Blog, Podcast, YouTube, and Books by Ray Burns
Approximate Reading Time: 7 minutes Wake up. Go to work. Come home. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. This is the Monday-Friday pattern of the average American, and over time it becomes a steady, though monotonous, routine. After 8-10 hours at work, exhaustion sets in and we’re ready for the day to be over. But then we check the mail and get a […]
Who Gets the Best Side of Us? Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 6 minutes God very purposely calls Himself our Heavenly Father. He perfectly guides, matures, and disciplines us as a loving father should. However, far too many people imagine God is distant or abusive. Never because of how God has treated them, but because of the image created by their own distant or abusive fathers. It’s sometimes difficult
Loving God Despite an Abusive Father Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 6 minutes A dad is out shopping with his toddler. The toddler performs their job to perfection, grabbing everything in sight and letting the entire store know when they’re unhappy about Dad stopping them. Meanwhile, Dad is trying to keep calm, finish his mission, and get his child home for a much-needed nap. When he finally gets
Dad, Don’t Babysit Your Children Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 2 minutes When we look at the world, we are overwhelmed. We are surrounded by heartache and sorrow, swallowed up and barely able to breathe. Any attempt to find hope for a better tomorrow often leaves us even deeper in hopelessness. Yet for those in Christ, the momentary darkness of this world will make way for an
Looking Forward to Eternity Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 5 minutes A few years ago I found myself sitting in a grocery store’s restaurant at 5:30 a.m., eating breakfast and talking to my good friend about my latest crisis. It had nothing to do with drug addiction or anger. Instead, it was because of a sermon. I didn’t know my spiritual gift, and I was losing
When You Don’t Know Your Spiritual Gift Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 4 minutes Would you consider yourself a good person? I think for most of us, when we are asked the above question a natural inclination to justify our goodness begins flashing through our minds. We think of our good actions and the good things we have accomplished. We think about the times we have sacrificed for the
Am I a Good Person? Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 4 minutes You are dying. I am dying. We are dying. No matter how uncomfortable it is to think about death, the reality is that we are all dying. This is why Benjamin Franklin went on record saying, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” Even the Scriptures tell us
Death: Hope of Resurrection Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 3 minutes Death hurts. I’m not talking about the act of dying but the loss of someone you love when they die. It hurts when you lose someone. There is a swirling of emotions that we often describe as emptiness, loss, sadness, grief, etc. These feelings often impact us so much that it feels as if our
Death: Why Does It Hurt So Much? Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 3 minutes I write this after an interesting experience with my 2 year old, Anna. Her older sister has a bracelet-making kit shaped like a briefcase that Anna wanted to play with, but was told not to open. I knew she would disobey, but watching her sin nature reveal itself displayed a lot about our own sinfulness.
3 Things My Toddler Taught Me About Sin Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 4 minutes (This article also includes a podcast discussion. Click the play button below, or subscribe and listen on your Apple or Google podcast app.) When we don’t fully understand how God revealed Himself in the Old Testament, we can get a very warped view of Him. He’s often painted as an almighty dictator waiting to pour
You Can’t Make God Love You Less Read More »