Yesterday we were playing hockey on a FROZEN LAKE. Today we’re hiking on a MOUNTAIN TRAIL in the same “majestic Sierra’s” where I crashed through thin ice into the frigid water.    This hike does NOT feature a near-death story.  It was memorable because of WHEN we decided to abort the hike. We turned back in the shank of a SUNNY and splendid spring morning at the base of SLIDE MOUNTAIN,...

I almost died one winter day as a 13-year-old playing ice hockey with my older brother Miles on a frozen lake in Nevada’s majestic Sierra Mountains. The last thing I remember is chasing an errant puck toward the middle of the lake, hitting thin ice, and then plunging into the frigid abyss. I can still recall the sound of ice breaking like glass and the bone-chilling cold that seized my body. But most...

This just in from our global online tribe: I want to activate my faith like you write so much about, but every day I think thoughts that tell me it’s impossible. What does that say about my faith?    This is a great question that says nothing more about your faith than you are an imperfect human trying to follow God in a broken world–like all of us. It also puts a spotlight on one...

Even though few people change out their wardrobe every season, all of us at least think about it when an image in the media hijacks our attention and tickles the insidious allure of consumerism that resides inside human nature. The fantasy focuses on running through our closet to see what items need to be discarded and replaced by something new.    While most of us never actually change...

This is one of those rare “hard-to-believe, BUT TRUE” stories. A story God can use to strengthen your relationship with him. A story that has profoundly impacted my own faith walk.    It begins when a friend of mine took one of his closest mates to an empty mall parking lot one Sunday in May just after dawn. Their mission? A DRIVING LESSON.    His friend had never driven a car...

This just in from our global online tribe:    Does Psalm 91:10 say Christians do not have to fear harm?    Great question. Here it is: “No harm will overtake you; no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Psalm...

The entire planet is obsessed with MAKE OVERS and DO OVERS. Both of those television-contrived trends pivot on waving a magic wand to vanquish imperfections. Change circumstances. Restore hope.    The MAKEOVER is a radical transformation or remodeling–home makeovers, lifestyle makeovers, and style makeovers–all building to a stunning “big reveal” at the end.    The...

Dragons are TRENDING. Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion are stars on the Games Of Thrones. Every culture seems to have a dragon in its myths. Stories for children feature dragons–think Puff the Magic Dragon or Smaug in The Hobbit. We love dragons because they allow our imagination to soar. We love DRAGONS because they can fly. We love DRAGONS because they are powerful and mysterious.    That’s...

I’ve spent a lot of time in my life thinking about FEAR. Studying FEAR. Helping people get past their FEAR. The word is an anchor in my ministry’s name and a commitment in my life to help others quell its oppressive grip.    One of the most important things I’ve learned about FEAR in the past couple of decades is that many people spend too much time trying to figure it out. My approach is...

We are at war. Not World War III. Not Armageddon. Not Middle East strife. Not even COVID or race or politics. We are at war with DARKNESS.    There is a WAR raging inside Christians everywhere. A war between good and evil. A war between God and the devil. It’s SPIRITUAL WARFARE.    Early in my faith walk I dismissed spiritual warfare as being something too mysterious to grasp,...