In the years AFTER I gave my life to Christ and BEFORE my complete surrender, “I’ll get around to it” was one of my favorite excuses for putting off the day I would fully RELEASE CONTROL of my life to Christ.      Maybe that’s YOU today.    It’s dangerous to put off releasing control to God and assume that responsibility ourselves. It produces extreme pressure to make...

I was swimming through the book of Proverbs this morning when God zoomed in and grabbed my attention with a new way of looking at a verse I have read many hundreds of times:    “A sensible person gathers the crops when they are ready; it is a disgrace to sleep through the time of harvest.” Proverbs 10:5 (GNT)    I am sure this verse showed up today as part of my current focus on...

Early in my faith walk I SO wanted to be one of those “GOOD CHRISTIANS” who never entertained a dark thought or made a mistake. Never had a bad day or let someone down. Never felt the chill of fear or the winds of worry. I yearned for this idealized picture of peace and joy that had formed in my mind. I just couldn’t figure out how to get there.    Later it became clear why I could not...

All of us want “quick answers” to the tough questions surrounding our faith walk with Jesus. Questions about what to say and do. Questions on how to obey. Questions about how to live.    That is certainly the case when it comes to the spiritual imperative of fully RELEASING CONTROL of our life to God. But quick answers to our spiritual questions are elusive because they are an illusion.    There...

This just in from a young man living in Scotland and a member of our global online tribe of over 1 Million followers: “Some days I wonder if abiding in Jesus is a better goal than growing spiritually. I’ve experienced much joy abiding in Jesus without the pressure to grow spiritually. But I’m still confused. Can you help?”    This is a compelling question because taking our focus (and...

For the past couple of days we have been discussing the SPIRITUAL IMPERATIVE–what must be done–to begin the life-long process of RELEASING FULL CONTROL of our life to God.      Releasing control of our life to God is a never-ending challenge for all Christians walking with God. But doing it is not an option. God demands that we release control of our entire being—MIND, BODY,...

I released control when the plane rumbled down the runway and gave itself away to the blue. I released control when the roller coaster barreled down the track and danced on one edge around the first curve. And I released control to my dentist while squirming in her cold and uncomfortable chair. But I did NOT release control to God.    That was early in my faith walk when I released NOTHING...

We spent a good part of December 2020 casting a vision for our faith walk in 2021. We built a CHANGE RAMP to the new year. We took inventory and identified our most important “Learning Takeaway” from 2020. And we committed to make sure our CHANGE RAMP to 2021 is SO BIG that it defies human logic because the ONLY way it can be reached is if it is of God.    With that work done, we started...

We know not to fixate on the past, right? We know to leave life’s pain behind (and 2020 had plenty of that). We know that God wants us to move FORWARD stronger than we were before. We know all of that. But there is one more step in the process—reflecting on the road we’re coming off before jumping on the next one. Think of it like an EXIT INTERVIEW.    ex·it in·ter·view a meeting between...

You have a brush in your hand. You have a blank canvas. And God is wondering what picture you will paint for 2021. Leaving it blank is an option. Another option is hurriedly flicking your brush toward the canvas to “get it over with.” And partnering with God to create NEW ART for a NEW YEAR is also an option. The difficult, but best option.    We have been building a CHANGE RAMP to 2021...