Northeast Regional Coordinator with National Network of Youth Ministries (https://xitter.cf/t.co/mMLw73Kd2p) and campus ministry trainer (https://xitter.cf/t.co/v6MK3Dc19I)
Pittsburgh, PA
Joined May 2008
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Travis Deans retweeted
I’m starting to see it more clearly.
The gospel isn’t “try harder to stop sinning.” That road ends in tiredness or pride.
It’s about loving God so deeply that sin starts to lose its appeal. Obedience stops feeling like a burden and starts feeling like a response to love.
Travis Deans retweeted
This might be one of the WILDEST plot twists in the entire Bible and most Christians have never heard of it.
Check this out.
There were two significant requests Moses made to God that were denied.
First. In Exodus 33, Moses asks God, “Show me Your glory.” But God tells him, “You cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live.”
Request denied.
Second. In Deuteronomy 3, Moses begs God to let him enter the Promised Land but because of his disobedience and failure to trust God, God tells Moses he will not enter.
Request denied again.
Now, fast forward to the New Testament. In Matthew 17, Jesus is transfigured on a mountain, and the Bible specifically tells us that his face shone like the sun.
And guess who suddenly appears there with Jesus?
Moses.
Think about this. What is Moses finally seeing?
He’s seeing… the face of God.
The man who led the first Exodus and delivered his people from the bondage of Egypt is standing face to face with the One who would accomplish a greater Exodus, delivering sinners from the bondage of Satan, sin and death.
The man whose face was radiant because of God’s glory (Ex. 34:29) is standing face to face with the One whose face radiates God’s glory (Matt. 17:2).
In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses tells the Israelites that God will raise up a prophet like him and commands them to “LISTEN TO HIM.”
In Matthew 17:5: God the Father speaks to the disciples about Jesus and says “LISTEN TO HIM.”
But wait… there’s more.
Where is Moses standing?
He’s standing… in the promised land.
The very two things Moses had once been denied, God allows him to experience in the presence of Jesus.
Two takeaways.
1. Sometimes God answers our prayer requests in ways that we do not expect. Whatever he has to offer us is infinitely better than anything we could ever imagine.
2. Our failures may have consequences, but in Christ, they don't have to have the final word.
That’s why Moses’ failure didn’t have the final word.
God’s grace did.
Travis Deans retweeted
77% of all Christians surrender to Jesus as Lord and Savior before the age of 18!
Student Ministry and Children’s Ministry isn’t about entertainment and babysitting. It’s about reaching the Next Generation with the Gospel.
Honor those called to this kind of ministry.
Travis Deans retweeted
We all should ask, “What must I do to be saved?”
We should also ask, “What must I do 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 I’m saved?”
But we should never ask, “What can I do and 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 be saved?”
Travis Deans retweeted
“Christianity is a religion of salvation, and the fact is that there is nothing in any of the non-Christian religions to compare with this message of a God who loved, and came after, and died for, a world of lost sinners.” —John Stott
Travis Deans retweeted
A successful life isn't measured by how much money you make or how famous you become. It's measured by your faithfulness to God and your obedience to his commands.
Travis Deans retweeted
“We are NOT a Christian nation!”
“Separation of church and state!”
“Benjamin Franklin was a deist!”
On this date, June 28, 1787, Benjamin Franklin delivered his famous “Prayer Speech” at the Constitutional Convention.
This is the one where Franklin, amid deadlocks and frustrations in the Convention, implored the delegates to begin sessions with prayer, acknowledging human limitations and seeking divine assistance. Here is the full transcript (from James Madison’s notes and standard historical sources, with minor spelling normalizations for readability):
Mr. President:
The small progress we have made after four or five weeks close attendance & continual reasonings with each other—our different sentiments on almost every question, several of the last producing as many noes as ays, is methinks a melancholy proof of the imperfection of the Human Understanding. We indeed seem to feel our own want of political wisdom, since we have been running about in search of it. We have gone back to ancient history for models of government, and examined the different forms of those Republics which having been formed with the seeds of their own dissolution now no longer exist. And we have viewed modern states all round Europe, but find none of their Constitutions suitable to our circumstances.
In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understandings? In the beginning of the Contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for the divine protection.—Our prayers, Sir, were heard, & they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? or do we imagine that we no longer need his assistance?
I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that “except the Lord build the House they labour in vain that build it.” I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and byword down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing Governments by Human wisdom and leave it to chance, war and conquest.
I therefore beg leave to move—that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that service.
Travis Deans retweeted
God doesn't exist to make all our earthly dreams come true. He saved us to make us holy and to use our lives for his global glory. Our main purpose is to know him and make him known.
Travis Deans retweeted
We really enjoyed this conversation with @tdeans , @waynemorganjr , and @TonyVillafane1 ! @nnym cpyu.org/podcasts/episode-22…
Travis Deans retweeted
Fake Christianity: God loves me, so I can do what I want.
Real Christianity: God loves me, so I do what he says.
Travis Deans retweeted
Why Christianity Is the Only Faith That Actually Solves the Problem of Evil Instead of Explaining It Away.
The problem of evil is the single greatest objection people raise against God.
It goes like this. “If God is all powerful and all good, why is there so much suffering in the world?
It’s a fair question. Pain is real. Cancer, war, betrayal, abuse, natural disasters, the list is long and heavy.
Every honest person has felt the weight of it.
And every worldview has to answer it.
Most of them don’t.
Eastern religions often say evil is an illusion, something to rise above through enlightenment.
