Mark Affleck

4 THU

The Frustrating Futilism Of FATALISM

This just in from our global online tribe: “I want to have faith, but I feel like I have no control over my future. That I can’t change anything. It’s like I’m powerless and I want to give up. What do I do?    This question has been around since ancient Greece when Aristotle presented the notion of FATALISM–a way of thinking that is antithetical to Christianity because it rejects the...
3 WED 150

He Was TRICKED Into Sinning And He Wants Revenge

This year’s Halloween “celebration” may have passed, but the danger of being TRICKED INTO SINNING by the Enemy is still parked in the driveway of every Christian.    C’mon, tricked into sinning? Absolutely.    Nobody wakes up with a “TO-SIN LIST” on their nightstand. We sin by falling for Satan’s trick that makes something look “irresistible” and feel like what we receive is FREE.    It...
2 TUE 200

Thanking God In ADVANCE Is NOT Presumptuous?

This just in from our global online tribe of 900,000 followers: I hear other Christians say we should thank God IN ADVANCE. Isn’t that presumptuous on our part?    This is a GREAT question because it is about FAITH. And faith is important, right? Of course!    Faith is not hoping God will show up. Faith is not thinking God might be able to act. Faith is thanking God in advance...
1 MON

ELECTION DAY! Very Important. But It’s NOT God.

Most people will be MORE THAN GLAD when this election season turns out the lights and retreats into the shadows to prepare for its next assault on our senses. But before the 2020 election circus breaks down the tents and shelters the restless animals, all eyes will be on its three rings with great interest in the OUTCOME and who got the most VOTES.    Saying there is “GREAT INTEREST” in...
5 FRI

WIN The Fight To Activate Your Faith By NOT Fighting

Christians trying to ACTIVATE THEIR FAITH are engaged in a complex and complicated WAR that pushes us to “TRY HARD” and “FIGHT HARD” to win. I get it. But we should reconsider that TRY-HARD, FIGHT HARD approach by looking at the Chinese General Sun Tzu who crushed his enemy WITHOUT fighting. Sounds Christ-like, doesn’t it?    It’s true that Christians trying to become FaithWalkers are in...
Student is torn between plan A and B

Our PLAN B Can Be God’s PLAN A

A couple of days ago when I was preparing to evacuate as fires burned toward our Southern California home, I tossed my first Bible–tattered but cherished by me—and my five-foot high stack of hand-written journals into my car’s boot. When the threat passed 24 hours later, I grabbed one of those journals and leafed through its coffee-stained pages from a time early in my faith walk. One of the...
3 WED

Luke Skywalker is Cool, But FaithWalkers Are Powerful

Luke Skywalker’s famous line from the Star Wars canon–Confronting fear is the destiny of a Jedi, YOUR destiny—is profoundly and palpably powerful. But it cannot stand up against the Bible’s insightful FaithWalker verse: “For we live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7    One of the most important lessons I learned as a new Christian was to be a FaithWalker.    Looking...
Doctor noting death certificate

His FAITH PRE-MORTEM Showed Disease Forming

I use PROSPECTIVE HINDSIGHT to increase my ability as a CEO to identify risks on the road ahead. Then I turn this thinking into a PRE-MORTEM to imagine why a project has “failed” even though it has not started. With that information in hand, I work back to determine what could be done–before beginning–to avoid the negative outcome.    To make this easy, think of a PRE-MORTEM...
1-MON-3-optimized

YOLO And NetFlix Are Ruling The World!

Here are three of the most popular lines used by Millennials: “Sorry, Not Sorry.” “Let’s Netflix and Chill.” “Avocado Toast Beats A Mortgage.” But the most pervasive thread running through that generation is the pop-culture idiom YOLO—You Only Live Once.      AVOCADO TOAST may have an exclusive connection to Millennials, but they do not have 100% ownership of YOLO. Their co-owners...
5-FRI-3-optimized

Two Words That Christians FEAR The Most—FEAR NOT

FEAR NOT.    QUICK! What just went through your mind in response to those two words?    Were your thoughts mostly POSITIVE on viewing “Fear Not” as a safe refuge from the world’s uncertainty?    Or did your mind cough up something NEGATIVE that looked at “Fear Not” as an impossibility in your life today?    A quick review of past comments from our global online...
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