The questions from Love God Fear Nothing’s global online family keep coming my way. This one arrived late last night: “How Can I Become A Christian?” I jumped right in by boldly declaring: God loves you and has a plan for your life. But there’s a problem–man is sinful. The result of that sin is separation from God that results in spiritual death.    That sets us the FIRST STEP in...

It is a blessing to see God at work in so many lives around the world through the comments and questions that flow into my ministry. This morning was no exception when an online follower asked about “the role Jesus had in our salvation.” Questions like this one on the “SPIRITUAL BASICS” remind us to keep certain truths accessible. To keep them as a north star in our walk with Christ. And to keep...

One of my online followers just asked me a compelling question about FORGIVENESS. Her focus was on forgiveness being a mandatory, MUST DO ACT in God’s eyes, not just something we should “TRY TO DO.” I quickly determined that she was summoning her grudge over and over again. In fact, she had developed a deep dependence on it. She was addicted to her “I’ll never forgive” pain.    Before responding...

I felt UNWORTHY as a child of God earlier in my life. Those feelings increased in their intensity with each new sin or bad thought that crossed the cinema of my mind. I was (and still am) a SINNER. This negative cycle created and reinforced a damaging self-perception that I could never live a Christ-like life. Thank God it was a LIE!    Thinking we are no good for God leads us to start thinking...

One of my online followers tossed me this complicated question yesterday… “Hey Mark, how am I sure about my salvation and place in heaven beyond this life and through eternity?”    Just asking the question was spiritually deflating for him. So I jumped in fast by stressing to him that his question is VERY POSITIVE. It shows that his heart is searching for the spiritual confidence God...

I was caught off guard yesterday when a man startled me with this question: “Hey, Mark…why do Christians emphasize Jesus so much? I don’t get it. I believe in God. I just don’t understand the Jesus part.” Before he even finished the question, my mind landed on this:    “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6    So that’s...

Have you ever said that about your effort to spend time with God on a daily basis?    Have you ever wondered why it’s so hard to be spiritually consistent?    Have you ever thought being consistent with your connection to God would never happen?    If you have, in one sense, that’s a good thing. Really! It’s a good thing because it demonstrates that you are in touch...

That’s exactly what I used to say!    Thank God that changed the day I took the Spiritual Maturity Class 201 at Saddleback Church and learned what God had to say about memorizing Scripture. Twenty years down the road I can see why it is so important.    If we want Christ-likeness to be expressed on the outside, we need Christ on the inside. We need to get back to SPIRITUAL BASICS!    “A...

We know God is living in us when we experience his FREEDOM and realize that we do NOT have to be perfect in order to please him. That we do NOT have to “keep the Law.” That we do NOT need to become a MONK. We are free because of what Christ did for us on the cross.    But we cannot do anything with that freedom that would cause someone else to stumble in their faith walk. Rather, we have...

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 it did not take long before I...