Josh Benner

Tag: meaning

  • Purdue super fan Tyler Trent passes away

    We don’t control the cards we’re dealt. All we can do is play what we have.

    Tyler Trent passed away on Tuesday.

    The Purdue student had battled a rare form of bone cancer. He had become a sensation in college football and Big Ten circles as being someone the Purdue football team rallied around this season. The hashtag #TylerStrong went viral.

    He inspired and encouraged people. He raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer research. He wrote a book that he’d never be able to see completed, but which will also continue to raise money for cancer research.

    Tyler was also outspoken about the importance of his faith.

    In 2017, Tyler’s cancer returned and he began to pray that God would use this journey for His glory.”

    As I think about the impact he had over the last few months, it’s clear that this prayers was answered.

    In an interview with Today, Tyler said: “Waking up day to day is like winning a lottery…I try to rely on my faith in Jesus Christ and figure out how to have a good day.”

    As his battle continued, Tyler took to Twitter numerous time to glorify God.
    (more…)

  • The only resolution that matters for 2019


    Originally published December 31, 2014

    At the beginning of each year, millions of Americans make new year’s resolutions. Common resolutions include eating healthier, saving more money, quitting smoking, or learning a new skill. All of those are great things.

    But the reason why we create new year’s resolutions is because there are areas in our life where we know we should be doing something and where we aren’t. Maybe it’s something we’ve tried and failed at before, but new year’s gives a sense of optimism. I think before we focus on anything else in 2019, our resolution should be to start (or continue) living each day for God.

    We can feel like we want to get all of our ducks in a row before we can make time for faith. There are always reasons to not pursue God. There are always things that come up, difficulties we have. If we wait until everything is perfect before we do something, it never happens. (more…)

  • Mega millions – mega problems: why money can’t buy purpose

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    Tonight, the largest lottery drawing in human history will happen. If you have the right numbers for Mega Millions, you can win $1.6 billion dollars. An unbelievable amount of money to acquire in the span of a few minutes.

    To put that in perspective, think if you were given $1 million dollars. For the vast majority of people (and I’m sure anyone who’s reading this), that would be life changing money. Mega Millions is a million times sixteen hundred.

    And that’s not the only huge jackpot available this weekend. Power Ball is drawn tomorrow and is the fifth largest jackpot ever, with $656 million. Slumming it compared to $1.6 billion but still an incredible amount of money.

    Yes, it would be nice to never have to worry about debt, to never have to worry about money. You could pay off all of the debts of family.

    But it would also fundamentally change every relationship you have. Long lost relatives would come out of the woodwork. It would change how people looked at you. Money can unleash unbelievable greed. Families have been divided over a few thousand dollars in someone’s will.

    And how would you ever build any new meaningful friendships?

    Would it really be worth it?

    We can make an idol of money and think that if we just had more, everything would be better.

    Again, I get it. It does fix a lot of problems. If someone is struggling to make ends meet, and you suddenly never had to worry about that, who wouldn’t want that?

    But for whoever eventually wins these huge lotteries, life will never be the same.

    A 2016 article by Time shares stories of various lottery winners who wish they’d never won. Many people who win the lottery end up worse off as a result (I realize that is unlikely with $1.6 billion).

    The author of Ecclesiastes talks of the pitfalls of tremendous wealth:

    I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees.

    I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man.

    So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil.

    Ecclesiastes 2:4-6, 8-10

    The author of Ecclesiastes talks of having great wealth, great wisdom. But none of these things bring ultimately joy and fulfillment on their own.

    Money can’t buy purpose, it can only distract. Money can’t give us life, we can’t take it with us when we die. And no matter how much money we have, we all face death, and having a lot of wealth for a short time in this world matters nothing to eternity.

