Yesterday while exploring the world of HACKS—steps to simplify and improve our life—we concluded that all hacks (and especially spiritual hacks) can easily become glorified SHORTCUTS to nowhere.      We’re jumping off that hack horse today as fast as we threw our leg over its saddle yesterday. We’re riding away from the word HACK because it’s a silly aphorism cooked up by a cliché-driven,...

I have no idea how or why the term HACK has reached such lofty status in 21st-Century life. In the not-so-distant past, the term was reserved for someone doing something poorly or irresponsibly. You know…people doing a bad job playing their role as a news reporter or baseball player or wanna-be motivational speaker, to name but a few examples. NOT ANYMORE. Today we have life hacks to squeeze every...

This just in from our global online tribe: “God feels like he is a million miles away from me right now and I feel bad.”    All Christians–at one time or another, to one degree or another—are pecked by this pain.    Knowing that these feelings will come is more than a “soft line of comfort.” Of course it’s comforting to know that information. But it also gives us the strength...

The Word of God is TRUTH. The word of the world is DECEPTION. That tenet impacts believers and unbelievers alike:    UNBELIEVERS: Unbelievers need to be told about God’s truth so they can REJECT the world’s lies.    BELIEVERS: Believers need to LIVE life on God’s sturdy foundation of TRUTH and not EXIST on the world’s slippery slope of LIES.    Belief is at the heart...

Intimacy with God is one of the most overlooked aspects of being a Christian. The word INTIMATE is mostly associated with the surface-based transactions we make with others. Most often it is an expression of love between people—flowers, cards, time to together, and the open sharing of feelings.    in·ti·mate / closely acquainted; familiar, close, cherished, faithful, devoted, a very close...

Our belief that God is in control—and we are not—can be a FRAGILE part of our faith walk. Our SAVING FAITH in Jesus may be sturdy and resistant to sway, but the depth of our belief can range from flimsy to brittle. This is where that pesky question comes into play: Do YOU believe with a lower-case b or a CAPITAL B?    The prophet Isaiah knew all about this fragility. He addressed it by predicting...

This just in from our global online tribe: “Thank you for this series on capital b belief. It has really deepened my belief. It’s the daily repetition of the message that drives home the point. I still struggle with doubt but it’s improving.”    This comment raises the importance of making the BELIEF—DOUBT transfer—the next step after we deepen our belief. The goal is to connect our deepening...

Having our faith get stuck in a RUT happens to most Christians at some point. The RUT does not have to be running off life’s road. In many cases, the RUT is simply falling into spiritual routines that are nothing more than transactions. You know…read the Bible some. Pray a little. Go to church occasionally. And living with a golden-rule-attitude is good enough.    It’s tempting to view spiritual...

A shallow FAITH ANCHOR–or worse, one that stays in the boat—makes it difficult to believe with a CAPITAL B that God is in control and we aren’t. And it produces two very real threats to our walk with God: 1) It makes it more difficult to fight through the challenges of life; and 2) It makes it more difficult to model Christ in a way that helps others reject Satan’s lies and endure the tests...

“You’ll Never Amount To Anything.”    You may not have heard those exact words spoken in that exact way, but I would guess all of us have heard that message in one form or another at some stage in our life. I certainly have. Both as a kid and later as an adult Christian falling prey to the dark voices pinging my inner ear and piercing my fragile heart.    Hearing that message,...