This just in from our global online tribe:    “I love this series on Spiritual Maturity. Thank you. My question is how these words from Jesus in Matthew fit into the picture: I don’t know you.”    We cannot, ever, impress Jesus. No matter how we package and present our good works and great heart and deep prayers, we will fall short of impressing God and getting him to KNOW us....

We’ve learned during this month’s exploration of what it means to be a spiritually-mature Christian that ALL ROADS LEAD BACK TO JESUS. That spiritual maturity is much less about the things we do and everything about our commitment to surrender everything to the Lord of Heaven and earth. That spiritual growth is about glorifying God, not elevating ourselves.    That sets up this critically-important...

Spiritual maturity is all about Jesus.    We should NEVER stop reminding ourselves of that truth. That’s why I have been mentioning it every day in this series on spiritual growth. It should be part of our DAILY prayers. It should be ever-present in our thoughts that spiritual maturity is about glorifying God, not elevating ourselves.  That spiritual maturity is about being an OBEDIENT...

We’ve learned during this month’s exploration of what it means to be a spiritually-mature Christian that ALL ROADS LEAD BACK TO JESUS. We learned that spiritual maturity is much less about the things we do and everything about our commitment to surrender everything to the Lord of Heaven and earth. And we learned that spiritual growth is about glorifying God, not elevating ourselves.    Today’s...

It was very early in my faith walk when I looked at the Bible as sacred and important, but largely DEAD AND DORMANT in terms of being a part of my life on a daily basis. It’s a massive understatement to say that I was wrong. God’s Word is ACTIVE AND ALIVE.    “The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet,...

Early in my faith walk I thought the goal was to “get through” the trials of life. I did not know it was possible to learn from them and grow spiritually. Spiritual maturity is developed through our trials as we learn to trust God and grow our faith. And the DEPTH of a believer’s spiritual maturity determines what and how much they learn from the trials they face in their life.    This deeper...

This will sound counter intuitive, but Christians in hot pursuit of spiritual maturity—without success–should STOP TRYING SO HARD. Trying too hard to grow spiritually shows up in two ways:    CHASING TOO MUCH—Taking a transactional “to-do-list” mindset of spiritual activities.    THINKING TOO MUCH—Getting inside our head with doubts about our spiritual maturity.    If...

We are seeing a spate of new regulations to navigate our (nearly) POST-COVID world. To mask or not to mask. Social distancing part two. Large gatherings with vaccination entry cards. Just yesterday I was walking through the grocery store and the confusion was palpable. Shoppers were bobbing and weaving through the aisles with their mask moving from chin to pocket and their nervous glances skittering...

Last week I was shooting video footage with a drone high over the towering trees near majestic Yosemite National Park when I realized how far the remote control had come since its debut as a “tv-set” channel changer. It was incredible.    When the drone delivered our final shot, I thought about using its remote brain to produce the final video with music and narration. A silly voice in...

God calls all Christians to grow in their faith. To grow in their trust. To grow in their surrender. Here’s how the Apostle Peter puts it:    “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 1 Peter 2:2-3    YES…Spiritual Growth is not an option for believers, it is an...