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...

God makes NO MISTAKE in instructing his followers to become spiritually mature. So that’s our goal and our life-long quest, right? Of course.  But it has never been and will never be “easy.” That’s why we are spending this month on spiritual growth.     “We are not meant to remain as children, but to grow up in every way into Christ.” Ephesians 4:14-15.     In...

The power of INCREMENTALISM has had a profound and significant impact on my life. It was a guiding tenet in my business career as a CEO and an important influence in my personal life, too. But it has TRANSFORMED my faith walk.    in·cre·men·tal·ism: changing something gradually in step-by-step phases.    We’ve already established in the past couple of messages that our goal to...

Yesterday we explored the notion that GROWTH, in and of itself, is not the primary goal behind our life-long journey to become ever-more spiritually mature. That message focused on growing and deepening our RELATIONSHIP with Jesus in a way that GLORIFIES him. And it quickly raised this important question: Should our spiritual growth be fast or slow?    The answer can be found on two tracks:...

It won’t take long during this month’s exploration of SPIRITUAL MATURITY to see that the word GROWTH circulates through most of the messages. That’s a good thing because God’s calls us to GROW our faith.    “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18    But before we get too far down the critically-important GROWTH road, I want to shake a...

The summer breeze is flipping the calendar’s pages and replacing May with June. In the process, it will also produce a new opportunity for all of us to “turn over a new leaf.”    TURN OVER A NEW LEAF: to start over, to act in a different manner or change your attitude about something.    This idiom was birthed in the 16th Century when pages in books were referred to as leaves...

We’re headed into the home stretch on our month-long look at SPIRITUAL AUTHENTICITY. The ride has featured myriad looks at the subject, but every angle takes us back to GOD as the anchor.    We’ve learned that SPIRITUAL AUTHENTICITY is about developing an intimate relationship with Christ. Then that builds our Christian character. Then that prompts us to emulate Jesus. No mask wearing....