Lessons about sin from a disastrous commute

I thought I knew how to get home from work. At least I certainly should have. I never imagined where I was actually going to end up. My family and I had just returned to a city we’d left five years before, and I was uncertain about my commute because we had moved to a new area. I used my GPS to get headed in the right direction until I knew where I was going; then I turned it off and headed to the new house. While the drive down the interstate felt familiar, something was off. I didn’t remember…

I found Jesus in Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood

February 16, 2020February 22, 2020 Categories: Growing PainsTags: disabilities · gratitude · kids · love

When I was three, I lost part of my dad that I never got back. He had a nervous breakdown when the two children from his first marriage died in a small plane crash. My mom told me that after that it was like Dad didn’t want to live anymore.

Two cops pulled me over — and one of them preached the Gospel

February 2, 2020February 2, 2020 Categories: Growing PainsTags: faith · grace · lega

It was early in the morning in Washington, D.C., and I was driving down Montana Avenue about ten minutes from home. But suddenly, the blue lights of a police cruiser zoomed into the reflection of my review mirror. My stomach dropped. When I pulled over, the officer swerved his car off the road and pulled up behind me. Then he got out, swaggered over to my window, and peered in. “Do you know why I pulled you over?” “I have no idea,” I answered flatly as my heart raced.

A girl with a disability danced — and showed me what real love looks like

January 11, 2020January 10, 2020 Categories: Growing PainsTags: adoption · grace · love

I have friends who adopted a little girl from another country, and their child has some significant disabilities that require her to wear a brace on her leg. You would think that fitting braces for a child’s leg wouldn’t be a difficult thing, but it has actually been a long process that has been debilitating and painful for her.

What God can do with a purity ring, a puppet show, and a death row inmate

June 22, 2019June 22, 2019 Categories: Growing PainsTags: evangelism · Growing Pains · witnessing

I wore a purity ring until I was 23. For those who don’t know what a purity ring is, it’s a wedding band sometimes worn by young, unmarried Christians. The ring is meant to remind yourself and everyone else that your heart belongs to Jesus and your virginity belongs to your future spouse.

I told a huge lie — and I’ll never forget how God handled it

February 17, 2019 Categories: Growing PainsTags: forgiveness · grace · shame · sin

When I was 18, I told the most elaborate lie of my life and I did it because I was lazy. I worked at the meat department of a grocery store where the assistant manager, Harold Johnson (a pseudonym), was known for recruiting meat department employees to stock shelves. That wasn’t my job and I was determined to avoid it.

If you feel distracted in prayer, don’t worry—it’s a good thing

September 24, 2018 Categories: Growing PainsTags: grace · guilt · judging · prayer

So many times the same frustrating thing happens when I try to pray. “Heavenly Father,“ I say, but almost immediately I get interrupted by my own thoughts.

If you think God looks at you and sees ugliness, think again

September 8, 2018October 17, 2018 Categories: Growing PainsTags: faith · grace · love · sin

One day when I was in my 20s, I was struggling with a lot of guilt and shame because I felt like the only thing God ever saw about me was my sin and brokenness. God must’ve told my mother. I came into the dining room where my mom was and she said, “Joshua, look at that angel up there on the shelf,” and then she pointed to a ceramic angel behind me.

The Horse the Spirit Rides

May 2, 2018 Categories: Growing PainsTags: Holy Spirit · sanctification · sin

I can’t picture the Holy Spirit. I want to, but I just can’t. Now Jesus is different — I can see Him in my imagination: a Middle Eastern man with black hair, a beard, and smile wrinkles on His face (there are probably scars on His face too).

The One Person We’re Proud to Judge

July 5, 2017July 6, 2017 Categories: Growing PainsTags: grace · guilt · judgmentalism

I pushed the elderly woman in the wheelchair and started our conversation but I knew I had to whisper. For this college sophomore, the workplace had become a tricky arena in which to talk about Jesus.

Satan’s Temptation in the Low Times

March 14, 2017March 14, 2017 Categories: Growing PainsTags: fear · grace · suffering · vulnerability · waiting

My wife and I did not intend to have another year of sweeping changes in 2016. We never do. We told ourselves this year was going to be different. The roller coaster was finally going to stop. No more big transitions like the previous eight years of marriage.

What I Lost When I Gave Away My Southern Accent

January 31, 2017 Categories: Growing Pains · UncategorizedTags: fear · healing · vulnerability

I knew my accent would stand out when I moved to Washington, D.C. I didn’t think anyone would make fun of it. As I walked away from the break room and said, “Bye, y’all,” to a group of coworkers, I hadn’t gotten far away before I heard one of them say, “Byyyyye yawl!!” It stung.

Facing My Recent Disappointment with Gratitude

November 22, 2016 Categories: Growing PainsTags: faith · gratitude · suffering

A few weeks ago, there was an unpleasant and unfair turn of events in my life that knocked the wind out of me. Feelings of disappointment kicked in. Those feelings eventually turned into anger, and the anger turned into a low-grade anxiety. I couldn’t stop looking in the rearview mirror and reliving what happened.

Awkward People Don’t Need a Cure — They Need Community

August 10, 2016 Categories: Growing Pains · UncategorizedTags: conflict · evangelism · healing · suffering

For a lot of my single years, I was hopelessly awkward. No doubt, there were still attractive things about my personality (or at least my mom says there were), but overall, I was kind of weird.

The Reason I’m Not Going to Hell

April 19, 2016April 19, 2016 Categories: Growing PainsTags: faith · fear · forgiveness · grace · healing · legalism · religiousness

When I was in my 20s, I was obsessed with the fear that I was not actually saved — that my so-called “faith” was nothing but an elaborate web of self-deception that would end in eternal damnation.

Joshua Rogers

Finding God in the Ordinary

Category: Growing Pains