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

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  • The Church: being part of something bigger than yourself

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    An astounding 16 million soldiers, sailors and Marines served America in the Second World War.
    And while most of our focus on World War II is on the military and combat, within the United States, there was an effort to support the war unlike anything our nation had seen or has seen since.
    With millions going overseas, Americans at home took up new jobs.
    Coming out of the Great Depression, unemployment dried up, reaching an all time low in 1944.
    The war effort affected virtually every facet of American life. Companies shifted their manufacturing efforts to supporting the war and supplying the military. Maytag went from making washing machines to making parts for airplanes. Firestone Tires made artillery shells and aluminum containers for food transport.
    Products like sugar, butter, bacon, and cheese were rationed. As were penicillin and other medicines, along with rubber and certain types of metals. Materials for clothing such as silk and nylon were needed for uniforms. Everything went to supporting a cause that was so much bigger than any one person.
    And everyone’s contributions mattered.
    To help pay for the war, the government sold war bonds. Over 85 million Americans purchased war bonds to help fund the effort. To put that in perspective, that was more than half of the entire United States population at the time.
    An incredible effort.
    The church has a mission 
    As Christians, we too are called to be part of a cause that is far bigger than any of us, but where everyone has a role, where everyone has a job to do, where everyone has a way to serve.
    The mission of God on earth.
    And that mission is to spread the gospel. To make disciples. To build up the church. To love one another.
    It’s not a passive request in scripture, nor is it a good suggestion, but something which God commands from all of his people.
    If you’re a person who has placed faith in Jesus, this applies to you.
    As the Apostle Paul said in Galatians 2:20:
    I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
    You belong to Jesus when you place your faith in him.
    And part of the purpose of the Christian life is one that is lived in service of God for the mission of God in the world.
    You were made to have an impact 
    Do you ever feel like you were made for something great?
    Do you ever feel like you were meant to have an impact?
     You are made for more, you are made to do great things, you are born to have an impact in the world.
    An impact for Jesus.
    We can try to build our own kingdoms, we can try to collect our own toys, we can try to control and manipulate the circumstances in our lives to make us feel secure.
    We can do those things.
    But we were made to serve the mission of Christ in the world.
    And that includes sharing the gospel, making disciples, making Jesus known, growing together as His Church, and serving God.
    As a church, every person in the church is called to use the ways God has gifted and equipped them for the purpose of serving God and building up the church.
    That’s why we’re here.
    Writing to the Church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul said:
    Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
    Maybe you’ve never really thought about that.
    But all Christians are given Spiritual gifts.
    Doesn’t matter how well you know the Bible.
    It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a Christian. There’s no probationary period before you can God.
    It doesn’t matter how smart you are, or how outgoing you are, or how many people you know.
    It doesn’t matter how talented you think you are.
    If you’re a Christian, God has given you gifts to serve him and build up his church.
    Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have nothing to offer.
    I think that’s the reason why some people don’t serve.
    It’s nonsense.
    Because everyone here has much to offer. Much to contribute.
    It can be easy to see a really talented pastor, a really gifted musician, someone who’s really outgoing, and to feel insecure about what you have to offer.
    But the unsung heroes are the backbone of congregations, people faithfully and humbly serving. Books get written about generals, but the real work is done by soldiers.
    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

  • Billy Graham’s last will reminds us of how short life is

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    Billy Graham’s last will and testament was released to the public today. The great evangelist died in February.

    In the frist section, he encourages people to take up Godly devotion in their daily lives and to defend the gospel.

    I commit myself wholly into the hands of my Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing by God’s Word that through His shed blood my sins have been atoned for and taken away and that through His merits I shall be presented faultless in the presence of His glory.

    When you read this I will be safely with Jesus in Paradise. I will be awaiting the reunion of our family in Heaven. Time on earth is so short. It seems only yesterday that I was a little boy playing on the family farm near Charlotte. It seems only yesterday that I took your mother on our first date on the second Sunday of December, 1940. It seems only yesterday that we were married on the full moonlit night in August, 1943. It seems only yesterday that I opened a letter from your mother to say that we were expecting our first child in the fall of 1945.

    That idea is what struck me in his note.

    Billy Graham lived 99 years. And yet even long lives are still so short.

    I’m in my thirties. Billy Graham was older than some of my great grandparents. But it is amazing how quickly time goes by. Memories of my youth, events that happened over a quarter century ago “seem only yesterday.”

    Life is short. And while we’re so tempted to all assume that we will have long lives, no one knows when the last day will be. It’s easy to take time for granted. But it’s finite and fleeting.

    As I think about Billy Graham, he was a man who had his first priority right: living a life that revolved around the gospel.

    There’s no time to wait. We need to live for God today. If you don’t know Jesus, or if you do but you have never really taken that relationship seriously, don’t wait. Don’t put it off. Today is the day.

    Childhood seems only yesterday. And even for those who live Billy Graham lifespans, the last day will seem like only tomorrow. Live for Jesus today!

    Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
    -1 Peter 5:6-7

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.