SPIRITUAL AUTHENTICITY is a critically-important part of BEING in, and transformed by, Christ. It must outweigh “bringing God along” as we DO things in the world. But pulling that off is a life-long journey that requires discipline and sacrifice.    Here’s my take on how to stay on that path day-in and day-out:    Spiritual Authenticity comes when we put 100% of the focus on JESUS...

We’ve established that our Christian faith walk needs to pivot on BEING in Christ—yielding to God in full surrender and obedience to HIS plan–and not just DOING spiritual things in the world. That naturally leads to living with SPIRITUAL AUTHENTICITY—dropping the pretend game and emulating Christ.    OK…fair enough. That makes sense. But there is a TRAP in this part of the journey...

This just in from our global online tribe of 1.1 million followers: “Why should I try to be authentic? God loves me for being me.”    This is a fair and powerful question that needs to be examined closely.    I’ll start with this truth: God ABSOLUTELY loves you—me, all of us–for being who we are.    “may (you) have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,...

We’ve established that pretending, FAKE FAITH is not what God wants for his children. We’ve grounded that message with an emphasis on AUTHENTICITY. And we’ve committed to BEING in Christ over DOING in the world. Now it’s time to drill deep into the pitfalls and problems that pivot off a believer’s desire to be an AUTHENTIC CHRISTIAN.    Here’s the pitfall that joined me for morning coffee...

Let’s test how good your AUTHENTICITY RADAR is at identifying a spiritual pretender.    The starting point is to recognize that spiritual maturity is a life-long process of being AUTHENTIC that does not leave any room for PRETENDING. It is fueled by obedience and discipline. Trust and commitment. BEING in Christ over DOING in the world.    Spotting that kind of behavior starts...

We need to be aware of the FAKE FAITH that claims Christ as an insurance policy to avoid a fiery descent into hell. That hollow faith is focused on the DOING part of Christianity—the Bible and prayer transactions. It ignores the BEING part of our faith that insists on connecting with Christ in an intimate way that transforms our heart after our head has said yes to God’s salvation promise.   ...

There’s a lotta talk today about BEING REAL. You know, be yourself. Be authentic. But all of that is a façade fronting for our filtered and airbrushed culture that is ANYTHING BUT REAL. We say we want REAL…but we value the UNREAL.    Nobody seems to know anymore what it means to be real. So let’s explore that question by starting with a stop at Mr. Webster’s house:    re·​al·​i·​ty...

The word AUTHENTIC joined the world’s lexicon in the Mid-14th Century and has been a foundational part of myriad languages ever since. With a boost from the internet and much encouragement from idealistic Millennials, AUTHENTIC has become a hip and significant term in the 21st Century.    This is not to throw shade on Millennials craving for AUTHENTICITY. There is much right with “being...

Early in my faith walk, I thought I knew everything about DISCIPLINE. I played football in college. I built a successful career as a corporate CEO. And I spoke about strategic discipline to marketplace companies around the world. I was disciplined.    It’s no surprise that I took that discipline into everything I did—including my faith walk with Jesus. But that discipline was all about DOING...

The world values, and then covets, DOING. God is pleased with, and then blesses, BEING.    That’s the essence of May’s theme for this blog. It comes after intense focus on a single theme during each of the year’s first four months: JAN: Release Control to God; FEB: Reject The World; MAR: Recognize Our Inadequacy; APR: Believe with a CAPITAL B; and now MAY: Switch From Doing To Being—How...