Islam says it’s all part of Allah’s will, and you simply submit.
Atheism says evil is just a social construct or the result of blind evolution, there’s no ultimate standard, so there’s no ultimate problem.
New Age spirituality tells you to manifest your way out of it.
None of them actually solve it. They either deny it, blame God for it, or tell you to ignore it.
Christianity alone does something radical.
Jesus didn’t stand far off and explain suffering from a distance. He stepped into it.
He took on real flesh, felt real pain, and allowed the full weight of evil, every sin, every injustice, every tear, to fall on Him at the cross.
The innocent One became the guilty. The holy One took the wrath. He didn’t dodge the problem of evil. He absorbed it.
Then He rose.
That’s not an explanation.
That’s a solution.
Christianity doesn’t pretend suffering doesn’t exist. It doesn’t blame God for it. It doesn’t call it an illusion.
It says the King entered the brokenness, defeated death, and promised that one day He will wipe every tear away and make all things new.
Until then, He walks with us through it, not as a distant observer, but as the One who has scars in His hands and feet.
This is what real faith looks like.
Not the version that offers cheap answers or empty platitudes when the pain hits.
The version that looks evil in the eye, points to the cross, and says, the King already defeated it, and He will finish what He started.
To every person wrestling with the problem of evil right now, whether it’s in your own life or in the world around you, hear this clearly.
The Christian story is the only one that doesn’t run from your pain.
It enters it.
It redeems it.
And one day, it will end it forever.
All glory to the King who didn’t explain evil away, He conquered it with His own blood.
Travis Deans retweeted
If Jesus's Resurrection Were a Hoax
Prolly my favorite sketch we ever did at @TheBabylonBee
Travis Deans retweeted
Stan Lee: "My publisher told me that Spider-Man was the worst idea I have ever heard."
"My publisher came to me and said, 'Stan, I want you to come up with another superhero.' So I said okay. And I thought, 'What power will I give a new guy?' And I saw a fly crawling on the wall. I said, 'Hey, if I can get a superhero that could stick to walls and crawl on them man, that would be groovy.'"
Stan continues:
"I needed a name. Fly-Man, Mosquito-Man... I got down to Spider-Man. It just sounded dramatic. Then I figured, just for fun, I'm going to give him personal problems because most people have personal problems. And I'd make him a teenager, because there were no teenage superheroes at the time."
He brought the idea to his publisher:
"This was his reaction: 'Stan, that is the worst idea I have ever heard. First of all, people hate spiders so you can't call a hero Spider-Man. You want him to be a teenager? Teenagers can only be sidekicks. And you want him to have personal problems? Stan, don't you know what a superhero is? They don't have personal problems.'"
Stan left disappointed but couldn't let it go:
"We were about to kill a magazine called Amazing Fantasy. It wasn't selling well, and we were sending the last issue to press. When you do the last issue of a magazine, nobody cares what you put in it because the book is dying. Just to get it out of my system, I put Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy. Featured him on the cover. Forgot about it."
Then the sales figures came in:
"A month later, my publisher came racing into my office: 'Stan, Stan! You remember that character we both loved so much Spider-Man? Let's do him as a series.'"
Stan shares the lesson:
"If you have an idea that you genuinely think is good don't let some idiot talk you out of it. That doesn't mean every wild notion is going to be genius. But if there's something you feel is good, something you want to do, something that means something to you try to do it.
Because I think you can only do your best work if you're doing what you want to do. And if you can look at it after and say, 'I did that and I think it's pretty damn good' that's a great feeling."
Travis Deans retweeted
What happens when you combine a 100 year old hymn that tells the most powerful message of all time, with hiphop beats, an aggressive orchestra, and a gospel choir… this song is meant to portray the POWER in the blood. “There Is Power” is out now!
Travis Deans retweeted
Jesus didn't come to earth because it was full of "good people" that just needed a life coach.
He came because it was full of sinners that desperately needed a Savior.
Travis Deans retweeted
Every religion except Christianity demands that you work for acceptance. Christianity demands that you accept the finished work of Jesus.
Salvation is received, not achieved.
Travis Deans retweeted
Life was without a doubt intelligently designed.
One of the most obvious evidences for Life's design is the various "chicken-or-egg" problems all over biology.
Within all cells, there are complex molecular machines running countless processes to keep us alive...but those machines cannot be built step by step by gradual processes, because they fundamentally rely on other machines to function.
Meaning, you can't have one without the other and the entire system fails without both!
For example: DNA Replication.
Without the ability to copy DNA, life dies.
To copy DNA requires a complex system of 9 molecular machines, all working together. But to get those 9 molecular machines requires at least 30-50 proteins (the building blocks of molecular machines), which can only be made from the information stored in DNA.
And to make those proteins requires not just RNA, but also a whole other molecular machine, the ribosome, which requires at least 50 more proteins!
See how complex and integrated everything is? And that's just one example!
More examples of chicken-or-egg problems include:
- DNA Repair: DNA would break down and life would die out without DNA repair systems. These systems require another 50-100 proteins.
- Energy Production: Cells make energy through ATP Synthase - another system which requires at least 5 molecular machines, requiring around 90 total proteins to function.
And the list goes on!
These chicken-or-egg problems are a serious dilemma for naturalists and evolutionist. Life can't function without them, but they can't be built until life is functional.
In all of human experience and evidence, the only time we ever see complex interdependent systems like this created is from intelligence.
There is no evidence mindless natural process are capable of engineering complex interdependent systems like this - in fact, it's absurd to believe so.
Jesus created you.
Praise God!
