I didn’t think blogging would be this challenging.

The direction I thought I was taking was a bit of commentary on my sermons.

Here’s a quote from my first post:

To start, I want to add some devotional thoughts, or even some further thoughts (and clarification) about my most recent sermon, or sermons. That means we’ll be talking quite a bit about Romans for a while! Hopefully you’ll find this helpful, and perhaps meaningful as you continue to study the word.

I also hope to mention some other thoughts that I have about things like missions, theology, the Bible, and other things I get asked about every now and then.

After taking the plunge, I began to get a bit frustrated. At that point, I had a revelation. I was writing a commentary. By commentary, I mean those big books offering insight and information on a book (or books) of the Bible.

Don’t get me wrong. Commentaries aren’t bad. They’re just, you know, commentaries. Think about how many times you’ve heard anyone say:

“Tonight I’m just going to curl up by the fire and read a commentary.”

“I’m going to bring this great new commentary to read on the beach.”

“I just love commentaries! Sometimes I’ll read two or three a week!”

“This commentary changed my life!”

Probably never, although my wife may have heard me complain about having to read a couple of them before my next class.

So, I experienced a fair amount of discouragement. That period was immediately followed by a touch of guilt (i.e. Romans 4, and I know I didn’t post anything the next Monday) after which I settled into a fairly healthy diet of procrastination.

I’ve been convicted to spend more time working on application in my sermons, and it’s been a blessing to me. J.T. Writes 2.0 is going to be dedicated to application. I want to point people to a God who offers hope, grace, and purpose. God is at work in our world, and He uses broken, imperfect people to carry out that work. My goal is to share that story with my readers.

Thanks for being a part of this journey. I’m looking forward to a new beginning.