Resources by Luke Gray:
Luke Gray
Luke Gray was born and raised in the Philippines as a missionary kid. After studying writing at the University of Kansas, he settled in Asheville, North Carolina, where he lives with his wife and four children. A perpetual learner, Luke is constantly trying new things—remodeling a bathroom, growing a garden, or raising livestock. He runs a small automotive detailing business, which lets him listen to audiobooks while getting paid. His favorite part of life is experiencing God at work around him.
A Year of Fear & Formation
“We also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint….” (Rom. 5:3-5) I was outside constructing a duck pen when my wife, Abigail, told me she was pregnant with our fifth child. I said the right things in response, but...
Luke Gray
Behind the Curtain: How God Built a Missionary Family into a Family of Missionaries
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5). I remember, as a teen, meandering behind my parents as they journeyed from the church pew, up the...
Luke Gray
Having Anxiety? Remember the Sabbath.
*Editor’s Note: Why should we “remember the Sabbath”? Jesus once explained that “the Sabbath was made for man’’ (Mark 2:27a, NIV). He must have wanted us to understand that God gave the Sabbath for humanity’s good. But how can it be a good thing for busy people to take a day and not try to...
Luke Gray
Small Beginnings for Discipling a Child
When I became a parent, I was intimidated by the prospect of transmitting my faith to my children. The Bible is an enormous volume with sixty-six individual books, and the gospel message spans thousands of years. How do you reduce the gospel, to say nothing of church history, theology, and apologetics, down to something that...
Luke Gray
Don’t Quench the Holy Spirit. Follow His Prompts.
The moment was like one of those Mission Impossible movies: Your mission, should you choose to accept, is…. But let me start at the beginning. It was the middle of March, 2020, a couple weeks before lockdowns or mask mandates, and stores were running out of food. I was in danger of running out of...
Luke Gray
Grieving a Lost Life and a Lost Culture
They say that statistically forty percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage. I’ve cognitively known those numbers for a long time, but the funny thing about such statistics is that you never truly think you’ll be a part of them until you are. When my wife found out she was pregnant with our second child, she...
Luke Gray
In Seasons of Suffering, You Need a Pile of Stones.
Today I wrote these words in my biblical journal, a journal that has been woefully neglected of late: “How do I worship and testify when all I feel is loss and suffering, which [God] allowed or even ordained?” It’s an uncomfortable question. At the start of 2020, I was on the mountaintop. Life wasn’t perfect,...
Luke Gray
Rebuilding after Loss: the Book of Job
In the end, Job does get his happy ending, or rather a return to prosperity. God rebukes Job’s three friends, who ask Job to intercede with God on their behalf. Job’s family and friends come around him, comfort him, and give him silver and gold, which he uses to rebuild his wealth. In the end,...
Luke Gray
The Book of Job: A Guide in Suffering (Part 2)
(For Part 1, click here.) One of the tough parts about understanding Job’s story is figuring out which voices to trust. We have the narrator, God, Satan, Job, Job’s wife, the three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar), along with a fourth friend Elihu, who is the last to speak before God interjects. I find it...
Luke Gray
The Book of Job: A Guide in Suffering (Part 1)
It was my junior year of college and I was sitting in my Western Civilization Class at the University of Kansas. While I’d already taken Western Civ. at a community college, the credit had only been accepted as an elective, so there I was taking Western Civ. for a second time. Admittedly the K.U. rendition...
Luke Gray
The Surprising Layers of a Genealogy
I started copying the Bible by hand, beginning with Genesis. I write the verses on the right side of a notebook and any thoughts, questions, or responses I have on the left side. I’d like to someday have written the whole Bible out. There are 31,102 verses in the Bible, so if I write five...
Luke Gray
Rhett, Link, & Kingdom Building
(This is the final article in this series. Here’s Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.) As I’ve studied Rhett and Link’s spiritual deconstruction, one particular point of irony has become apparent: Cru placed Rhett and Link on the path to fame and success. It was during Rhett and Link’s involvement with...
Luke Gray
The Problem of Sin and Rhett & Link’s Deconversion
(Here’s Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, & Part 4 in this series.) Given that I spent a large chunk of the last post talking about my own personal failings, this is a perfect time to talk about sin. At its core, sin is simply choosing our way instead of God’s way. Because God is the Creator,...
Luke Gray
Rhett, Link, & the Danger of Duplicitous Faith
(Here’s Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 in this series.) While both Rhett and Link’s stories emanate a duplicitous dual existence, Link’s story highlights the dissonance. These were men who grew up in the church, were involved in Cru throughout college, and eventually raised funds so that they could become campus missionaries—a journey that parallels...
Luke Gray
Facts, Faith, Feelings, and Rhett & Link’s Deconversion
(Here’s Part 1 and Part 2 in this series.) As I listened to Rhett’s Spiritual Deconstruction, it became abundantly clear that logic played a central role. One section of Rhett’s story is particular insightful in this regard: “I had placed a lot of faith, not just in God, but in these people who helped me...
Luke Gray