These are just a few of the excuses I’ve heard, and I don’t buy any of them. Scripture memorization being difficult for you is all the more reason you should strive to do it! And I don’t think it’s an unnecessary or legalistic yoke to place on you, as the Scripture itself is full of references which can only be rightly interpreted as requiring memorization. How do you expect to meditate on God’s Word day and night if you don’t have it in your heart? How shall a young man keep his way pure when he encounters temptation? Jesus quoted Scripture from memory in the wilderness, let him be your example.

On the Election of Infants – Part 2

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Earlier, we reviewed four of the six reasonable categories (Click here to read Part 1) one can fall in concerning their belief about the election of infants. Many folks have argued whether babies go to Heaven for centuries. For the sake of ease of writing, I will use the term “infants” to describe those “who … Read more

On the Election of Infants – Part 1

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What Happens When a Baby Dies? Many folks have argued whether babies go to Heaven for centuries. Instead of putting forth an argument, per se, I want to summarize what the possible positions one can take would be, and at least try to eliminate the ones that seem absurd, while explaining some of the implications … Read more

How to Evangelize a City

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How would you go about evangelizing a city? What are some strategic ideas for reaching God’s elect in the town where God has placed you or your church? Photo by malcolm lightbody on Unsplash The Foundation According to Romans 10:13–17 (and the rest of the Bible), it is God’s Word which men and women everywhere must hear and … Read more

Run to Him

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My older son was outside playing basketball down the street. He had stopped to wave at me as I drove past him on my way home from work. I walked in the door of my house and looked around. My wife was in the kitchen putting the final touches on dinner, and my youngest daughter was upstairs working on schoolwork. Our middle son was engrossed in whatever had his attention. But the moment that struck me was when the baby looked up from his blocks and realized his daddy was home.

For everyone else, it was business as usual. But for Michael Robert (not a jr), seeing me walk in the door was enough to stop him from everything he was doing. He instantly dropped what was in his hands and ran straight to me. It didn’t bother him that there were obstacles (he didn’t even try to avoid them), and whatever fun activity had his attention was quickly forgotten. He was singularly focused on making his way to his daddy for a hug and kiss.

So What’s the Problem

My heart was filled with joy. I thought, what a gift it was for God to give my son such love for me! But my joy quickly turned to sorrow as I realized how infrequently I ran to my Heavenly Father in the same way. Why is it so easy for me to push away urges to pray or read the Scripture, and instead focus on whatever earthly task is before me? How many times had my Father in Heaven stood at a metaphorical door and simply looked on as I continued in my personal pursuit, rather than run to Him as my son ran to me that day?

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Interview with Franky Collazo – Wrath and Grace

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Wrath and Grace is holding a conference June 30, 2018 at Del Ray Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia. I sat down with Franky Collazo, who is organizing this event in order to hear from his heart what he and the team at Wrath and Grace hope to accomplish. Michael: Thanks for agreeing to talk to … Read more

2018 Arnold Classic Outreach Report

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The Lord Jesus Christ blessed us with pleasant weather and friendly crowds at the 2018 Arnold Classic Outreach in Columbus, OH. The Arnold Classic is an international exposition featuring athletes from a number of different sports including, bodybuilding, weightlifting, martial arts, gymnastics, and more. Vendors of all types of nutrition supplements to exercise gear or … Read more

Things Above Us?

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Colossians 3:1-2 is, in essence, the theme of this blog.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.[/perfectpullquote]

So how can a group of guys get together, entitle a blog “Things Above Us” in clear reference to scripture, then proceed to make sports one of the four pillars of categories alongside such heavenly minded topics as theology, evangelism and missions?

Let’s briefly (for word count purposes) examine Col 3:1-2. Mouse over the verse references to read them or just keep a copy of God’s Word open next to you or in another browser tab.

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