Mark Batterson's Blog, page 18

No Guts, No Glory

Most people believe God is real, but few people actually live like it. The result is a widening gap between their theology and their reality. They allow their circumstances to get between them and God instead of letting God get between them and their circumstances. Lion chasers measure everything against almighty God, including five-hundred-pound lions. Thats the difference between being a scaredy-cat and a lion chaser.

When everything is said and done, God isnt going to say, Well said, Well...

Unlearning

Half of spiritual growth is learning what we dont know. The other half is unlearning what we do know. And it is the failure to unlearn irrational fears and misconceptions that keeps us from becoming who God wants us to be.

The invalid in John 5 is a great example of the importance of unlearning. He had been crippled for thirty eight years when Jesus asked him if he wanted to get well. But the man believed there was only one way to be healed:

I have no one to help me into the pool when the...

The Plague and 100 Blessings

Did you know that an observant Jew says a bare minimum of one hundred blessings per day? Those blessings cover the gamut of human experience. They offer a blessing before they eat, like many of us. But they also offer blessings during the meal for different tastes and smells. And after the meal is overyou guessed itthey offer a bookend blessing. Observant Jews bless God for a new day, a new article of clothing, and a new experience. And whenever they experience something pleasurable, it...

The Bravest Prayer

There are days, and then there are days that alter every day thereafter. For me, one of those life-altering days is July 2, 2016. Next to the day I was married, the days my kids were born, and the day I almost died, no day is more sacred. In fact, I can tell you exactly how many days its been from that day to this day.

I was kicking off a series of sermons titled Mountains Move and challenged our church to pray the bravest prayer they could pray. By bravest prayer I mean the prayer you can...

The Way of the Child

The post The Way of the Child appeared first on Mark Batterson.

Contending Season

Psalm 35:1:

Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me;
    fight against those who fight against me.

When you get a diagnosis that is difficult to digest or a dream turns into a nightmare or your marriage is tearing apart at the seams, you have choices to make. You can stand down, or you can stand on the promises of God. You can give up by giving in to guilt or fear or anger, or you can contend by praying as though it depends completely on God and working as if it depends completely on...

Kingdom Calculus

“Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”
Matthew 10:39

On November 12, 1859, a French acrobat named Jules Léotard performed the very first flying trapeze act at the Cirque Napoléon in Paris. As a teen, Jules tied ventilator cords over his father’s pool, where he practiced his midair maneuvers. His new art form wowed circus audiences, in part because it was done with no safety net. His close-fitting outfit caught their attention too! Jules...

A Pierced Ear

A Pierced Ear

“Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Six times in the Gospels and eight times in the book of Revelation, Jesus repeats these six words. It’s the simplest of statements, but the implications are exponential. The exhortation is urgent, and I believe your destiny depends on it.

When Jesus declared, “Whoever has ears, let them hear,” the Jewish ear would have heard hints of Psalm 40:6: “My ears you have opened.” The Hebrew word for “opened” is archaeological, meaning “to excavate” or...

The Gift of Pain

To call pain a gift seems like an oxymoron, I know. But without pain, we would repeatedly reinjure ourselves in the same ways. Without pain we would simply maintain the status quo. Without pain we would ignore problems that can kill us.

In fact, pain saved my life on July 23, 2000. I woke up that Sunday morning with intense pain in my abdomen, but I ignored it. I tried to preach a sermon that Sunday, but it became the only sermon I didn’t finish. Five minutes into it I was doubled over in...

The Way of the Wilderness

The post The Way of the Wilderness appeared first on Mark Batterson.