Skip Garmo's Blog (21)

Dear Grandparents who care deeply about the spiritual health of your grandchildren,

Christmas season is, for many grandparents, a mixture of joy, sadness, and stress. If you are experiencing the joy of good and healthy relationships with your grandkids (whether biological or temporarily “adopted”), our one word of encouragement is “Alleluia!”

But often we, at the same…

My good friend, Phil, recently asked how I "re-imagine" discipling in today's world. My reply to him, as you'll see here, does not point to trendy technology or novel approaches. It points instead to timeless truth and ancient paths -- for ourselves and our grandchildren.

  I re-imagine that we'd "zero-base" our goals and strategies for cultivating Christlikeness in ourselves and others. Starting at zero, we'd…

An alarming report recently grabbed my attention:

A seven-year study of the causes of death among teens in America observed that the top three causes of death were accidents, homicide, and suicide.* Almost half­ of those tragedies—about 68,000 deaths—were accidents, and most of those accidents—about 46,000—were by motor vehicle.

  Sit back for a…

God has no grandchildren.

Reading through the Old Testament book of Judges recently, a sentence jumped off the page and jabbed at my heart: After them another generation rose up who did not know the…

“Follow God’s example . . . and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us. . . . Now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:1–2a, 8b–10 NIV).

  With our Bibles open to 1 Corinthians 13, we began our 12-step meditation about God’s top priority for every disciple with this statement: “The most fulfilling…

“Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:7–8a NIV). Love doesn’t quit!

  As He continues speaking to us through the pe…

“Love . . . does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail” (1 Corinthians 13:6 AMPC).

Throughout this series on 1 Corinthians 13, we see clearly that what matters most to God in a disciple is that person’s agape love.  

Verse six identifies another way in which that love shows. A disciple can be trusted to do what is right and say what is true. That is, this person has trustworthy integrity.…

“Love . . . keeps no record of when it has been wronged” (1 Corinthians 13:5c NLT).

Love . . . forgives. Graciously.

As we continue meditating on what matters most to God in a disciple, let’s ponder the scope and path of forgiveness that we began previously.

God’s Word is clear about His countercultural desire for…

“Love . . . keeps no record of when it has been wronged” (1 Corinthians 13:5c NLT).

Love . . . forgives.

“What,” you may ask, “does ‘forgive’ mean?”

“Forgiveness,” wrote an…

“Love . . . is not easily angered . . .” (1 Corinthians 13:5b NIV).

Potentially the most impulsive—and most destructive—weakness in your life and mine is poorly controlled anger. We are inundated with angry incidents that—if we are not careful—can lead us to give ourselves “permission” to imitate those lapses of control: fiery dialogue in politics,…

“Love . . . does not boast; it is not arrogant. . . .” (1 Corinthians 13:4b ESV).

As we continue our journey of discovery into what matters most to God, there is a fourth quality that God seeks in the hearts of His followers. It is a quality that we all wish other people would show toward us, but that we sometimes only grudgingly show toward others:…

“. . . I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” (Philippians 4:11b ESV).

If you just joined our journey of discovery into what matters most to God, we are taking a reflective walk through 1 Corinthians 13:4. The third quality that people see in followers who reflect Christlike love is the absence of…

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the…

Parts 1 and 2, in this series about what matters most to God in a disciple, focused on a very challenging reality: For a person who places their faith in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior from “the wages of sin,” following God means much more than learning about Him and skillfully studying the Bible.

In fact, the disciple who focuses only on growing in knowledge and skill will fail sooner or later. Formula:…

Part 1 in this series about what matters most to God in a disciple began: “The most fulfilling journey in life is the path of a person who has an intimate relationship with God, and who faithfully follows Him.” Does this seem to you a reasonable description of a true “disciple”?

That description implies a commitment to…

The most fulfilling journey in life is the path of a person who has an intimate relationship with God, and who faithfully follows Him. Is it the easiest path to walk? No. Is it the inside track to popularity? No. But is it the inside track to joy? Yes, for eternal reasons.

Step one, for any person who yearns to experience this journey (i.e., a “disciple”), starts at the…

I noted in last week’s post that Christianity experienced a seismic paradigm shift when Martin Luther and other reformers essentially zero-based the church’s traditional doctrine of salvation and rebuilt it using only God’s Word—“Sola Scriptura.”

Then I stepped back from the details and considered applying that same strategy to discipling ourselves and others. I asked you, “If we zero-base our understanding of what it means to disciple ourselves and others, and then…

How special it is for us to be alive 500 years after the Protestant Reformation began in Wittenberg! This is an excellent time to thank God for what He did during those years to revolutionize peoples’ understanding of His Word, transform their hearts, and move them from uncertainty and fear through the church to confidence and freedom through Christ.

The core outcome of the Reformation was the revolution in scriptural understanding and worship by parishioners through direct…

Our tragic Hurricane Harvey has a golden lining: thousands of people praying, caring, & sharing their faith while working together to rescue lives and meet needs caused by that crisis.

But what do you suppose will happen when the spotlight shifts to the next public crisis? Yes, you're probably right: Emotion, money, and momentum will move mostly to that next media moment. And then the next one after…

I arrived in the Middle East last weekend to spend 35 class hours serving a group of tomorrow's ministry leaders in this region. It is a periodic privilege and responsibility I've enjoyed for most of the past 20 years. Several past students are present colleagues in ministry. How special is that!

At church, some men asked what this group from six countries will focus on. I replied, "The course is called 'Christlike Character in Leadership & Family.' We'll explore the implications…