Would your faith increase or decrease if you knew your future? That’s a question I wrestle with during my year-end Faith Inventory each December. Reflecting on it this morning, I prayed: “Lord, I want my faith to be Spiritually Indifferent about the FUTURE so I can freely respond to your call on my life TODAY.” Here’s what Webster says about indifference: in·dif·fer·ent = having no particular interest;...

As 2024 winds down, do you find yourself looking back with a sigh, wishing some moments had played out differently? Maybe it’s a missed opportunity, a fractured relationship, or a word you desperately wish you could take back. Regrets are part of life on planet earth. But they don’t have to define us. This question came to me during my year-end FAITH INVENTORY as the calendar flipped to December over...

It’s THANKSGIVING 2024 and Christians across the USA are expressing gratitude to God for his countless blessings. That’s wonderful! But have you ever considered that Thanksgiving is not just a yearly event or obligation? It’s an invitation—a call to embrace a transformational lifestyle that glorifies God and fills us with JOY. For many, Thanksgiving feels like checking a box: “God is so good to me,...

Everyone wants to experience the spine-tingling and euphoric RAIN OF JOY in their life. Sounds easy, right? So what’s the problem? Why does the world seem, largely, joyless and incapable of finding its elusive destination? And why in the world do so many Christians struggle mightily to understand the meaning of joy and search unsuccessfully for the pathway to its well of wonder? I vividly remember...

I was flooded this past weekend with thoughts about UNCERTAINTY and RISK. But that is NOT a bad thing. In fact, I call this GLORIOUS UNCERTAINTY. And RISK is a big part of its story. It’s easy to be confused about God’s interest in our risk-taking. But taking risks in this context has nothing to do with our manufactured calculations or risky schemes. The risk that God promises to help us with...

I often get asked, “Mark, how do I know when I’m genuinely sad versus when I’m wallowing in self-pity?” And lately, there’s a second question that comes along on the self-pity ride: “How do I keep from becoming cynical?” It’s no surprise these questions come up together—they both reveal a growing sense of defeat that so many believers wrestle with today. These mindsets—self-pity and cynicism—may look...

In the world of science, researchers have developed genetically engineered mice with transparent skin, allowing a clear view into their biological processes without surgery. These tiny creatures serve as a powerful metaphor for Christian living—just as their transparency facilitates discovery and healing, so too does a life of honest faith reveal the transforming work of God. When we live transparently,...

I could NOT keep my mind quiet as a new Christian, NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRIED. Nothing was quiet back then when I was a CEO chasing success. When I was caught in the relentless pursuit of wealth. When I was constantly fixated on the next big achievement. Hearing God’s call to “live a QUIET life” at that time in my faith walk made me think: “are you kidding me?” But then God tossed me a life-line from...

This weekend had me thinking a lot about why it makes sense that there are three “U’s” in the word PRESUMPTUOUS. It’s because presumption is all about us—our plans, our timing, our desires. When we are presumptuous, we put ourselves at the center of the story rather than God. And a presumptuous attitude is incompatible with following Jesus. It pre-empts God, leads us off course, and can...

There are millions of Christians everywhere on this planet wondering why they get ANGRY when they know it’s wrong. Know that it damages their faith walk. Know that it paints the wrong picture for those people who see it come out. Sadly, only a small portion of believers who are carrying DEEP-SEATED ANGER inside them are willing to acknowledge it, let alone expose it to God. That was ME early in my...