Spiritual Growth

We have allowed life to take away our “room to breathe.” Devices. TV. Appointments. More devices. More TV. More appointments. And ALWAYS a list of to-do items on our ever-expanding to-do list.    All of that has left many of us with no room to breathe. No room to reflect on life and our purpose […]

I used to look at life and everything about it as a race that had to be won at all costs. Just win, baby. Finish first. Win. Succeed. Cash in and prosper. Be the winner.    What a joke.    Thankfully, God revealed to me that life is not an endurance run where we get

Earlier in my faith walk, I would constantly face rushes of hopelessness that engulfed my soul and very being. Depressed. Sad. Depleted.    Hopeless.    During those storm trials I would be desperate for relief and try frantically to “pull a rabbit out of my hat” and make it “go away.”    It was sheer

When fear and worry settle in for a very long stay, the most common reaction is to analyze the facts. Studying all of the information makes us feel better, and there is nothing wrong with doing that. The problem is that we don’t give them over to God first.    In that scenario, we’ve taken

How do we know whether to turn left or right when life tosses a difficult decision our way? Do we get all the facts and “reason it out”? Do we think about the implications and consequences of the options? Do we “phone a friend” and ask for their opinion and direction? Of course! We do

Peace and joy in Christ are not automatic when we are saved, and we can’t manufacture it through our own efforts. Earlier in my faith walk, I tried with all my might to do it that way and, of course, failed miserably.    Over time I learned that God’s peace can only come out of

We seek police protection from crime and the violence in our midst. We seek medical protection from health problems and fire department protection from the threat of fire. We seek protection in relationships, at work, and in play. We are constantly seeking protection, and of course that is a prudent thing to do.    But

The express elevator is right there, promising to zoom us to our destination on the 50th floor in a matter of seconds. As we stand in the lobby, our inner voice asks, “Stairs or Elevator?” And we quickly think, “Stairs? Are you kidding me!?”    That is how it typically plays out in our mind.

During my time as a Corporate CEO, I used to think that if I kept the “right things” in my mind I could chase the negative voices away. I was trying to make up for my “un-Christian” thoughts and the guilt they produced by staying busy and chasing worldly success to force all of that

I have never met or heard of anyone who leverages the power of visualization better than Pastor Rick Warren. He has no filter or governor on his vision engine. There are no restrictions on that car’s carburetor and his vision gas pedal is always pressed through the floor.    Rick’s visualization prowess has produced two