I have been thinking a lot lately about the beautiful simplicity, and also the great difficulty, in living a gospel-centered life. On the one hand, the calling on our lives is very clear and quite uncomplicated — we are called to remain in Jesus and find life and contentment in Him. On the other hand, our restless hearts consistently wander away from His presence and drift away from our true iden...  Read More

I've done a bit of traveling lately. That might seem strange since I now have a newborn and two toddlers, but it’s true. Some of you might live in the place I've been checking out, but probably nearly all of you have visited. It goes by several names: The End of Your Rope; The Breaking Point; The Straw That Broke the Camel’s Back; Rock Bottom. Yes, I've been spending some time discovering the bord...  Read More

We all have that “one thing.” You know, that “one thing” that we hang on to for dear life. For some, the one thing is a career. For others, it’s something material (like a keep-sake from a relative). For many, the one thing is relational (e.g. a spouse, a children or a parent). To be clear, these things represents idols in our lives. This means that, for the Christian, the question becomes, “Are ...  Read More

14 years ago this past week, my wife, Kayla went into labor 8 1/2 months into her pregnancy with  a “weird feeling”. We were nervous, but excited about the arrival of our son, Levi Joseph Massey. However, there was a complication with his life support internally while he was still in the womb and by the end of the evening we had lost our son. We would not have the opportunity to raise him, to teac...  Read More

Psalm 11 1 In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain, 2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; 3 if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” 4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the child...  Read More

Happy New Year Heartland,With every new year, we are primed to think about new beginnings. We think about new rhythms and habits that we want to form; new initiatives that we are looking forward to; and all of the new things that God has for us to experience. However, with all the consideration of what’s new, we must be reminded to never lose sight of what’s true. One of my favorite quotes from Jo...  Read More