Blog, Podcast, YouTube, and Books by Ray Burns
Approximate Reading Time: 7 minutesWhen I was first asked my thoughts on mindfulness, I had to do a double-take. After all, why wouldn’t Christians want to be mindful of others? But this question is related to a meditation technique that, I suspect, will only grow in popularity within Christian circles. As we seek to be faithful to Christ in […]
Should Christians Practice Mindfulness Meditation? Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 10 minutesAs our walk with Christ deepens, we want our understanding of the Bible to deepen as well. Whether we are already regular readers or still struggling, we want God’s word to come alive as we seek to understand what God reveals in it. And part of that means going deeper into what the Bible says.
Helpful Questions for Confusing Bible Verses Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 8 minutes“I have a hard time making friends at church because I’m an introvert.” “I always feel shy or anxious when I’m around others. I worry I’ll say the wrong thing to them.” “I’d much rather be home than around people.” These aren’t just things introverts say – these are my own thoughts. Just like our
Are You a Selfish Introvert? Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 11 minutesI’ve discussed the danger of using our phones as a distraction, as well as why we shouldn’t feel guilty for having fun when it’s not turning into an idol. Now let’s wrap things up by figuring out whether we’re using something for God-honoring fun or self-glorifying distraction. Why do we want distraction? Most often, distraction
Is It Fun or Just a Distraction? Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 7 minutesA few weeks ago I encouraged people to stop wasting time on their phones. Phones have become one of the easiest sources of entertainment we have, and many of us turn to them when we want to have fun. So when Christians start talking about the dangers of phones, it can be easy to hear
Should Christians Feel Guilty for Having Fun? Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 30 minutes(Don’t click away after seeing the length of this! This discussion is broken up into several bite-sized pieces. Don’t try to read all of this at once – just read a section at a time as you find a few minutes throughout the next few days) Many Christians in America lament the state of our
Christian Nationalism – The False Teaching We Can’t Ignore Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 10 minutes(Click here for the podcast version of this article) We are slaves to our phones. According to a 2016 study, the average person uses their phone 76 times every day, while the more obsessed users can average up to 132 sessions on their phone. Most surprisingly, the most common time to pick up our phones
Stop Wasting Time On Your Phone Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 6 minutes(This article also includes a podcast discussion. Click the play button below, or subscribe and listen on your Apple or Google podcast app.) Three people hear a news story about an oil spill in the ocean. Joe is a conspiracy theorist and suspects the U.S. government sank the boat to make prices rise. Sarah is
Sifting Truth with a Biblical Worldview Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 5 minutes(This article also includes a podcast discussion. Click the play button below, or subscribe and listen on your Apple or Google podcast app.) If there’s one thing that’s consistent about everything I’ve discussed in this series, it’s this: there’s a fundamental flaw with how we desire to have a small group of celebrities be our
The need for “bottom-up” discipleship (Part 7 of Reflecting on Fallen Leaders) Read More »
Approximate Reading Time: 5 minutes(This article also includes a podcast discussion. Click the play button below, or subscribe and listen on your Apple or Google podcast app.) What’s the point of the life we live? What direction do we point our feet when we take steps towards our greatest desire in life? Between now and our eternity with God,
The Lifelong Need for Purity (Part 6 of Reflecting on Fallen Leaders) Read More »